I would suggest you lose weight anyway. I also encourage you to do as your doctor recommends WRT any sort of respiratory therapy. Oxygen is sort of vitally important to your brain. If your pulse ox is running 99% great, if it is sub 90%, well, that is bad.

Patrick,

If you smoke you best quit, that scheisse will kill you and take a looong time to do it.

Toby

Weight is often a factor, but not the only factor. I've lost considerable weight since I started about 10 yrs ago......My sleep Doc sez I can do another sleep study and probably be fine without CPAP. I declined. I've gotten so that I prefer it......

my story exactly...

You have no idea how much I weigh. Why would you suggest I lose weight?

Yes, they list smoking as one of the major exacerbating factors in sleep apnea.

Lighten up WD. No pun intended. Tobra is simply stating that being overweight can increase the chance of snoring/sleep apnea.

^^

OK, let me restate it.
You have no idea how much anyone here weighs. Why would you suggest we lose weight "anyway?"

A lot of people with obstructive sleep apnea don't know they have it. Answers to a couple of simple questions could suggest a need to have it evaluated.

1. Do you feel rested when you wake? If not, is it because you didn't sleep well or were not in bed long enough? If you find yourself in bed for 7-9 hours but still poorly rested, that could be a OSA problem as it keeps you from reaching deep, restorative levels of sleep.

2. Does your spouse/S.O./who ever notice that you snore then stop breathing for a bit followed by a gasp and snoring deeply/loudly? If so, you almost certainly have it.

So, what to do?

1. Consider asking about a sleep study.
2. If you have OSA, get all of your options. Some people need to lose weight, some are retrognathic (google it), some need a dental appliance, some need CPAP, some might need surgery (UPP and/or tonsilectomy). At the end of the day, the issue is that there is tissue obstructing the airway during sleep and that causes real problems up to and including not waking up one day because of it.

Because you said you could stand to lose some weight and you are asking about CPAPs. A smart ENT would not be a bad idea, my brother had issues similar to those you describe. He had a uvulaplasty, or whatever they call it, but continued to have issues until he lost weight. Patrick, I addressed you more personally than I customarily address anyone because this is serious business and my words are sincere, Toby. I don't think you are fat, that shirt just makes you look fat.

PS Tonsillectomy is no joke in an adult, actually sucks almost as much donkey balls as a kidney stone.

So Pavulon, what is it about human anatomy that has allowed people to evolve to a point where the tissue in their throats prevents them from being able to breathe while sleeping?

JA

I use to do CPAP. I actually liked it and slept like a baby. I've lost weight, though, and no longer need it. Others in the house may disagree...LOL

That reads like a rather pointed question for some reason...at least a little.

In any event, I suspect that the problem has been around for long as people have presented in all shapes and sizes. Some think that selection for the ability to produce complex sounds (speech) has promoted it. Of course, the diagnosis of it has exploded ever since treatments were developed (draw your own conclusions here). I'm sure there are other notions as well but Google produced those below. Did you have other ideas?

Sleep apnea, evolution, and breathing masks: an excerpt from David K. Randall’s Dreamland

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http://www.ersj.org.uk/content/7/10/1741.full.pdf

Evolution of snoring and sleep apnea | herworldPLUS

I've been a snorer since I was a skinny immigrant kid.

I don't sleep well without my CPAP anymore. I wish I could use it on a plane ride. It's embarrassing waking up to your own snoring.

I'm not familiar with the counter you are referring to. It may be something that your machine shows that mine doesn't? It was always my understanding that the insurance companies that monitor such things, before covering the cost, are going by average actual usage (mine doesn't care) in hours/day.

I don't pay any attention to what the machine displays as that is VERY limited. There is a free software package you can get that will show you exactly what your doctor can see in incredible detail. You will need an SD card reader to use it. From my experience my sleep Dr. didn't even get to see this level of detail but only received a small snapshot of a portion from the DME provider.

SleepyHead OpenSource CPAP Review Software
SleepyHead OpenSource CPAP Review Software

I find it really useful to monitor how things are going. I've been on the machine for ~1 1/2 years and find I can't sleep without it. Sure, sometimes annoying but for the most part it's now just white noise.

Not a user but my understanding is that if you need it you better make sure you're using it as there is great cost for not doing so in terms of your health.

I didn't say I need to lose any more weight and neither did my doctor. He said just the opposite. He showed me the list of recommended therapies for those who experience apnea and went down the list.

1. Lose weight if you are overweight.
"Won't help you, you aren't overweight.

2. Stop smoking.
"Won't help, you don't smoke.

3. CPAP
"I recommend this"

4. surgery
"It's surgery. I don't recommend it."

It counts number of hrs/day and the number days/month that hrs/day is greater than 4. Insurance wants to see 21 out of 30 days where it is used at least 4hrs per day or they assume you aren't using it enough for them to pay for it.

Thank you for that URL. It is exactly what I need.

I'd be curious what SH shows in the Overview > Usage graph. You'll see that it automatically red flags sessions that are less than 4 hours per day.

Everything's linked under the download page but in case you missed it the MAN is here:
SleepyHead Users Guide - SleepyHead Wiki