Sleep apnea - watching me sleep

CPAP uses pressurized air, not a chemical compound. It's pretty safe and effective as far therapies go.

I agree that serious consideration should be given to trying to fix underlying causes if possible (i.e. obesity), but there are several causes of OSA whose treatment is more risky and less effective than CPAP.

 

Did the weight loss eliminate his sleep apnea? Was there an option for him to try the other treatments? Not loaded questions... I'm legitimately curious.

 

"Just out of curiosity, do you snore?"

I don't know, when I'm sound asleep in deep REM level dreaming in colors and details etc, I'm not aware that I am.

I've been married for 39 years and my wife has never complained of me snoring excessively.

I don't have any of the following conditions you listed:

• supine (flat on back) sleeping
• chronic sinusitis
• recent weight gain
• menopause
• large tonsils or adenoids
• Down syndrome
• smoking
• family history of sleep apnea
• recessed chin or large overbite

I can work and drive easily for hours at a time on 5 to 6 hours of sleep a night. If I get tired, I just pull over and take a power nap, common sense dictates it.

This is the problem with these kinds of "conditions", namely the professionals who come up with these indicator lists, that end up pigeon-holing whole swaths of individuals who don't have the (whatever) condition, yet, the burden of proof is on the individual.

 

He claimed he never had it to begin with or that he never had problems with being tired. He claimed it was the company who was preventing him from coming off. Or at least that is the way I took it. Obviously I wasn't intimately familiar with his medical history. Regardless, he wasn't a believer in all the health benefits of a CPAP.

 

Exactly, these approaches are counter to better patient health.

Doctor: "How are you sleeping?"
Patient:" Logs envy me. "

And that should do it. What medical condition are we fixing here? Who are we helping? Now, if we go the sleep study route, money will change hands and forgive me if I find that dubious and the actual reason for the sleep study. Once there, you are at their mercy. I can't imagine anything more offensive than being told I don't sleep "right" and that I must be tired and therefore a danger on the road when I know I'm not tired. For Christ's sake I am a grown man not a child, I know when I'm tired.

 

My grandfather had Alzheimer's when he was in his mid 90's, finally made peace at 104. My dad, who is 87 this year is starting to show minor dementia, so he most likely will end up with Alzheimer's.
All the Doctors my dad has been to have asked him to take an apnea test, he is not obese, and otherwise healthy. The Dr told me almost everyone he has seen with dementia and Alzheimer's have sleep apnea. They want him to take one, not to give him a CPAP, but to see if he does have it. If he does have it, they would like him to use one, but they will do it at no charge as they are studying if apnea is present, and dementia in in early stages, if a CPAP will stop or slow it from progressing if he has apnea. I asked what if he doesn't, the Dr said he would put money on he does. The Dr said the more severe the apnea, the quicker dementia sets in, or at least that is what they have found so far. They want to study to find out more.
This is what led me to my test. I don't need a CPAP yet, but chances are as I get older I will. I had a T&A when I was 10, so that won't be the cause. My dad so far has said no, he said he has lived thi slong without one. I am trying to convince him to do it for the research.

 

You actually can get rid of obstructive apnea. I was in the beginning stages due to weight gain, lost 25 lbs and the symptoms went away and am no longer at risk. I can tell a huge difference in my energy levels and no longer feel tired after a night's sleep. People do get off the cpap, you just have to go through another study showing you're getting to correct amount of rem sleep with no stoppage in breathing.

Sleep clinics are staffed by medical docors and scientists. Heck even the person that hooks up the patient has to have an associates degree and be board certified.

A cpap manufacturer going to see a doctor at a clinic is no different than a pharma rep going to see a family doc.

 

So, my question is this, if an individual goes to a DOT medical examiner for his physical and only exhibits 2 factors in this list:

• supine (flat on back) sleeping
• obesity
• chronic sinusitis
• large neck circumference
• recent weight gain
• menopause
• large tonsils or adenoids
• Down syndrome
• smoking
• family history of sleep apnea
• recessed chin or large overbite
  
  Should he/she be required to submit to (many times paying out of their own pocket) a sleep study test?
  
  Yet, I guarantee you if a guy goes in for a physical and he is skinny as a rail, yet smokes and has seasonal allergies, but doesn't meet any of the other tell tale signs, he will not be required to do a sleep study test and you know it.

 

I stayed up one night to see if i snored. Nope, im good to go.

 

Most companies base it on BMI and/or neck size and nothing more. Just my 2 cents, but when a trucking company picks and chooses only 1 or 2 on the list as targets, and none of the other symptoms, they don't help themselves, and invalidate the studies done and presented to the FMCSA Board as recommendations and guidelines. They also make drivers question if they really have it, or if it is a scam. If they really wanted to test for it, they need to use the full list.