Sleep Apnea from Weight Gain Affecting Recovery?

[rjg91680]

Hi all,

5 years ago I was 225 pounds, ~30% BF, I tore my ACL, got it repaired and rehabbed, and then got my weight down to 160. I snored a lot back then, and my wife is positive that I had sleep apnea back when I was fat.

Since late November 2009 I've put on about 30 pounds, 20 of which I put on while on the SS program (I decided to eat like I was training when I was reading the book before I started training).

Lately my wife has noticed that I've started snoring again, but worse, the sleep apnea has returned.

I've been eating like crazy and doing 1/2 to 3/4 GOMAD to keep the gains coming but during the last 2 weeks I don't feel like I've been getting enough restorative sleep. This morning I woke up with a crazy headache and really tired, and I'm wondering how that'll affect my workout tonight.

Should I slow down my eating until I get my BF% down? It's around 20% to 22% It sucks that the 2 recovery modalities seem to be at odds with one another.

[jdj]

My wife recently told me the same thing. (Last year I dropped about 20-25 pounds, and I've now put them all back by eating big while doing SS.) But I hadn't thought about the effect on recovery. I'm interested to hear replies.

[lylemcd]

Lack of sleep does a lot of bad things to the body and sleep apnea causes a host of problems. Time to lean out a bit.

Lyle

[tennisgod]

Isn't leaning-out only a band-aid solution?

Have you tried those contoured pillows which can alter the neck/head positions?

[lylemcd]

No, since sleep apnea is massively related to being fat. Some of it is from the inflammation secondary to obesity, some of it is physical, the neck fat pressing on the throat.

A male needn't be a big fat ass to get strong and 20-22% is fat ass for a male.

Lyle

[WatsupHannity]

Throat surgery to permanently correct apnea has a massively-high success rate. Consult an ENT.

[matclone]

Throat surgery to permanently correct apnea has a massively-high success rate. Consult an ENT.

What, are you a doctor? Or, are you just trying to be flip in a stupid sort of way?

As mentioned, by LyleD, there's a huge correlation b/t obesity and sleep apnea (I know this from my work), but it usually appears (well almost always appears) in the massively obese, but I haven't seen this be a problem for moderately overweight. Just because you snore, or had one night of inadequate sleep doesn't mean you have sleep apnea. If it continues to be a problem, see a doctor. The way they test for this conclusively is to have you spend the night in the hospital with a sleep study.

[TomC]

This is an interesting topic. For what it's worth, Wikipedia claims that loud snoring does not mean you have sleep apnea:


As already mentioned, snoring is a common finding in people with this syndrome. Snoring is the turbulent sound of air moving through the back of the mouth, nose, and throat. Although not everyone who snores is experiencing difficulty breathing, snoring in combination with other conditions such as overweight and obesity has been found to be highly predictive of OSA risk.[10] The loudness of the snoring is not indicative of the severity of obstruction, however. If the upper airways are tremendously obstructed, there may not be enough air movement to make much sound. Even the loudest snoring does not mean that an individual has sleep apnea syndrome. The sign that is most suggestive of sleep apneas occurs when snoring stops. If both snoring and breathing stop while the person's chest and body try to breathe, that is literally a description of an event in obstructive sleep apnea syndrome. When breathing starts again, there is typically a deep gasp and then the resumption of snoring.

From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleep_Apnea

[rjg91680]

For what it's worth, Wikipedia claims that loud snoring does not mean you have sleep apnea:

While true, the loud snoring DID wake up my wife, which is when she noticed my non-breathing.

I find that I don't snore everyday, and when I don't I wake up feeling like a million bucks. I've bought some of these Brez (http://www.mybrez.com/) things that get stuck in my nose to widen it up, and it seems to help.

In the meantime I'm going to cut back on the crazy eating and slow down until it seems like I won't be able to put more weight on the bar.

[WatsupHannity]

What, are you a doctor? Or, are you just trying to be flip in a stupid sort of way?

I'm sorry, what part of "consult an ENT" is confusing to you?

[WatsupHannity]

"In approximately ninety percent of patients, a significant improvement can be expected."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty#Success

Whether surgery is necessary or not is not my point, just that the treatment exists. Consulting an ENT is the right place to start. They can also address non-apneic snoring.

[matclone]

I'm just confused by your recommendation of surgery, sight unseen. It's like, if you told me you had knee pain (and no diagnosis), my recommending that you see an orthopedic surgeon. It might be inappropriate.

[WatsupHannity]

Well it's like if someone told me their nose is always plugged up, I might say "There's actually surgery that can correct that." I apologize for not being clearer, I didn't mean to imply that it isn't a last resort. I maintain that seeing an ENT is a good idea. An ENT is not strictly a surgeon, they can diagnose and recommend non-surgical treatments.

[matclone]

It's unfortunate this medium (the internet) frequently takes us down the path of misunderstanding, mine included. I agree that seeing a doctor would be an appropriate course if there continues to be a problem.

[slughammer]

...I've been eating like crazy and doing 1/2 to 3/4 GOMAD to keep the gains coming but during the last 2 weeks I don't feel like I've been getting enough restorative sleep. This morning I woke up with a crazy headache

Hate to say it on this board, but some people have nasal allergies associated with milk. My father and I both have issues. I don't have any digestive issues and have been doing 1/2 Gomad for about 3 months. Coming down off the milk, I could notice an improvement in my night time breathing and sleep. A google search of the subject could shed some light.