Question:
Sleep apnea and breathing complications after WLS
I have had severe sleep apnea for about 7 years now. It has caused my heart to become enlarged and that scares me. But no matter what I do I can not waer that cpap machine. My pulmonolgist says if I have WLS without being able to wear the cpap I will have breathing complications. Has anyone been in this position and had a sucessful WLS? — justaboutkrazy (posted on January 13, 2005)
January 12, 2005
In cases like this you will likely end up in ICU for a day or two until
your breathing is stabilized. You are definitely a higher risk for surgery
but your risk of dying without the surgery may be even greater. I know of
people who have had successful wLS with uncontrolled sleep apnea. Just be
very upfront with the anesthesiologist so that they can properly prepare
and use the right meds. I also would consider going for an open procedure
as it will be a lot faster and get you off anesthesia faster, which in your
case could be critical. What's a minor incision to having your life back
and surviving the surgery? I had mine done open and the incision was no
big deal. After 3 major PS's it looks awesome and varely noticeable. I
have no problems baring my tummy as the scar looks great. I did have some
healing problems with my incision and it took 4-1/2 months of packing it to
close, but I'd still do it over again in a heartbeat. All I wanted was to
come through alive and then I could fight like he!! to stay alive. Keep
looking for the right surgeon who has dealt with this before and has a
great team to bring you through alive. Not to be too blunt here but you
sound like you are living on borrowed time because of how severe your sleep
apnea is. It sounds like you could die sooner rather than later. My
feeling was I'd rather die trying that sitting day in and day out waiting
for the day. I was 442 lbs and knew I could die on the table but had total
confidence in my surgeon and the hospital staff and it all worked out. I
decided if it was my day there wasn't a darn thing I could do about it and
pushed full force ahead. I now hang in the high 190 range and life is so
much easier physically, not to mention the clothes shopping is awesome.
You need to do some deep thinking and search your soul to find the right
answer for you. Blessings, Chris D.
— zoedogcbr
January 12, 2005
A word of advice, get a mask that you can wear and WEAR IT. This is
further damageing your heart, because of lack of oxygen. If you have
surgery and have problems you may have to go an a ventilator. Yes I am
trying to scare you, this is so important. Do you know thats why people
die in their sleep, its because they didnt get enough oxygen that their
heart got so starved for oxygen it just stops beating? (this is what the
doctor told my husband), It will only take a few days to get use to it, my
husband didnt like it either, but now... he wouldnt even consider sleeping
without it because he knows it has saved his life. He sleeps like the
dead..no pun intended now that he uses his c-pap and its the first thing he
packs when we go on vacation or go anywhere overnight. This machine is as
important as takiing blood pressure medicine, or diabetic meds or anything.
Please,please,please practice wearing it during the day or evening when
your watching tv so you can get use to it, and wear it all night. you will
be supprised how wonderful you feel once you start wearing it. My husband
even said after his wls that even if he doesnt need it he might continue to
use it for the rest of his life. Im sorry this just scares me, I hope you
will reconsider using it. Good luck Rosemary
— wizz40
January 12, 2005
At a pressure setting of 17 I never did get used to my bi pap, it caused
severe GERD:( Anyhow I told my surgeon who had me in a monitored bed after
surgery, with a pulse ox monitor too, and on oxygen. They limited my pain
meds a bit so as to not depress my breathing futher and reportedly just
kept increasing the oxygen till I was stable. I haD NO PROBLEMS, do tell
your surgeon and the everyone the morning of surgery so your safe.
— bob-haller
January 12, 2005
Mary, Please, please try again with CPAP, maybe a different mask. It is so
very important! My friend, Ginger Brewster, her story is on the memorial
page of this website, died because of complications she had after WLS due
to her sleep apnea being untreated. It is also important that they keep
you in ICU where they can monitor you very carefully right after surgery so
you don't stop breathing. If you cannot use the CPAP you may need to be on
a ventilator and you'd want to be right there in ICU having your breathing
monitored rather than in a regular room unmonitored and then you stop
breathing and no one knows it. Please read the story on Ginger Brewster on
the memorial page and you'll understand how serious of a problem this can
be. If you have any questions please feel free to e-mail me. Best of Luck
to you.
— Hackett
January 12, 2005
The only reason I knew that I had sleep apnea was because my surgeon
required me to do a sleep study. I hated the thought of needing a machine
to sleep with at night and I fought wearing it for a week or so. Finally
my husband made me realize that if I didn't use my CPAP my oxygen levels
would not improve and I would be risking having my surgery postponed or
cancelled. It took a full week to get used to wearing it and also learning
how to sleep with my mouth closed but that was just a week in the big
scheme of things. I had used it for one month prior to my surgery and went
through surgery with a breeze. I brought my machine down with me but never
needed after I woke up. I did continue using it at night in the hospital
and for a few weeks after I got home. I stopped using it about 2 weeks
ago, only 1 month after surgery. I haven't had any of the side effects of
sleep apnea, like waking up 5-6 times, going to the bathroom nonstop at
night or waking up with my head pulsating because of lack of oxygen!
Bottom line.....it is only going to help you in the long run. What is a
couple of months compared to maybe being able to stop using it all together
after your surgery? Best wishes!
— Stephanie W.
January 13, 2005
Mary,
I had horrible sleep apnea before my surgery. I had a very high setting on
my CPAP - but it was useless. Even the sleep study tech said -
"They're gonna want to give you a CPAP - but honestly, your reading
isn't any better with it than without it!" I had to use the face mask
- that was the only way it would work at all, and then, only for a very
brief period of time. Honestly, the only way I could get any sleep was
sitting up in a recliner (which I did for a couple of years before my
surgery), and then I would only get anywhere between 45 minutes and 2 hours
sleep a night - interrupted, of course because of the episodes of apnea.
Yes, I, too, had congestive heart failure from the sleep apnea. It is very
frightening - in fact, I was beginning to have little heart attacks - and
my PCP was concerned I wouldn't live to even SEE my WLS because of that!
I went to Spain for my surgery. I had an open BPD/DS with Dr. Aniceto
Baltasar 2.5 years ago. I was a self-pay patient - and, well, Dr. Baltasar
is one of the world's leading bariatric surgeons and he just wasn't thrown
for a loop about ANY of my issues. I had out of control diabetes on
multiple medications, stroke level hypertension on multiple medications,
the severe obstructive sleep apnea, horrible GERD, stress incontinence, and
I was in a wheelchair because of degenerative joint disease in my back and
bilateral grade 4 degeneration of my knees. He was so awesome, and so not
worried about my surgery being anything other than successful.
And he was right! My surgery lasted 80 minutes and included the DS,
gallbladder, and appendix removal. I was up walking to the toilet within 3
hours of surgery. For quite some time I'd only been able to stand for
about 30 seconds at a time because of my back and knees. Yet - by 1 week
post-op I walked 1/8th of a mile for the first time in YEARS. Not only
that, I was off of all of my diabetes and hypertension meds by the time I
was discharged.
AND, amazingly - before I was even discharged from the hospital, I slept my
first 6-hour, completely uninterrupted, snore-free sleep in YEARS. My
husband thought I'd died! He kept coming over and looking at me! I've
been sleeping 8-hour nights ever since.
So yes, it's really important, however, to have an incredible surgeon on
your side!
Blessings,
dina
— Dina McBride
January 13, 2005
I would definitely keep trying with the C-Pap machine. It takes a little
time to let yourself get used to it, but it will help you. I had a
horrible time adjusting to getting used to wearing glasses all the time.
The only thing that kept me from taking them off was the fact that I could
see again and couldn't see without them. Now, I can't get used to not
having them. Eventually, it will be that way with your C-Pap machine, but
it takes a little time to get used to new things. It will definitely help
your breathing following surgery. I have a friend who has been using his
C-Pap machine since before his WLS. He still uses it because he has
problems yet if he doesn't with his breathing. You would make things a
whole lot easier on yourself, but it takes a little patience to allow
yourself time to adjust to something new.
— SnowWhiteDove459
January 14, 2005
Rub a dab of Vicks Vapo Rub down your nose and it helps you breath with a
mask on...
— Sandra B.
January 14, 2005
Rub a dab of Vicks Vapo Rub down your nose and it helps you breath with a
mask on...
— Sandra B.
January 20, 2005
I had a successful WSL LAP surgery on 12/13/04 with no complications. I
have severe sleep apnea and the CPAP machine is set at 14. There is a new
headset out there called a "Swift." It's much better than the
old hard ones. It is soft all over so you can sleep on your side. It has
the air pillows too. I had to bring my sleep apnea machine with me to the
hospital. The day of the surgery, every time I closed my eyes when I got
to my room after recovery, I would quit breathing. It's very dangerous and
scary. I took myself off the morphine pump myself that first evening and
had respiratory thereapy hook me up to my CPAP. You could very easily die
by stopping to breath. Take it seriously and get your CPAP machine.
Learning to deal with sleeping with it is a lot better than the alternative
if you get my drift.
— Debbie R.
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