sleep apnea

[OverVolt]

The point is the other measuring devices (eye monitoring, EEG leads, etc.) are to gather additional information which can suggest type of sleep apnea (obstructive, central, mixed) which can be managed differently and to better titrate therapy. It's really not as cut and dry as you may think.



Of course your right, and many people with obstructive sleep apnea would get better with weight loss .. but patients, generally, don't lose weight. They just don't. It's not an effective treatment modality.



Well, obviously. What's the point in screening for disease you can't treat? It's not tin foil hat stuff. Are you equally surprised that we've started screening for more cancers as we've developed more cancer therapies? Are you surprised that the CDC started recommending the baby boomers be screen for Hep C once far more benign oral curative therapies were developed?

Healthcare is the only industry where innovation actually increases costs. I'll never forget hearing that. How do other countries handle sleep apnea I wonder?

Enabling people to be obese isn't exactly a great healthcare strategy. Like 1/3rd the population is obese now.

 

[TheVrolok]

I'll never forget hearing that. How do other countries handle sleep apnea I wonder?

With CPAP, I would imagine.

Enabling people to be obese isn't exactly a great healthcare strategy. Like 1/3rd the population is obese now.[/QUOTE]

Please, lay out your strategy for thwarting obesity.

 

[boomerang]

I've been seeing a lung doctor for coming up on two years and now, instead of yearly, every six months for a problem with my diaphragm on my right side. From the initial visit on, he pushed and pushed for a sleep study. Initially I had a device I put on my finger that was programmed to record and then turn off at a set time. The results from that in pretty much his own words was that I had two episodes worth noting, both very short in duration with a minimal drop in oxygen levels, nowhere near anything to be concerned about. He obviously used different language to describe all that. Still, he wanted me to undergo a sleep study.

Sensing my resistance to the sleep study, he would not give up. He eventually said I am going to send you home with a survey for your wife to fill out. Please return it to us. She, more than anybody would know if you are sleeping well or not. If she says you are having no problems and factoring in your results we will drop this and won't speak of it again.

That was a lie. He brought it up yet again back in November. And it's not because he forgot because he brought up nuances of the conversation we had on my first visit. In the meantime, he's talking about the Mayo Clinic for my diaphragm problem.

I'm not sure what to do at this point. I guess he and I are going to get down and dirty on my next visit. If it's to be the Mayo Clinic, I will do that and give him the heave-ho.

 

[slag]

I lost 80ish pounds and still use my cpap. I don't snore nearly as much, but I think it helps me. I have been feeling kind of crummy the past couple weeks. Finally thought to check the water reservoir in my apap machine and it was disgusting. Film of brown crap in the bottom. I washed it out completely with hot soapy water and scrubbed it with a toothbrush. Took the nasal pillows off and cleaned them thoroughly and rinsed the hose out also. I can't believe I let it go that long but with everything else in the world to think about, its hard to remember to do everything.

 

[StinkyPinky]

I snore like a mofo apparently. Or so my wife says....although maybe she's playing me since I feel fine. Never really feel tired during the day unless there's a reason for it.