WLS does NOT cure sleep apnes

July 9, 2009

New and important info from the June American Journal of Medicine:

This is it so important to be tested for sleep apnea if we have the slightest

evidence of it. It needs to be under good treatment before we have any elective

surgery like band surgery. There have been post-op deaths in band clients who

were not diagnosed and treated.

Previously, some band surgeons thought we could get away without testing and

treating, because sleep apnea was thought to almost always be cured by weight

loss.

This article proves otherwise.

Untreated sleep apnea causes permanent heart damage.

Were YOU tested before surgery in a sleep lab?

If not, please read he articles on sleep apnea in the files her. if you have ANY

symptoms, please see your family doc and get tested asap.

If you have sleep apnea and are not using the essential C-pap or Bi-pap

machines, please do so. There are many new styles of masks that are very

comfortable now, and easy to get used to.

Sandy r

---------------

Weight loss surgery no cure for sleep apnea

posted here : Thursday July 9, 2009

Patients who undergo weight loss surgery should not expect it to cure the

nighttime breathing disorder known as obstructive sleep apnea, according to a

paper in the June issue of The American Journal of Medicine.

Dr. L. Greenburg of Walter Army Medical Center in Washington, DC and

colleagues analyzed a dozen studies involving 342 patients who underwent weight

loss surgery, also known as bariatric surgery.

On average, patients experienced significant weight loss, and also experienced

far fewer breathing disorder events per hour.

The authors point out, however, that despite this " substantial improvement, "

subjects still had significant symptoms of apnea, suggesting that the condition

could still lead to high blood pressure, stroke, and heart disease.

Until then, Greenburg and colleagues conclude, " clinicians should have low

thresholds " for re-evaluating patients for obstructive sleep apnea after weight

loss surgery.

(This means that many more people should be tested before any surgery, and those

with sleep apnea should be tested again before simply stopping treatment after a

weight loss).

Sandy r

Recommended Posts