Question:
SLEEP APNEA

I HAVE MILD SLEEP APNEA THAT WAS DIAGNOSED PRIOR TO MY RNY. I DO NOT HAVE A CPAP MACHINE DUE TO JUST BEING A MILD CASE, BUT SINCE SURGERY THE APNEA SEEMS TO HAVE GOTTEN WORSE. I WAKE UP MANY MORE TIMES AT NIGHT. HAS ANYONE ELSE HAD THIS PROBLEM WHERE THE APNEA SEEMS TO HAVE GOTTEN WORSE INSTEAD OF BETTER?    — tmasten (posted on May 1, 2008)

May 1, 2008
I have never heard of such a thing. I had severe sleep apnea. Had the CPAP before I had surgery and used if for about a month or 2 after surgery. i actually had to have them come and adjsut it , it was too strong. I now have not used the machine for 4 yrs. My understanding of sleep apnea is you wake up but your not aware of it. Thats why they do the sleep study. Or you stop breathing in your sleep. Maybe your just having trouvbe sleeping.
   — Joanc

May 1, 2008
I work in the field of Sleep Disorders. You really should talk to your Doctor about having another Sleep Study. Are you just waking up more, or are you waking up actually choking/gasping? Acid Reflux is a possibility. It's also possible you have swelling or scar tissue caused by the intubation tubing they put down your throat during surgery, which could temporarily or even permanently further narrow your upper airway. It's really hard to diagnose what is going on, and again, you probably should talk to your Doctor and see if he/she thinks you need another Sleep Study. Always avoid sleeping on your back, as sleep apnea tends to worsen in this position.
   — Gina S.

May 2, 2008
I'm 4.5 months post-RNY, and mine has gotten better. I suggest talking to your doctor to see if another sleep study is in order, a sleeping pill... it might even be stemming from something not sleep or WLS related.
   — gonnadoit

May 2, 2008
Many would like us to think and believe that bariatric surgery will *cure* Type-II diabetes, including its side effects such as high blood pressure. That may be the case for those people whose diabetes and its comorbidities are caused by being morbidly overweight; however, that is not ALWAYS the case. The doctors took me off ALL of my diabetic related medications immediately after my R-N-Y surgery. That was a mistake! It was determined that I should go back on Metformin, although at a lower dose than before) and I continue to need CPAP (recently switched to Bi-PAP) to get a good night's sleep. After a recent visit to an ENT physician, he said that he can see (via CT scan and visual inspection (with a special scope) why I still need Bi-PAP and that some minor surgery would be required to correct the condition that causes it. **The common misconception is that ALL of an obese person's medical (including psychological) problems are caused be being obese. That notion, in my humble opinion, is simply NOT TRUE. Sometimes obesity is caused by those problems and the problems do not go away after having bariatric surgery (and subsequently becoming un-obese). Those problems have to be attacked independently of surgery and weight loss (especially the psychological ones). Sounds like your sleep apnea may fall into this category. I recommend you try to see an ENT/pulmonary specialist, one who is totally independent of your bariatric surgery team so that (s)he will take an unbiased approach to defining the cause of your sleep disorder.
   — [Deactivated Member]