Sleep Apnea: Pitfall of an Overdeveloped Neck

You will feel so much better.

I was diagnosed two years ago. It was so bad I was falling asleep at the wheel. One time at a stoplight on the way to the gym, and I still managed my first 400 lb squat.

I’m compliant about 50% of the time. I find that if I get at least 4 hours on the machine I feel much better.

My numbers are terrible. AHI of 67 and oxygen desaturation of 84 @ 5’9", 47 y/o and 205 lbs at time of testing. Neck size 18.25".

I’ve used a cpap since 2012 and love it. It took me about 3 weeks to get used to it.
My study result was 27. That was 27 times I stopped breathing every hour. This last readout (September thru February) showed an average of .06 per hour. Almost non-existant.
What’s great is that I rarely wake up during the night and have much more REM.
My neck is around 21 inches. 6’4" 335 lbs.

I admit I ripped it off my face the first few nights, but if you can hang in there a week or two, putting it on will become a habit and you’ll even wear it when you take naps.

Good luck. If you can be compliant, it’s a big difference for sure!

I have a 16" neck and I’m not even muscular (yet). Even though I hit none of those symptoms I’m now terrified I have sleep apnea so thanks for this thread.

Losing weight (I now stay under 230 at all times; usually around 215-220) and starting bjj (IE doing more cardio-intensive activity) cured my apnea as far as I can tell, but it wasn’t all that bad to begin with.

I tried a CPAP and consistently tore it off my face nearly every night for 6 months before I gave up. It did work wonders when I’d wake up with it on though.

Luckily mine was not that extreme but I was having issue I think I mentioned above at some point.

I have to dig up my original test result … but my actual was 14 along with 30 times where I didnt stop but my body caught would catch it . But causing me not getting deep into REM

I dont have a choice! Insurance wants it on for at least 7 hours a night or they will not pay for it! This unit I guess has all the electronic goodies… The sleep clinic can remote view the data the unit records.

Thats just a possible indicator… Found out a guy at work has sleep apnea and hes not a big guy at all .

I have been considering the same strategy actually.

My doc said that at 18" you have a 75% chance of having apnea, and at 19" everyone has it. Or close to that statement. OTOH, a fat neck isn’t required to have apnea, as the structure of your soft palette is a primary driver of obstructive sleep apnea.

W/o intervention of some sort, it can shorten your life or straight up kill you. It’s not just loud snoring and coughing. Man, one time I had an event that was so bad, my body coughed to clear the obstruction so hard that it woke me and simultaneously knocked the wind out of me. That was fucking terrifying.

I’ve been around and around and investigated all sorts of treatments. I had a real tough time with CPAP’s, b/c I felt claustrophobic and felt like I wasn’t getting enough air as in I felt like I was suffocating. After a year of wrestling with the CPAP and desperate for a solution, I flew to the clinic in Ohio that did the FDA trials for the Winx machine from Apnicare (It uses suction to pull tongue forward rather than positive pressure to keep passages open), and look into the surgically implanted ‘pacemaker’ known as Inspire (used electrodes attached to your tongue to drive tongue forward upon onset of an apnea event). I was fitted with it and qualified with the Winx, but the doc who did the trials still said the CPAP was the gold standard. He gave me some advice: fix my deviated septum, use the Navage thing to clear out sinuses, use OTC medications for clearing up nasal passages, and modify machine settings. But most of all, I switched from a full face mask to nose pillows.

Voila. I’m now mostly compliant except when i fall asleep w/o putting the mask on.

My bloodwork is now better and I have more energy.

For you big guys, you might recall Eddie Hall documentary showing him putting his mask on. Whether you know it or not, probably most SHW’s have obstructive sleep apnea.

1 Like

I’d be willing to bet that the one’s that don’t just haven’t been diagnosed yet.

Exactly

Damn it!! Had a Bad night on the Machine last night based off of the Data it collected

First night:

Last night:

So, that Mask Off is what I was referring to when I mentioned compliance. That thing came off all the time.

But others get used to it. You got more time, and your score was roughly the same, so be patient.

More importantly, do you notice a difference in energy levels?

1 Like

Yesterday I did see improvement in regards to mental clarity…
My concern is the different in events. First night I was barley averaging any at 0.8/hr last night it went up to 3.2/hr. ugh

Patience. The benefits are very noticeable in my experience.

1 Like

Went with what they call a air pillow…my nostrils feels wind burnt. Thats pretty much been the worst part.

Saline will help. Everybody has different issues. If you get it figured out, it’s definitely worth it.

1 Like

Figured out the problem I think… The sleep tech did not bother actually doing any type of gauging of my actual nose. He took one look and told me to use a small. This morning I double checked with the paper measuring device included and he was off slightly. Going to try a medium wide tonight which came with and and see if will take care of the issues. The out fit which I have pictured below isnt the type that actually fits in your nose.

Ill be damned…my ability to recover from training has spiked through the roof.

2 Likes

It’s amazing what oxygen will do!

2 Likes

Well at least not having ones airway closed up several times a hour while sleeping.Now when I wake up I feel like the sleep has done some actual good.

Well been slacking on the usage hours at night recently … seeing a droop off physically.

dumb%20ass

2 Likes