Is a sleep apnea diagnosis bullshit, and are they running some kinda

[xultar]

racket on that shit?

[supernova]

1. Um, no. It's a legitimate medical condition

that can lead to other medical problems.

Why?

Have you been dx w/ sleep apnea?

edit: Excellent discussion over in weight loss/ maintenance http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=337x2945

[xultar]

13. Yeah. I just got diagnosed. I have had 2 sleep studies and I had my first

night with the c-pap machine last night. I did sleep better with it and I also noticed that I didn't wake up in pain and agony. I also slept the entire night. That hasn't happened in YEARS.

I still sorta think though it is a racket.

Thanks for the link, I'll check it out.

[supernova]

23. I'm sure you will start to sleep better

and feel much better. :hug:

You're only a loser if you don't get it treated. :P

We want more drunken airport posts for a nice long time. ;-)

[KatyaR]

25. It's not a racket if you're stopping breathing at night.

If you got a better night's sleep last night, it sounds like you're on the right track. The CPAP machines can be a pain, but, you know, breathing's a good thing . . . .

[mcscajun]

28. Definitely Not a racket. Forget Reading...BREATHING is Fundamental.

If your body isn't getting the oxygen you need at night, you aren't really sleeping soundly, your brain is deprived of what it needs, and there's a host of other ailments connected to it.

I've been on CPAP for two years now, and aside from actually having energy for a change and not constantly yawning in everyone's face, my Cholesterol numbers went down! :woohoo:

Sleep is so basic, you forget how wonderful a good night's sleep is when you haven't truly been sleeping well in Years.

Best of luck to you with your new equipment...and check out www.cpaptalk.com for questions/answers.

[bpeale]

2. i don't think so. i have sleep apnea and it ain't bullshit.

its where you stop breathing during sleep.

[hobbit709]

3. Ain't no BS, believe me

If it wasn't for my CPAP machine, I would probably be dead by now.

[Roon]

4. I have sleep apnea

it's very real.

[AlinPA]

5. Sometime it seems that way; but in my case I have had huge improvement in sleep and a definite

improvement for a condition called pulmonary hypertension.

[zabet]

6. Not bullshit at all.

Very real, can be very serious.
It is treatable.

[Warpy]

7. It is definitely NOT bullshit

and, if confirmed by a sleep study but left untreated, can shorten your life by a decade or more through putting extreme stress on your cardiovascular system. You're also losing brain cells every time your breathing shuts down during the night. I don't know about you, but I can't afford to lose much more.

People with sleep apnea are exhausted all the time and think that's how everybody feels. The difference after treatment is dramatic as they finally begin sleeping through the night. Some people may wake up several times a minute during the night; others may wake up several times an hour. Neither group gets the deep, restorative sleep they need.

So if you want to shorten your life and keep it miserable, write off sleep apnea as some sort of racket. It's your choice.

[shireen]

8. did you get the diagnosis from a sleep study?

If yes, it's a serious diagnosis. Take immediate action to do something about it, like using a CPAP (Continuous positive airway pressure) machine to breathe at night. In severe cases, surgery is needed.

More at http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/sleep-apnea/DS00148


If you did not undergo a sleep study, but suspect you have sleep apnea, better see a doctor.

[sam sarrha]

14. my wife almost died of exhaustion, it was really hard on her heart, ..she is fine now

[xultar]

20. Yeah, I got my C-Pap saturday. Just feeling stupid wearing it.

[mcscajun]

29. Hey...just think of yourself as Darth Vader.

Luke...I AM your Sleep Fairy. :D

Welcome to the league of happy hoseheads. :hi:

[shireen]

32. pretend you're a really hot top gun test pilot flying the X-51A

At those high altitudes, blazing at mach 6 or 7 at the upper edge of the atmosphere, you're gonna need that CPAP. :P


(http://www.designation-systems.net/dusrm/app4/x-51.html)

[Warpy]

34. I often think they designed it so you'd feel stupid

but give it a couple of weeks and the difference in the way it makes you feel should overcome all of that.

I've had too many patients who called it their Miss Piggy nose to think of jet pilots and the like. However, none of those patients ever wanted to do without it after the first couple of weeks.

[HeraldSquare212]

9. I saw an ad today for a drug that treats the next level of sleep apnea

I think they called it SED instead of SAD? I was surprised such a thing even existed, or that there were two distinct conditions that had to be treated by different drugs.

[lizerdbits]

10. If you've had a sleep study

and you stop breathing while you sleep you need help for that so you don't die in your sleep. People with obstructive sleep apnea (at least the 3 I know who now use CPAPs) feel sleepy and otherwise shitty during the day because they keep waking up after they stop breathing. One of my friends who has it lost her father to it when he was 34. It's serious.

[xultar]

15. Well, I haven't really slept in the past couple of years. I had study done in

December and I got my c-pap after my second on Saturday.

I was having a horrible time @ work and stuff because I was tired and always confused from lack of sleep.

BUt I feel lazy, kinda stupid, I cannot explain it. I just feel like a loser that I have this.

[lizerdbits]

17. You are not a loser

Please use it according to your doctor's orders so you stay alive. :)

[AlinPA]

18. At first I felt depressed having to use the machine, but after one month of good

sleep (5-6 hours straight without waking up) I changed my attitude.

[mcscajun]

30. You are most definitely NOT a loser.

You're a winner :thumbsup: for taking charge and getting your body what it needs to survive and thrive. :hug:

Just FYI, make sure you have a humidifier module as part of your setup. And AYyr saline nasal gel helps with any adjustment issues you may have.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

39. Would you feel like a loser for wearing glasses or contacts?

Would you feel like a loser for changing your diet?

No! Besides, unless you have a S.O. who is making fun of you for wearing the CPAP, who's gonna know?

[parasim]

11. I don't think so. But I think Restless Legs Syndrome is somewhat suspect.

But what do I know, I ain't no doctor...

[Warpy]

33. It's real, too

and distantly related to seizure disorder.

Consider the years people had to suffer with it before doctors finally twigged to that one.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

40. My stepfather had it

As I learned when I stayed with him and my mom back in the days when I was visiting from Portland, he'd have to get up in the middle of the night and walk back and forth in the hallway till his legs stopped jerking.

[Olney Blue]

12. It's a real condition.

I hope it wasn't you, xultar

[xultar]

19. What do you mean you hope it wasn't me?

[Olney Blue]

21. I hoped you didn't get a sleep apnea diagnosis.

[xultar]

27. Ditto. But I did. The whole thing feels like a racket to me. We'll see.

[Book Lover]

31. My goodness, why? (nm)

[varkam]

36. It's anything but a racket.

I'm a sleep tech, and have been for four years now. I've seen a lot of OSA cases, many of them severe. One case I had the patient stopped breathing an average of 150 times an hour and her saturated arterial oxygen dropped into the 50% range (normal is > 90%). Depending on how severe it is, it can really screw you up if left untreated. When you go in for follow-up the doc should be able to show you the study and exactly where you aren't breathing.

[xultar]

37. They set my cpap up @ level 12, what does that mean?

[varkam]

38. CPAPs operate on different pressures

usually from 6cm to 20cm, though some units these days go up higher. The level is essentially the force with which the air is blowing out of the mask - the higher the level the higher the pressure. The cm has do with with how many centimeters of water it can displace. Don't ask me why they measure the pressure that way, though, cause I have no idea.

Basically, CPAPs act like a pneumatic splint for the airway. It keeps the airway open via the pressurized air so that someone with sleep apnea can breathe normally. If they set your CPAP at 12, then I would assume that's the pressure that they documented kept your airway open. Different people, of course, require different pressures.

Hope that helps.

[LiberalEsto]

16. I've got it

I went through a sleep study last year.
They told me that I didn't have apnea episodes or snoring if I slept on my sides. I've been doing that ever since and my husband says he rarely hears me snore any more.

[steven88]

22. IT CAN BLIND YOU!!!

It can be a serious condition. I have loss all sight in my right eye and part of my sight in my left eye. Doctors believe the sight loss may have been due to sleep apnea reducing oxygen to the eyes and causing the retina to die. I am lucky to have any sight right now. If you have sleep apnea, get help NOW!!!!

[NC_Nurse]

24. It's for real. Wear your c-pap, you'll get used to it.

It's very hard on your body to be oxygen-deprived and you need your sleep to function. It's especially hard on your heart.
There are some surgical options that may be available to you. Losing weight can help if you are overweight. Please take it seriously.
It can really mess you up, even kill you. I want you around. :hi:

[Stuckinthebush]

26. Lord I hope not...I have it

The CPAP is the best thing that has come into my life recently.

Don't ignore sleep apnea. It can result in stroke.

I stopped breathing every 45 seconds. The CPAP saved my life.

[varkam]

35. Not BS at all.

Obstructive Sleep Apnea is one of the most common sleep disorders and can have numerous effects on the heart and nervous system. I see it all the time in my line of work.