[shannonmb]

Originally Posted by kaplods

On a separate note, if he's not on a cpap or bipap machine for the sleep apnea I would HIGHLY recommend it. The only reason I was willing to try weight loss again was because of the 20 pounds I lost WITHOUT TRYING after I started using the cpap. My pulmonologist told me that I might lose a significant amount weight without trying once my sleep improved, and frankly I though he was off his rocker (I had never experienced incidental weight loss, or even effortless weight loss in my life).

The weight loss wasn't even the best result of using the cpap. The better sleep was life-changing. It was like coming out of a coma, or being cured of zombihood.

Thank you for reiterating this! Thank you, thank you, thank you! This cannot be stressed ENOUGH, IMHO, for ANYONE who thinks they may have sleep apnea. I have been using CPAP only since the beginning of May, and I literally have a new life, one that I never even imagined, let alone thought possible. EVERYTHING has changed for me.

Krampus, if your dad is not being treated properly for his sleep apnea, I would start there. Tell him to read the success stories at sleepapnea.org, and see if that doesn't light a fire under him.

[kaplods]

I wish I could persuade my husband to be tested, but he refuses. He doesn't believe that he could possibly have sleep apnea, because he "feels fine" in the morning (No he doesn't, because he has pain and joint issues, but because his symptoms aren't as severe as mine were, he thinks there's no problem).

I keep telling him that he probably does have apnea, just by the way he snores and gurgles while he's sleeping.

He says he could never get used to the cpap, and I tell him that he will get used to it and eventually it will be hard to sleep without it --when my apnea resolved and I had to do without the cpap, it took me almost a week to get used to sleeping without it, and a few weeks to get used to all of the night noises (including my husband's snoring) that the cpap drowned out.

[krampus]

I'm not sure which machine it is, but he's had a breathing machine for the sleep apnea for quite a few years. He sleeps like a quiet rock when he can (weight is only one of his many health problems, sadly)!

kaplods you raise an excellent point about self-motivation vs. pressure from family. You're absolutely right that laying on pressure or making cruel blanket statements like "You're killing yourself" do much more harm than good, and I spoke too hastily when I said "all it takes is someone saying something."

We spoke last night and he told me about how he lost a bunch of weight a couple years back by simply not eating dessert or fried foods, and how he'd like to do that again. I mostly just listened and occasionally said something along the lines of "Well, you know I love you and I support you in whatever you do." He sounds pretty fed up with his inactivity and size, so I'm hoping his long nights of envying David Tennant as a limber and active Doctor on "Doctor Who" will result in progress.

[Emma705]

That's wonderful news.