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Neck girth and sleep apnea

gorillahung

New member
When I was in my early 20s I was self conscious of my pencil neck. So, I started doing a lot of neck work. My gym had a 4 way neck machine and I used it a lot. The result was an impressive 18" neck on a 5'9" frame. The only problem is that I was later diagnosed with sleep apnea. Sleep apnea is highly correlated to not only obesity but to thick neck girths in general even if your neck is muscular. Has anyone else had this problem? It sucks having to sleep while connected to a machine.
 
The make a dental device for sleep apnea. It's a lot like an anti tooth grind one except there are 2 pieces. Much easier to tolerate than that annoying machine.
 
I'm a medical professional and I specialize in the respiratory system. I'm very familiar with OSA and its treatment. Your correct, large neck girth is a correlative factor to OSA. Dental devises are kind of an issue for me because: 1) OSA is a process that effects more than just the oropharynx (the back of the throat where the nasal passage meets with the oral passage), the dental device only effects the oropharynx by shifting the jaw forward and creating additional space for air to flow uninterrupted by tissue that collapses which causes the obstruction. 2) the dental device has been shown to cause dental drift, i.e. Your upper and lower teeth will shift like your wearing braces and have to be resized every few years due to this drift and the associated lose of efficacy over time. A CPAP or BIPAP device is actually significantly better as a for of treatment due to the fact that the positive pressure will splint the entire upper airway and it will not cause the deformation of your teeth. On a side note a CPAP will also improve you oxygenation while you sleep by as much as 50%. The additional positive pressure it provides will increase your FRC (functional residual capacity) allowing you to sue more of your lung tissue than normally possible. Being that muscle recovery hinges on oxygenation it would actually be beneficial for improving upon your gym goals. Ultimately the choice is your but I figured I would touch lightly in the subject lol.
 
I'm a medical professional and I specialize in the respiratory system. I'm very familiar with OSA and its treatment. Your correct, large neck girth is a correlative factor to OSA. Dental devises are kind of an issue for me because: 1) OSA is a process that effects more than just the oropharynx (the back of the throat where the nasal passage meets with the oral passage), the dental device only effects the oropharynx by shifting the jaw forward and creating additional space for air to flow uninterrupted by tissue that collapses which causes the obstruction. 2) the dental device has been shown to cause dental drift, i.e. Your upper and lower teeth will shift like your wearing braces and have to be resized every few years due to this drift and the associated lose of efficacy over time. A CPAP or BIPAP device is actually significantly better as a for of treatment due to the fact that the positive pressure will splint the entire upper airway and it will not cause the deformation of your teeth. On a side note a CPAP will also improve you oxygenation while you sleep by as much as 50%. The additional positive pressure it provides will increase your FRC (functional residual capacity) allowing you to sue more of your lung tissue than normally possible. Being that muscle recovery hinges on oxygenation it would actually be beneficial for improving upon your gym goals. Ultimately the choice is your but I figured I would touch lightly in the subject lol.

1) I have been on the dental version for 9 years and have not had any significant dental drift
2) Agree that dental device is not for all types of sleep apnea and that it is only recommended for moderate and lower cases
3) Can also tell you that there are lots of people like me who can not use the cpap due to it causing a sinus infection within 2-3 days of use. I went to ear nose and throat specialist and he said that as many as 5% of the people have this issue with cpap and that over 50% do not use cpap every night long term. That nothing you don't use will help.
4) In my case he recommended the dental device and if it wasn't able to stop the issue using surgery to remove some of the soft tissue causing the issue. He recommended against moving the tounge forward as that is major operation. It turned out the dental device got me to a normal level and it was all I needed.

In short there are really 3 treatments and no 1 treatment is going to be for everyone. Some people may even need to combine more than 1. I can tell you that I have tried 4 different cpap machines and everyone of them gives me a severe sinus infection within days to the point I can't breathe throw my nose even when awake. I am 100% unable to use a cpap.
 
Well the good news is you found something that works and your right, there is no one magic bullet to fix OSA. The sinus infection thing I've heard of occurring and that sucks so I'm sorry to hear that. The only thing I would say at this point is I hope you never get to you need the surgery. It kinda involves removing the 4 major lymph nodes in you upper airway and that's no good. Good luck.
 
I'm a medical professional and I specialize in the respiratory system. I'm very familiar with OSA and its treatment. Your correct, large neck girth is a correlative factor to OSA. Dental devises are kind of an issue for me because: 1) OSA is a process that effects more than just the oropharynx (the back of the throat where the nasal passage meets with the oral passage), the dental device only effects the oropharynx by shifting the jaw forward and creating additional space for air to flow uninterrupted by tissue that collapses which causes the obstruction. 2) the dental device has been shown to cause dental drift, i.e. Your upper and lower teeth will shift like your wearing braces and have to be resized every few years due to this drift and the associated lose of efficacy over time. A CPAP or BIPAP device is actually significantly better as a for of treatment due to the fact that the positive pressure will splint the entire upper airway and it will not cause the deformation of your teeth. On a side note a CPAP will also improve you oxygenation while you sleep by as much as 50%. The additional positive pressure it provides will increase your FRC (functional residual capacity) allowing you to sue more of your lung tissue than normally possible. Being that muscle recovery hinges on oxygenation it would actually be beneficial for improving upon your gym goals. Ultimately the choice is your but I figured I would touch lightly in the subject lol.

Do you have an opinion on surgery for OSA?
 
Do you have an opinion on surgery for OSA?

There are 3 types of surgery I know of.
1) removing lymph nodes
2) removing tonsils/adnoids (if you still have them) and other soft tissue around the opening right by them
3) moving the tongue forward

Only a ear nose and throat surgeon would be able to evaluate you and see which of these would help you. Also they all suck ass and you don't want them unless no other choice.
 
There are 3 types of surgery I know of.
1) removing lymph nodes
2) removing tonsils/adnoids (if you still have them) and other soft tissue around the opening right by them
3) moving the tongue forward

Only a ear nose and throat surgeon would be able to evaluate you and see which of these would help you. Also they all suck ass and you don't want them unless no other choice.

Those sound like some horrible options. I'd have to try every other method before I went with surgery.
 
Yes the surgery is borderline barbaric. As I mentioned before they remove 4 of the major lymph nodes in you upper air way. Those nodes act as guard posts for your immune system. It they go, bacteria and viral material can easily move past and go to one of there favorite places, your lungs. This can lead to reoccurring pneumonia. Not only that but there is no guarantee it will work. If you have OSA due to thick neck girth I'm not sure how effective the surgery will be. Usually it's more effective in thinner role with loose tissue like the elderly and aging. I'm tellin ya, put in your big boy pants and adjust yourself to CPAP/BIPAP therapy. Non invasive, oxygen improving and no major adverse side effects.
 
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