Can You Cure Sleep Apnea?

This is a question I asked myself when I was diagnosed with sleep apnea. Is there a cure for sleep apnea? The short answer is no, but it comes with a catch.

That catch is that there are ways to resolve sleep apnea to where you don’t need a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine, but it will come with some hard work and a little bit of luck. There is no one cure for sleep apnea, but there are things you can do to help improve your sleep apnea and possibly lose the machine.

Weight loss

The first thing you will probably have to do is lose some weight. Having extra weight can cause sleep apnea to be worse than when you are at an optimal weight and body fat percentage. There is no guarantee this will work or help, but the worst thing that will happen is you will be a healthier version of you.

Weight loss does not have to be quick or in a certain time frame. As long as you are working towards your goal, you are doing everything you can. Remember the end goal of your hard work, and this will help you achieve your goal and stay on track when you are having doubts or a rough week following your diet and exercise routine.

Surgery

Surgery can be another possible “cure” to sleep apnea. It was thought when I was snoring a lot and said to probably have sleep apnea, that my nose was the issue.

My ear, nose, and throat doctor said I had a deviated septum, which was obstructing airflow through my nose, making me a mouth breather, which could be the cause of my sleep apnea.

Of course, the surgery didn’t work for my sleep apnea, but it did help with my breathing and when wearing a CPAP, being able to breathe with your nose is essential. The surgery was not fun, and at the time, the shoved packing up your nose for about a week was the worst. Recently, a co-worker had the same surgery done, and the recovery was so much better. So for anyone who needs this surgery, it isn’t as bad as it used to be.

Medications

Is there a medication that can essentially cure sleep apnea and get rid of the CPAP? No, there isn’t, and even if there were, taking medication wouldn’t mean that you are cured. I do think medication would be helpful because there are some people who don’t wear a CPAP because of claustrophobia. But for those of us who don’t mind the CPAP, medication would probably be a worse option than the CPAP.

I am in no way opposed to medication when needed, but I am all about taking less medication if I can. A CPAP is a one-time cost, while medications can cost money every month to 3 months, forever. No, thank you.

No cure yet

So, as you were probably aware, there is no definitive cure to sleep apnea, but with the CPAP essentially resolving sleep apnea, it isn’t a huge deal that there is no cure. There are a few things you can try to make it better for you, which would be great.

Losing weight is good for everyone to try who thinks they need to lose weight. Surgery, however, is not something you should try to get just to cure sleep apnea. Only get that if your doctor says you need to. Until there is a cure, we will all have to lay back and enjoy our CPAP machines.