Schneider National, Fishing for sleep disorders.

You obviously have a sleep disorder if you removed your covers. What other proof do you need?!

Seriously though, we need a cheat sheet thread on how to beat their stupid questions and not fall for their traps.

Another thing - companies, doctors etc should be banned for earning money off the diagnosis. They should make the same money for a positive as for a negative. Then if a guy needs a machine, he goes to a neutral third party.

In most cases, isn't sleep apnea just a nice way to say a guy needs to lose 50lbs? I haven't lost a bunch yet, but I've noticed that I'm sleeping better and breathing easier. I also used to have chair apnea - where I would grunt a little when I got up from a chair; nobody offered me a machine for that...

 

Sleep apnea is the real deal, and truthfully just a part of growing older. The explosive snores are the body trying to suck air in; your body jerking you awake is your brain trying to wake you up enough to breathe.

And the problem is simple: your tongue relaxes, the soft palate relaxes, the throat relaxes, and the end result is the tongue falls back into your throat, and seals the throat, sinuses, and larynx up--basically, you swallow your tongue, and you choke on it.

One solution is the breathing machine, I can't do it because they make me feel like I'm suffocating; but they work for many people. Another solution is the "Pillar Procedure", where three or four things plastic strips are inserted into the soft palate, which pulls it up and out of the way, and clears the airway.

Yes, I was diagnosed with sleep apnea in 2002, but never got the device because of the suffocating feeling. Tried again later, after pillar came out, but I only had 2 episodes the entire night, so I didn't qualify. Thing is, by then, I taught myself to sleep while touching the back of my front teeth with my tongue, which helped alot. I'm also so aware of it that if I start having an episode I get off my back (the only time it happens) and get on my side, which prevents my tongue from falling down.

Yeah, I know: long-winded and goofy. But it worked for me, and if someone else can benefit, then I've done my good deed for this day.

 

I'm sorry this happen to the op I was ask all the questions as well with Schneider national before I went into their flatbed Divison and I answer no knowing answer yes to anyone can trigger tests, I wonder sometimes if I have sleep apnea because I wake up in the middle of the night and I snore as well, I am currently 6'2 255 and want to loose 30 llbs if I can stay out of Mickey d'd, Hardee's and Wendy's as quick stops, gl to you op on finding you a new job

 

You likely do.


If I wasn't certain before, I am now: I was trying to nap on my bus on a field trip one day, laying on my back across the seats, and impulse *just* go under when I'd wake up feeling like I was suffocating, and I'd have to breathe deeply for a few minutes before I relaxed enough to try again. After a few of these little "episodes", and a night of worrying about it and having it hit me a couple times (adding to the worry), on my next field trip I took a small pillow, and made sure I napped on my side (along with my other solutions). Problem solved.
One thing I know contributes is a lack of decent exercise, it's all about muscle tone.

 

Well, ok. "sleep apnea" is real and many suffer with it. But it occurs to me and others this problem has an over-weight correlation ... so why don't they also try and address the weight problem and not focus on the symptoms? Poor sleep is the result of bad snoring and drivers need quality sleep. Yes I get that but we are also told we have natural circadian rhythms and we should all try and respect this pattern and maintain a consistent work/sleep schedule but I don't see anyone out there pushing for this and in fact the new HOS rules actually force drivers to violate this natural reality, routinely. So I say WTF?

This is what happens when you let the government, the private sector, and un-elected bureaucrats have incestual relationships with one another for 50 years. You get a few people capitalizing wildly on the efforts of their lobbying and greasing the right wheels. Just know that if you could somehow take the money out of it (the CPAP industry, doctors, insurance, etc) we would not be having this conversation as it is perpetrated by the medical and carrier community's little sleeping arrangement.

 

My dad had it. Hated using the machine so he had surgery to fix the problem. Now he sleeps fine.

 

I'll try to keep this short.

Sleep apnea is a fairly "new" problem that has been being studied in earnest since roughly the 1980s. It's been around for a long time but was contributed to other problems. It is a chronic condition. (The symptoms can be improved but they'll never fully go away.)

Weight is just one factor of sleep apnea. Fat has to go somewhere, including your neck area. Losing weight does help, but you can still have apneic episodes, just reduced. Age is also a factor. Muscles lose tone as you age including in your neck. Having nasal problems like allergies or a deviated septum contribute to upper airway obstructed sleep apnea. Men are more likely to have apnea than women. It can also start in childhood as well. Some people with with recessed jaws are more more prone to apnea. There's a second type of of apnea as well called complex apnea. That's where the body doesn't trigger the involuntary reflex to keep breathing. Complex apnea is usually a result of head/ spinal injuries, strokes and some diseases like MS.

Untreated sleep apnea increases your risk for high blood pressure, heart troubles and increased weight. When you don't get quality sleep your body releases cortisol and makes losing weight difficult.

Surgery is an option and there are several types available. The can remove the extra flesh from the back third of your soft palate, the uvula and throat. (It has a neat long medical name, please don't ask me to type it. *smile*) Fixing a deviated septum (if that's the problem), using lasers to scar up the soft palate to "stiffen" it up or even a tracheostomy (putting a hole in your wind pipe below the airway obstruction so that you can breathe consistently through the night). The problem with the surgical route is that it is only effective about half the time and doesn't thoroughly make the problem go away.

CPAP machines are found to be the most effective and least intrusive treatment. They were first made in the 1980s in Australia. A mask is the most common way to deliver the treatment. They also have a "pillow' mask that delivers the air directly into the nostrils to alleviate the "suffocating" feeling. They also have an option that's a mouthpiece to deliver the air into the mouth that also acts as a mouth guard to help keep the tongue out of the way while sleeping.

If you have mild sleep apnea there is also the option of mouthpieces to wear while you sleep. There are dentists that deal specifically in mouth guards for sleep problems.


**This is all what I remember from writing a paper in May on Sleep Apnea. Sources include looking up sleep apnea on WebMD, Cedar-Sinai websites, Sleep Disorders for Dummies and a few other books**

 

Nice writeup, sums it up well.

None of the devices work on me, not even the "pillow" one. The mouthpieces only make my TMJ worse. I'm not really overweight (well, *they* say I am, but that's another story), thankfully it's not an issue right now.