alcohol

hi everybody newbie here,......so just been diagnosed with severe sleep apnia, and i need some advice please

1. i have to use a cpap machine
2. can i drink alcohol, currently 2 bottles wine a week
3. or is it best to cut out alcohol altogether any thoughts,advice ,help greatly appreciated

Well it may be best to cut out alcohol for other reasons, but I don't think 2 bottles of wine a week would be a problem in using a CPAP unless you drink them both at the same time. The basic issue with alcohol is that it can help you go to sleep especially close to bedtime, but then you wake up in the middle of the night. No alcohol close to bedtime should give you a better overall sleep.

thanks sierra, still coming to terms with recent diagnosis, a bit of a shock it was,

Alcohol use exacerbates sleep apnea risk because it inhibits your body’s ability to breathe while sleeping.

Alcohol not only relaxes you after a long week at the office, but it also relaxes the muscles in your throat making it more likely for the upper airway to collapse, causing snoring or obstructive sleep apnea. Obstructive sleep apnea is a serious disease affecting many Americans. If undiagnosed, it can lead to serious health issues such as stroke, heart disease and hypertension*

SOURCE: https://www.sleepdr.com/the-sleep-blog/how-does-alcohol-affect-sleep

If you search "Alcohol sleep" or "alcohol apnea" you will get more information.

trust me, life without alcohol is MUCH better I've been fighting it for the last two and a half years, and my life has changed a lot (in a better way!). I lost 2 pounds, my face looks alive and shiny and even my friends started to notice that I'm not the depressed person I used to be. Find the strength inside yourself and fight.

regards, Roy M - review writer

I tried so hard not to make a statement here but in my twisted world, after several attempts to behave and walk away, I just couldn't help myself.

How can so many subjects in our society be freely and openly discussed up to a certain point and then suddenly become taboo? (Yes I'm off subject again!)

In this discussion about alcohol the perceived social inhibition seems to have been triggered by the last statement and I acknowledge that everybody's circumstances are different but this is just one example.

The same prohibitions arise in discussions about sex or gender or violence or race or intelligence or any aspect of body types or just about anything to do with children.

If it is a balanced polite healthy discussion why does our society allow a single view to effectively close the subject?

In defiance of social protocols I would continue the above conversation and comment that I spent many decades barely wetting my lips with alcohol but now I quaff down a bottle a week.

I would neither recommend nor condemn alcohol although I feel that it does benefit me.

I have very severe apnea and depend totally on CPAP but my nights are so messed up that any impact of the occasional nightcap is undetectable.

I understand that there might be significant issues for some people and for them more caution is warranted but my concerns are simple.

It costs money that I don't have and adds weight that I don't need.

Alcohol or no alcohol, OSA is OSA. I stopped drinking for over 10 years after starting on cpap. I would STILL have some bad nights sleep, totally sober and weight loss to my ideal weight. Still struggled with pressure settings, getting new masks that didn't work for me and machines, and suffered that dreaded "jet lag feeling." I love my Budweiser. Drink everyday. I have found that on days when I drank less had NOTHING to do with the QUALITY of my sleep. I've had days where I drank beyond my normal limit, and woke up refreshed and a clear mind. Technically it does relax the muscles in your neck, but OSA is beyond that. As I sit here right now, upright, I could relax my neck muscles and my airway closes down, unless I lean backwards. Try it now for yourself. Just relax your neck, see what happens. It takes conscious effort to keep the airway open. That's why EMT's tilt the head back when a person is unconscious. Life without alcohol, can't imagine that. Life without a good nights sleep, is even worse.