sleep apnea

How big is an apnea machine? About the size of a heart monitor? Bigger? Smaller? Surely it isn't that big a unit.

The DOT (theoretically) or company employees should never see an apnea machine, as you would never tell anyone you have that condition, and you'd keep the machine hidden, especially when the rig has to go into your company's shop. You never know if shop guys have been told to check out what you have in your bunk.

"Don't ask, don't tell" works in the military, right?

 

mine's about the size of a loaf of bread.

 

Totally agree with everything Lugnut said. I have had Sleep Apnea for 2 years I had to provide Prime with a copy of the sleep test faxed from my doctor. I sleep with a CPAP on 15 psi thru a nasal pillow which keeps my mouth closed and I breath through my nose all night, annoying at first now no big deal, it will make you sleep better, I sleep about 6 to 8 hours a night depending on how tired I am.

 

Before trucking, I was a sleep disorder tech at a hospital in central IL. I was the guy that hooked up all the electrodes to people who came in for a sleep study. Sleep apnea is the most common disorder, however there are two different types of sleep apnea. There's obstructive sleep apnea (osa) and central sleep apnea. OSA is most common and is caused by the airways being obstructed by the flap in the back of your throat in most cases. The best treatment for OSA is a CPAP machine. CPAP stands for Continuous Positive Airway Pressure. The amount of air pressure needed to keep a person's airways open is dependent on the frequency of a person's apneas during a study. Whenever a patient was determined to have OSA, they would then have to be titratated. What that means is they would use the CPAP in the sleep disorders center and a tech, like I once was, would increase the amount of pressure until no more apneas were seen on the polysomnogram. Central sleep apnea occurs when the brain "forgets" to tell the body to breathe while sleeping. This is much less common than OSA, and is usually treated with medication.

 

The brain forgets to tell the body to work properly. Sounds like nature's way of weeding out inferior specimens.

THAT would be the ultimate short-term memory problem. Cause of death: "He forgot to breathe". Jesus. If a guy's brain doesn't work any better than that, he deserves what he gets.

 

So by that mentality, if a person has any other neurological problems, they "deserve" what they get? I termed it the way I did so that even a layman as yourself would understand. If you prefer, I could be more technical.

I always knew you were a bit on the weird side, Tip, but now I'm leaning towards you being a complete idiot.

 

Don't flatter yourself.

I'll stand by what I said. If somebody's body doesn't even allow him to breathe properly, I'd say mother nature doesn't want him around. If one's brain can't remember to control his breathing, well, pity him. Who knows what he'd forget to do on the highways.

If one has a physical ailment, that's manageable. A simple flap can be dealt with, no problem. Get the machine and go to town. Just keep it hidden.

 

You're showing your ignorance, Tip. You are talking about totally different parts of the brain.

 

Some apnea is caused by being overweight, as in being a disgusting fat-body. In that case, no machine is needed. One just needs to quit sticking garbage in his mouth long enough to allow his body to lose the fat.

 

There is an ounce of truth in this statement. However, the CPAP machine would still be beneficial while said person is losing weight. After all, being overweight isn't the only cause of obstructive sleep apnea. It may be a contributor, but there's no guarantee that losing weight will eliminate the apneas. I had several patients that had OSA and were otherwise completely healthy and physically fit.