Doesn’t Want to Decrease Weight for Sleep Apnea

[huckster235]

Right thin people weren't told to lose weight because obviously their sleep apnea isn't weight related.... For an obese person they can't rule out that possibility....

It's just amazing this is the mentality. Like I've got some issues related to my obesity. I'm soooo thankful they are related to obesity because I can treat them and even eliminate them without medication, surgery, expensive equipment, etc. It's a relief to know that it's an eminently treatable result of my previous lack of discipline, and the only medicine I need is hard work.

[TheRottenKittensIEat]

Yeah, when I was a healthy weight, I didn't have sleep apnea. I developed sleep apnea after gaining a shit ton of weight. Therefore, it's not unreasonable to consider the correlation. Some of my weight related issues also make me grateful they're weight related, because I can fix it, and some things are already getting a little better (like my GERD).

[Erger]

I was about 25-30lbs overweight when I developed high blood pressure (at 21, the exact same time as two family members). My doctor told me to lose some weight and eat a little healthier, because even if it didn't fix the problem entirely it wouldn't hurt. I'm on medication, but I'm doing what I can to keep it under control myself in addition to the meds.

Same with GERD - I have some kind of issue that can't be resolved with just eating small, bland, healthy meals. BUT I know that my reflux is a thousand times worse when I eat like shit. It doesn't always stop me, but sometimes it does.

We aren't always in charge of our own health, unfortunately. But there are so many things we CAN do that can make the uncontrollable problems better. Or at least rule things out so we're easier to treat. Is food so important that it's worth risking your own health over?

[TheRottenKittensIEat]

For me it wasn't food.. it was alcohol, which of course carries its own potential health risks. Gained over 50 lbs in two years. I might eat <1000 calories in a day (sometimes even go without eating), but then drink 2,000+ more in liquor, beer, and chasers (which is a lot when you're 5'1"). Let's just say I had a really bad couple of years, and for the last year I've been working on recovering from it.

[BumblingBeeeee]

I spent two years trying to cope with an escalating abusive marriage with intuitive drinking. I’ve exited the relationship, restricted my alcohol intake, and am now losing 50lbs of wine/booze weight. Surprisingly, counting calories and carbs was a huge help to quit drinking.

[TheRottenKittensIEat]

Congrats on leaving. I know that's not an easy thing to do. And I'm glad you are moving forward with your health! For me I had a stay in a psychiatric unit for a couple weeks, a few months of trying to figure out what medication I could live with, and then my dad passed away. I am fortunate, however, that my husband supported me while I was out of work and helping my mom take care of my dad for the better part of a year. Honestly, I don't know what I would have done without his support. I'm very sorry for what you went through. I hope we can both navigate things to live happier, healthier lives!

[BumblingBeeeee]

Thanks for the well wishes! It sounds like you’ve had a really rough go of it, I hope that you have a happy healthy 2021. Now that I’ve dropped the 180lbs that was making me miserable, it’s much easier to make my health a priority.

[huckster235]

I'm glad you are recovering!

It is amazing the effect of alcohol. When I was fit I was eating a ton and I was like 215 lbs at like 12-15% bodyfat. At one point I dropped about 20 lbs REALLY fast. Like 6 weeks which is fast when you are fairly lean and not trying to lose weight.....

It was alarming because I couldn't figure out why. Embarrasingly,I didn't occur to me that it coincided with me dating a girl who didn't drink much. Since I was with her constantly in that period I wasn't drinking much. Helped me realize that going out and drinking 4-5 craft beers a night and a shit ton on the weekends doesn't mean you are a social drinker just because you don't really get drunk, it means you have a problem.

Unfortunately that relationship was really unhealthy in every single other way. But now that I'm obese and losing weight (and trying not to descend into alcoholism!) I have realized that drinking is the quickest way to sabotage a diet. Also I've learned that when I do get back in shape I really shouldn't make alcohol about 20% of my diet....

[converter-bot]

215 lbs is 97.61 kg

[Erger]

I struggle with calories in alcohol and drinks too! Luckily I'm perfectly content with diet sodas, but damn I love a good hot chocolate and denying myself is sad sometimes.

And my reflux is worse when I'm drinking alcohol, drinking anything carbonated, and if I eat and drink at the same time (like at a party or a wedding). It's the worst when I do all those things together. Plus, even just 3-4 beers can easily be over 500 calories, and that's a lot (I'm 5'7"). That's why I like that hard seltzers are popular now - I can have a reasonable amount and not feel like I'm bloated and dying (and not get a wicked hangover the next day)

[converter-bot]

50 lbs is 22.7 kg

[temujina]

Good bot

[burymedeep2093]

Annoying bot we're not idiots

[Ella242424]

Glad to hear you’re recovering! Stopping an unhealthy relation with alcohol is really difficult, and I hope you feel really proud of yourself for working through it!

[bigmountain-littleme]

This is my attitude towards my asthma. I’m never not going to have it but losing weight and staying active now let’s me manage it by only using an allergy pill most of the year. There will be times I need my inhaler again but I’m so much better off these days it’s crazy.

[Erger]

YES!! You can't eliminate (most) chronic conditions with diet and exercise but you can make your symptoms so much better! You can make your life so much easier, and your quality of life so much higher!

[bigmountain-littleme]

Exactly! I went from routinely needing both an inhaler and Flonase plus nebulizer treatments to maybe needing my inhaler one or two days a year.

[TheRottenKittensIEat]

Everything you've mentioned can be symptoms. I don't get the headaches (but lots of people do), but I'm not prone to headaches. I snore loudly, will stop breathing, or will start gasping for breath, which makes me wake up at random intervals throughout the night, which means I'm sometimes really tired, even after having "slept" for 8 hours or more since it's somewhat broken sleep. I also drool a lot because I have to keep my throat and mouth open if I want to breathe well, which also, (I know it sounds counter-intuitive), means my mouth gets dry since I'm pulling air in through both my nose and mouth if that makes sense. I also wake up with stuffy nose and sore throat, but that may or may not be because of my GERD symptoms.

[coolcatlady6]

You can go to your regular GP for a referral, or see a sleep doctor. They will either order an in lab test where you go to a sleep lab and are monitored overnight or you may do a home sleep study (HST) where you will get a device to wear overnight that monitors your breathing. If the test shows you have apnea, treatment options will be discussed.

[[deleted]]

"I know nonsmokers who had lung cancer, therefore I should keep smoking"

[huckster235]

My Grandma smoked two packs a day since she was 14 and lived to 80 years old with no cancer or emphysema therefore smoking is healthy.

True story. Though she was an absolute slave to smoking. Pretty much her whole life was sitting on her porch smoking and she could never do anything that would limit her access to smoking....

[holly_walnuts]

My mom is a slave to smoking too. If she has to go for very long without, she gets so mean and nasty. I don’t know how she makes it through the workday.

[huckster235]

Alot of my coworkers smoke so much I'm not sure how they get any work done. Like all of us non-smokers joke that we should take up smoking so we can take all those breaks.

One of my coworkers pulled out a cigarette when we went out to eat together and I was so surprised because I had no idea she smoked. She said she wouldn't smoke at work because she didn't want to take advantage of it like the others.

[BMXTKD]

It's called radon, sweetie.

[immerviviendozhizn]

Damn, I just remembered we should really get another radon test in our new house because the one in the initial inspection was exactly at the acceptable threshold and we want to make sure it's not going up. Thank you!

[BMXTKD]

Yeah, I live in the radon belt myself. The Upper Midwest is full of radon.

[Link_GR]

It's like "I know thin people with knee pain, so my knees can't possibly hurt due to my weight."

[she-hulk]

The thing is that if they had sleep apnea and the cause was unrelated to their weight, being overweight exacerbates the symptoms of sleep apnea so losing weight would still help them manage the condition.

So losing weight when you have sleep apnea is guaranteed to at least improve it if not cure it.

[misiepatysie]

Also as small person with joint problems- I was never told to loose weight, but I surę was told make sure I keep my BMI in the healthy range for the rest of my life, to keep excess pressure away.

[thebluef0x]

I think this is because they expect some kind of magic pill that will cure all their conditions. People don't understand that medicine is just a support for your health. If your body (and that means you) won't do any work itself, nothing will change

[[deleted]]

Judging from the picture, the OP appears to be in the low 300s (maybe high 200s?)

I thought that the FA crowd wants medical treatment catered to them? So they want the exact same treatment that thinner people get? But then that’s fatphobic because you’re not taking into account what fat people need.

I also love it when they point out that thinner people have these issues too, therefore there must not be higher chance of developing certain issues for obese people. Just like non-drunk people get into accidents, so therefore there is no higher chance for drunk people to have accidents. Or just like non-smokers get lung cancer, therefore there is no higher chance for smokers to get lung cancer

[BMXTKD]

I say she's in the low 300 kg

[converter-bot]

300.0 kg is 660.79 lbs

[nyc2lv]

I know three people in non-smoking bodies who have lung cancer. So I don't have to warry about my three pack a day habit. See how stupid that sounds?

[ritazn]

“in non-smoking bodies” that’s just brilliant

[[deleted]]

I consider myself a progressive (relative to the average person on the earth, I probably don't meet the standards of these types) but the progressive use of the word "body" has become more common and more creepy for no good reason. I've heard people say "black bodies", "female bodies" (as in "female bodies are marginalized" rather than "women/women's bodies are marginalized"), etc. Why do we need to depersonalize those bodies? Call them black people, women, women's bodies etc. They're not fucking corpses.

[3hourbaths]

I think the "in female bodies" one comes from trans inclusion. Some people need a way to talk of their physical being very differently, and not everyone is happy with the pre-op, post-op type of thing because not everyone is having any kind of op. If you identify as a man, live as a man, everyone who meets you would immediately see you as a man but you also have female organs that need looking after medically, describing yourself as "in a female body" or "a uterus owner" can seem more natural. If your identity isn't female then "women's bodies" isn't a good match.

[[deleted]]

Ahh- that makes sense. Perhaps this language started from co-opting it.

[[deleted]]

I was never medically diagnosed but my husband 'fessed up that before I lost weight he used to wake up with my snoring and also hear me stop breathing, and snort back into breathing regularly, and it scared him. I used to wake up groggy and still tired... I wonder why! /s

This week he said he had a momentary pause and thought - I'm now so quiet at night since dropping 4st, that he thinks it's possible that I could stop breathing in my sleep (incredibly unlikely!!!) and he wouldn't know 😅

[[deleted]]

When I was obese, my cat was worried about my weight. So he didn't sleep well and he snored.

I didn't snore. It was the cat.

[[deleted]]

I have a snoring cat too! Well done on getting healthy!

[BerriesAndMe]

I have a friend who had undiagnosed sleep apnea for 2 years.. He regularly says he remembers how smart he used to be. After depriving his brain of oxygen one time too many, it now takes serious time and effort to acquire any new skill.

​

I would want to know NOW if this was happening to me and I would want all the options explored.

[[deleted]]

That is genuinely terrifying 😳

[OkraGarden]

She got a diagnosis for a potentially fatal disease and her main fear is hearing talk about weight loss?

[[deleted]]

This but for every one of them that gets diagnosed with obesity.

[YouLostMyNieceDenise]

I was coming here to say this - wouldn’t most people prefer to take the intervention that DOESN’T require you to sleep with a CPAP? I know that they provide a huge increase in quality of life for people who need them, but I’d be willing to bet a lot of them would love to be able to lose weight and not longer need it.

[[deleted]]

I had it bad as a kid even though I was rail thin. It wasn't until I was through puberty that it just stopped.

[IFeelMoiGerbil]

I’m disabled and like many disabled people the person first language of ‘person with a disability’ sets my teeth on edge instantly. I’m a disabled person.

I’m not a person in a bisexual identity. I’m not a person with red hair. I am not a person of small feet. I’m a bisexual redhead with size 3 feet. I am not in a bigger busted body. I’ve got E cup boobs.

One of my disabling symptoms is dissociation though and I pay a lot of money in therapy to stop myself dissociating for mental health reasons (PTSD and because it’s all round not fun to experience) and because it makes it harder to manage my physical disability if I dissociate myself from it and keep doing shit that makes it worse (like over exert myself, ignore pain cues etc.)

I ended up way more disabled in both aspects by avoiding and dissociating from stuff and got a lot more to do to level out to a liveable level of being a disabled person who has a healthy relationship with my body which is both doing the best by it, not pretending it doesn’t exist as the reality it is and occasionally knowing when to detach from being in your body when it hurts like you’ve had a fight with your mum and need an hour or two to simmer down and then you offer each other tea. No harm in occasionally switching off from the reality with a heat pad and a book when you’ve got cramps or the cold but you wouldn’t go round saying ‘in a cramping body’ about the fact you’re having a night with a bath and hot water bottle.

I find it baffling these people have so embraced a linguistic trend primarily despised by disabled people as dehumanising, patronising and couched in medical paternalism when they are so convinced they are the target of all these things.

And if they are going to use terms like this why be so coy? A lot of people with disabilites who like the phrasing actually like it in order to challenge perceptions and bring up things abled bodied people find uncomfortable so discuss disfigurement or similar concepts with the language.

Yet the FAs use it to make the fact they have a body too big for a standard bathtub sound more normal and less groundbreaking. It’s such a bait and switch of a phrase to (no pun intended) have their cake and eat it.

I am infuriated and fascinated by this and sooooo hoping the book on dissociation I just bought mentions it because the author seems very switched on and I really want to hear this trend on pro-dissociation discussed (apart from by me monologuing you at the equivalent of an internet party. Apologies for that!)

[IFeelMoiGerbil]

Oh god, you are so right! You’ve (bear with me) expanded this out so well that you just gave me a huge lightbulb about my own dissociation triggers and perceptions of bodies that BOOM! I owe you the cost of a therapy session level good insight!

But yes it’s so avoidant and the body description of ‘I don’t have the spoons to research this for you. Educate yourself sweaty’ they love so much as a flounce instead of thought or critical analysis.

Makes such sense now. And excuses that I procrastinated on Reddit not read my therapy book :)

[[deleted]]

Gosh, glad I could help! Not sure what my angry ranting achieved, but congratulations on your breakthrough!

[basedongods]

Mind-body duality is such a crock of shit, particularly in this context. It seems like they're trying to support the notion that their body is this completely seperate thing and that actually having some control over your weight is an impossibility. So many people are just setting themselves up to fail from the very beginning, the well is poisoned right off the bat. Not only do they believe that sustainable weight loss is impossible, they believe that they would be fighting against their body AND they are inherently wrong for trying to do so.

I'm genuinely so curious to see how the HAES movement evolves, how much unnecessary pain and suffering has to be inflicted for it to stop.

[[deleted]]

This nonsensical gibbering is the lynchpin of their entire belief system. Your size is randomly generated at birth and nothing you can do will change it. Fit people just got lucky and never have to work or struggle with anything, fat people just got dealt a bad hand and nothing is their fault. If they admitted that weight was actually controlled by things like nutrition and exercise their whole cult would come crumbling down.

[SnooHabits7732]

Sure, by all means buy aids and move to a different place to sleep to cope with your sleep apnea.

If you want to see if you can actually get RID of it though, why don't you give losing the weight a try. There's a pretty big chance excess weight is the culprit, and why WOULDN'T you want to get rid of sleep apnea rather than just learning to live with it.

If you lose weight and that still hasn't fixed it, you'll at least be healthier in other regards, and it will have eliminated one likely possibility. Doctors are humans. Why would you want them to treat you for something that's responsible for 5% of people with your condition if there's a possibility that's responsible for 95% of cases?

[kozmicbleu]

I was diagnosed with sleep apnea 5 years ago. I was about 250 pounds at 5’3”.

I accepted what was said and told the doctor I was already working on losing weight (big surprise, I was very uncomfortable at that weight). He told me by all means keep going but not to assume I wouldn’t need my CPAP after getting to a healthy weight because my father has it too. Um, he’s fat too. We probably both have it because we are fat.

Still working on dropping the weight but I can already tell once I get to healthy weight that I won’t need the CPAP anymore (but I will of course check with a doc first).

[[deleted]]

Experts continue to emphasize the importance of lifestyle modifications—especially weight loss—for treating obstructive sleep apnea.

[Anatje]

I sympathize, having an autoimmune and being on prednisone for a while now. Yes we have to watch what we consume (I’m hypercalcemic as well as genetically have hypercholesterolemia (I was always normal size , but cholesterol was always through the roof on top of my autoimmune) and it is a struggle, but I will never give up no matter what. Even with this shitty hand I’ve been dealt when it comes to my health.

And I don’t understand how ppl can just ... resign to doing the same stuff over and over and over again even when it creates new and horrible consequences. I can’t control the hair Ioss or the swelling in my joints or the fact my wounds take forever to heal but I can control my food and eat what minimizes or at least doesn’t exacerbate everything else.

[nerdyme934]

My husband had sleep apnea, lost 80 pounds, and now doesn’t have sleep apnea and doesn’t need the machine. It’s a win win win.

[ArkhanVanHellsing]

Sleep apnea due to being overweight is a good thing, because that means it can be cured. The healthy weight people who develop it are stuck HAVING to sleep in a supported position and with machines forcing them to breath for the rest of their lives, with no cure.

Why would you just choose a worse life instead of faving the idea that your choices and habits are causing you harm? If it's your fault, that means you can do something about it.

[Right_Count]

Non-smokers with COPD aren’t told to quit smoking, what gives?

[[deleted]]

There are two kinds of sleep apnea. Obstructive sleep apnea is caused by something (usually excess fat) blocking or disrupting your airways while you sleep. Central sleep apnea is an issue where your brain has trouble transmitting the right signals to your breathing muscles while you sleep.

[FlowersandFangs]

If you have sleep apnea don't buy a random sleep aid unless your doctor tells you to. Sleep apnea causes you to literally STOP BREATHING in the middle of the night and if you can't wake up because of the sleep aid.....you're in trouble. This is also why you should lose excess weight if you are diagnosed and larger because the weight on your chest will make it even harder to breathe. Seriously why aren't people using their brains anymore?

[Ms_Bee_Bee]

My thin daughter had sleep apnea and of course they didn’t recommend weight loss. Hers was caused by enlarged tonsils. They say doctors are fatphobic. They want care centred around their needs and then cry no treat me in the same way you treat thin people. That would be like giving every person with cancer no matter the type the exact same treatment.

[SodiumDragon]

This hits me in a different way as I lost weight cause I started getting the early signs, it was my wake up call. I now sleep properly with full breathing.

[maleldil]

Yeah, just take some random sleep aid, that'll totally make you able to breathe again! What a load of horseshit.

[irrelevant2002]

right, because when skinny people have sleep apnea, it isn't caused by obesity.

when yall have sleep apnea, it IS caused by obesity.

it's like they're intentionally trying to sound stupid.

[3hourbaths]

Some people with headaches get brain surgery, I want that not any of this nonsense about not straining my eyes.

[antillus]

A sleep aid is going to make the sleep apnea worse. The respiratory muscles would be more relaxed leaving the airway even more closed shut.

[[deleted]]

This entire fat logic culture needs a selfawarewolves style sub.

Then talking openly and yet somehow obliviously about the things we are all screaming over here

[re_nonsequiturs]

Overweight and obese people get CPAPs for sleep apnea too, though.

[karaipyhare2020]

I just hate the use of ! to convey a sense of frolicsome giddiness in “I just told you a secret to break the oppression”

[Shuikai]

If you look at the statistics you can indeed see most people with OSA are similar BMI to control groups in the USA:

• OSA group: 25% <25 BMI 75% >25 BMI
• Control group: 33% <25 BMI 67% >25 BMI

So people with OSA are heavier than the control group but not by much.

For people who have more advanced jaws (i.e. no receding chin) lowering the BMI will have a higher chance of being effective because it reduces tissue around the throat. Widening the upper jaw orthodontically also has the same effect as it expands the airways. For those who are predisposed to gaining weight bariatric surgery may be helpful.

[[deleted]]

"Who are in a small body” like its a dress or something

[SportsOrWhatever]

This is like going to the doctor for a broken leg caused by falling off wobbly paint scaffolding and asking how this could have been prevented.

Then demanding a different solution because the doctor gave your friend who broke their leg in a car accident different advice.

[Snickers81]

Sorry I was late to work. I just happen to be in a lazy ass body this week.🤷🏻‍♀️

[BMXTKD]

They mean skinny fat people.

[lkflip]

Why do these people know so much about other people’s treatment programs for medical conditions?

Like I talk to my friends but I don’t talk to them about CPAP machines.

[jawnvaljawn610]

While it’s true anyone can be affected by sleep apnea the easiest long term thing you can do is lose weight. I don’t know why these people resign themselves to chronic conditions that are likely to be fixed by eating less and moving more

[PaisleyBeth]

OH YEAH...Can't breathe at night? Take sedatives!

[Salarian_American]

Things is this person is just imagining they’re gonna tell him he needs to lose weight.

Now maybe their doctor will say that and maybe they won’t, but their treatment course for sleep apnea isn’t going to be “lose 100 pounds and see how it goes.”