My doctor required that I get tested for sleep apnea before surgery. So I did - and was diagnosed with moderate sleep apnea. I was told to bring my C-PAP to the hospital, but the thing is, I never actually got one.

I hate that machine. I was hooked up to it during my overnight sleep test and slept horribly. I was told to contact a company to rent my own and never did. I know I'll have to pay lots of money out of pocket to get one, but I also know that when I lose some weight (I'm 240 right now) I won't need one anymore.

Did they ask you for your machine before your surgery? I don't want to get one and hope it's not going to cause a problem the day of surgery, which for me is July 29.

Well my doctor also required me to get one and bring it with me during surgery. I like you didn't want to get one and I didnt. So it ended up two days before my surgery that they told me if I didn't get one they would not do the surgery. I ended up rushing around and getting fitted for one. So my advice to you is to get one or your surgery will probably be delayed until you to

I was diagnosed with mild sleep apnea a few years ago but never followed up on getting the machine. My dr knew but didn't request me to get one. I was kept in ICU overnight to be monitored after the op. I'm in Australia so it might be different in the USA.

I am going for another sleep test tomorrow night because I thought I'd better make sure that it hasn't gotten worse over the last few years. Weight loss does help it but I would rather be sure.

I love my cpap! Yes, it took some getting use to. There have been a few times that I have fallen asleep without it and I felt like crap afterwards.

The mask can be uncomfortable, but it is worth it to me to get a good night's sleep and not wake up 28 times a min (according to my sleep study) and snore so loud that I wake up the whole house!

If you do a little research and find out just how much sleep apnea can hurt you physically, you might be a little more open to trying to adjust to the cpap. I had to start using one in April and I had a few really miserable, sleepless nights trying to get used to it.... I was really tired and frustrated, so I understand where you're coming from. But I did get used to it and I'm so thankful I did.

You can die from sleep apnea. That's pretty dramatic and most people don't die from it, but still.... most people don't have complications from lap band surgery but we still read about those who do, on this forum. They now suspect that a lot of "sudden infant death syndrome" deaths are from sleep apnea.

This website, Sleep Apnea Support Forum Index, was an enormous help to me when I was learning about sleep apnea and trying to get used to my bipap machine. (A bipap machine is just like cpap except it senses when you are breathing out and lowers the pressure so you're not breathing against such a strong wind force.... as I understand it).

I did have to bring my machine with me for surgery. The doctor would have cancelled surgery if I didn't bring it. Please give it a chance, it could help you a LOT and you really will get used to it!

By the way, losing weight does help eliminate sleep apnea for many people, but it doesn't do so for everyone. Being overweight is not the only cause of sleep apnea. There are plenty of thin people who need the xpap also.

Edited July 20, 200818 yr by Northwest_Nance

i to had to get a cpap machine and was told to bring it to the hospital the day of the operation....to find out they only wanted me to bring the mask...they supplied the machine at the hospital...and after losing 40 pounds i no longer need it...so i understand your delema

As a respiratory therapist who set these up everyday. You need to get one. If you have sleep apnea and are put to sleep while the medication is wearing off the apeneas are worse. So in recovery this may cause a delay in you getting to go home and be more costly in the long run. You are able to rent the machines on a monthly basis. If u have insurance most of the time they will cover it. with the surgery you may not have to pay anything. Depending on your deductible. Just look into they can tell you up front how much it will cost.

good luck

I've had a c-pap for 2 years. I rarely use it because I could never get used to it. I would take it off in the night without even waking up and knowing I did it! Every so often I try again, with the same result. I was banded on 6/18 and have lost 21 pounds. I hope soon I won't even have the mild sleep apnea I was diagnosed with. Anyway, my doctor mentioned bringing the c-pap to the hospital as they did not provide one and I said "No, I won't ever use it." He said "ok", and that was that. He also said many people aren't able to use the c-pap, but just be sure to tell any surgeon I ever have that I have sleep apnea, because then they use a breathing tube to make sure you breath correctly during surgey.(I had no sore throat afterwards.) My sleep study doctor also said that when I sleep on my side, I experience much less apnea, so I try to do this. He even suggested that when I go to bed placing a tennis ball in the top part of the back of my underwear so when I go to roll onto my back to sleep it would be a rememinder that was a no-no! I started out at 236, close to your 240 and hope to get rid of this sleep apnea with some weight loss.

Northwest_Nance, well said.

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I was diagnosed with severe sleep apnea over a year ago. At my titration, (when they have you wear the mask) I spent the most miserable night, staying awake for most of it. But after a year, I’ve noticed quite a difference. There are several kinds of masks, some are full face, some just go inside the nose, (nasal pillows) which is what I have. I had the first one during my titration and hated it.

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About six years ago, I had a hysterectomy, and because I had sleep apnea, I couldn’t have a morphine pump. My surgeon said it was safer to inject the pain medication in to the IV.

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Someone on the sleep apnea web site has something in his signature that says, (and I’m paraphrasing—the passengers died screaming, while the sleep apnea person died quietly in his sleep.

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If your apnea is moderate now, there is a possibility it can get worse, and, as pointed out above, losing weight does not ensure that it will go away.

I have severe sleep apnea and have been on CPAP for 5 years. It has had a tremendous impact on my life. Yes, it was hard to get used to , but I never realized how tired I was until I finally started to get a good night's sleep. I am so grateful that I didn't have a stroke prior to starting CPAP therapy. I shudder to think of what might have happened to me had I not forced myself to wear it every night until I became used to it.

Sure, I'm hoping that losing weight will eventually help me to get rid of it, but I have no problem with the idea that I may need to use it the rest of my life. Sleep apnea is not something to be taken lightly. Lap Band is uncomfortable at first too, but apparently you feel that it is worth it. Trust me, CPAP is worth it too.

They asked me to bring mine but then it was never used.

I'm on my 12-yr anniversary of getting a cpap and wow, has it ever made a difference.

And yes, I was utterly miserable at first. I had panic attacks from having to wear the mask -- it just freaked me out. I used the ramp-up feature on my machine for awhile, too.

It's terrific to get a good night's sleep though!! I'm hoping I eventually get to a weight where I don't need it, but I know even back when I was a size 12 in my early twenties that I snored like a hog, and I was in my normal weight range then. So I'm guessing I'm either going to have to be at the low end of the normal weight range to get rid of this thing, or I'll be stuck with it long term. Although as I near goal I might try a dental device instead and see if it works.

Well, you were scheduled for surgery on the 29th....

This might be a moot point now, but heres me two pieces of 'eight....(see avatar to understand that one...)

I got diagnosed with severe sleep apnea after my band surgeon ordered the sleep study. I had no freakin idea that was happening to me, and what it causes the body to do. It isn't just to help you sleep, it is to help your bodys organs regenerate...you can read all about it on the 'net..If they say you need it go get it.

I opted for the full face one, I couldn't take the nasal one, and I sleep like Rumplestiltskin now...feel fantastic all day long, metabolism increased, no more dozing off when behind boring drivers (just kiddin' there, but it CAN happen)...

Anyhow, turned out was having 53 apneas per hour, each one lasting between 16 and 25 seconds. Yeah, lotta great sleep there. I am used to telling things blunt, so..if the doc orders it, go get it ...

I have sleep apena and have had the machine for a year now. I can say that I have had the same type of problems with the mask. My settings have gone down since being banded. Iam down 60 lbs now. I am going to get another sleep study to see how we are doing with it. I also talked with the doctor and have gotton the herbest appliance and doing well with it. I still use the CPAP machine. When I had my surgery I had forgotton to take it with me and they said they had one I could use but it never got brought in for me to use. I did notice right after surgery I had a lot more air and burping with the cpap but took a while to get used to it.

Chris

Here's a related question--how much weight should you lose before getting another sleep study to see if you still need cpap?

I just got fitted for a new mask and I am still having problems adjusting. I have had the machine for a year and never found it easy to use. Maybe because the original mask was EXTREMELY uncomfortable. Hopefully I can get used to this new mask.

Sal

Your doctor should have set you up to get one. A good doctor will do that. If you have insurance, it should be covered. I have a cpap and I got used to it after about 3-4 nights. A good way to get used to it if it is really hard is to set a goal to wear it for 3 hours a night 1st week, 4 hours second week, etc... Keep bumping it up each week. One day, you'll wake up having slept through the night. I actually had to stop wearing it b/c I have bad, bad sinus problems and it was making me have ear and sinus infections. I have lost wnough weight that I am okay now though.

It really isn't bad, it's just something you have to get used to.