You’ve Lost the Weight, Should You Lose the CPAP?

I remember eating dinner with part of my family and three gentlemen who would give a presentation later in the evening. As you know when there are parties who don’t know each other, this common question is almost always asked: "What do you do for a living?"

I am sure you’ve been asked this 100 times. Like you, I was asked this question. So after explaining my career as a sleep technologist, one of the gentlemen started talking about how he used to wear CPAP until he lost weight, and now he doesn’t snore anymore.

A valid question

Sitting across from him, I noticed he was still overweight. And honestly, if I were a betting man, I am guessing he still had sleep apnea.

But I understand his perspective. He lost the weight, shouldn’t he lose the CPAP? I actually think that’s a valid question, and in fact, I hope everyone can lose the weight and stop wearing CPAP. But I’d like everyone to do it the right way so you don’t begin to experience pre-CPAP symptoms.

Before ditching PAP, remember this tip

If you’ve recently been diagnosed with sleep apnea and your mindset is to get off the PAP device, losing weight might help with the goal.

Naturally, since many people who have sleep apnea also have obesity, (although not all) it’s reasonable to assume if you lose weight you might not have sleep apnea anymore. But before you just cast the mask, machine, and hose into the attic, consider the rest of my article.

Find out your severity level

Just a quick point of sleep knowledge: While many people have sleep apnea, they don’t all have it to the same degree. What do I mean? Just as blood pressure has different levels (mild, moderate, and severe), so does sleep apnea. So why is it important to know your level? It may give a clue as to how much weight you need to lose. The more severe, the more weight you’ll need to lose.

What if you lose weight?

So, let’s say you lose 50 pounds with moderate sleep apnea and your spouse says, “I don’t hear you snore anymore.” Don’t just assume you should discontinue the CPAP, thinking the sleep apnea is gone.

You might have just improved it considerably (I’ll talk more about that in a minute), which by the way, is a great accomplishment, and you should be pleased with that.

How to get retested for sleep apnea

If you feel strongly that your sleep apnea has improved to the point that you don’t need the CPAP, I would encourage you to get retested. I would contact your family doctor or your sleep doctor and discuss getting retested to see if you still need the CPAP.

Most likely, you can get this done one of two ways: through a home study or an in-lab test. In order to help you sleep better on the day of testing, remove yourself from CPAP three days prior.

If the results come back that you no longer have sleep apnea, you can discontinue (with your doctor's permission) the CPAP.

What if you still have sleep apnea?

But, what if you still have sleep apnea after being tested? Was the weight lost in vain?

Perhaps not. Perhaps you improved the apnea and you’re a candidate for a lower pressure. The less pressure someone needs, there’s a higher chance that someone will tolerate CPAP better.

Please feel free to ask questions or comment below!