sleep apnea?

[Matt Berardi]

This may sound like a stupid question, but how much work would you put into finding a good sleep doctor? Is there a big difference or do they pretty much do a test and give you a cut and dry answer / solution?

Thanks for all the help!

[Frank E Morel]

Originally Posted by Matt Berardi

I hear you man. This really stinks, I know it's better to get a full night good sleep and wear the mask, but at the same time I wish we knew what was the real root cause of this. I wonder if it's the air quality? I'm going to also get a hepa air filter regardless..

sleep apnea has nothing to do with air quality matt.

sleep apnea is a common disorder that leads to more serious problems like psychosis, heart issues and hormone imbalances. In sleep apnea, your breathing stops or goes very shallow almost stopping. Each pause in breathing 20 seconds or more. These pauses can occur 20 to 30 times or more an hour. Which increases over time and tend to turn into longer and longer pauses.
common type is obstructive sleep apnea. That means you are unable to get enough air through your mouth and nose into your lungs. Either because of the weight on your throat ( obese) or a weakness of the soft palate of your throat which during sleep causes it to stretch and fall into throat. Imagine putting your finger to the back of your mouth.. what happens?
you start coughing.. maybe puke. Well when your sleeping.. you body and brain wakes up.. do this 30 times an hour, the oxygen shortage or ventilations problem of sleep apnea occurs, the amount of oxygen in your blood may drop. Normal breaths resume with a snort or choking sound as the body instinctively tries to kick open the obstruction or force its self to suck in more air. People with sleep apnea often snore loudly. However, not everyone who snores has sleep apnea. There are many occuring occurrences going on too... your body begins to produce buckets of adrenaline to keep you fighting for air ( hang over the night.. fatigue and strung out) so the brain stays alive... cortisol hormone is produced to try to control stress so the body repairs its self.. fat is created because of the massive burn of calories of the adrenaline demand.
the list goes on..

here are some links for you to catch up all links wfs
cpap info
http://www.sleepeducation.com/Topic.aspx?id=37 link from the sleep medicine society.. lots of pearls here on sleep apnea

study that was done on the need for increased awareness on sleep apnea
Remember the saying " he died of natural causes" when someone died in there sleep.. mostly like due to sleep apnea that caused heart problems.
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/n...ory_88271.html
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/n...ory_85989.html

These two are related to sleep apnea and the surgical correction
http://www.aaoms.org/sleep_apnea.php
http://www.entnet.org/HealthInformation/laup.cfm

I wanted the pamphlet that Stanford university hands out ( stanford was the first medical centre to create a sleep disorder program and sleep lab and is in the forefront of sleep research.) But its not online.
mayo clinic website has more or less the same stuff and actually easier lingo to follow.
http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/cent...t&DSECTION=all
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/obs...8/METHOD=print

Matt.. go get help.

[Frank E Morel]

Originally Posted by Matt Berardi

This may sound like a stupid question, but how much work would you put into finding a good sleep doctor? Is there a big difference or do they pretty much do a test and give you a cut and dry answer / solution?

Thanks for all the help!

matt ...
question one.... do you have insurance?
question two.. do you have a primary care doctor
If answer is no ..please in box me I will give you some ideas on how to..

And on the second part...
if you have sleep apnea there are ways to improve your quality of sleep which in turns improves your life.
If you dont have sleep apnea.. then you have other problems going on and that needs to be addressed in order to improve your quality of life.
its not cut and dry answer is it?

[James Mazzarisi]

A friend of mine had the surgery: removed tonsils and part of the roof of his mouth to open the airway. He said basically it was remarkable the difference it made. With apnea it is difficult to get into deeper levels of sleep/REM... which are critical to restoring the body on a daily basis. He elected the surgery over the machine as he didn't want to mess with a mask every night. Check your insurance, as many plans such as mine do not cover sleep disorders unless it's perceived as medically necessary; I would think potential apnea would be considered medically necessary.

[Rachel Y. B. Lindsay]

Originally Posted by Robert D Taylor Jr

Who locally deals with Resmed? Do they take TriCare? Any suggestions on coping with the absolute lack of sleep I get for days while becoming "compliant"? As I understand it, CPAP and BiPAP aren't the only treatments, there are surgical options which won't leave me depending on a crutch assuming of course I was ever able to adjust to it. Why would I discard them without trying them?

Hey, Robert! Chesapeake! Cool. I'll PM you re: local supply.

It's a real bear getting used to this therapy, but if your doctor is prescribing it then it's pretty critical that you find a way, between your DME provider and your physician. They can definitely help, and I'm probably not the one best qualified to make suggestions. But in general, I think the steps are:

a) get properly fitted for a mask, and the first one you get is NOT by any means going to be the best one.
b) Talk to your doctor if your settings are too high for you to sleep. They can adjust them over time. The device I was talking about is called a ResTraxx and it's quite new. It allows the provider to log in and track your usage, and make adjustments remotely.

Also, this sounds funny but please! Get your supplies replaced when due. New mask and tubing every quarter, new filters and pillows/cushions every month. You wouldn't believe how nasty some people let those things get.

[Frank E Morel]

Originally Posted by Robert D Taylor Jr

I had a sleep study done. I walked around the Naval Hospital like I had a bomb vest on wore it overnight at home and brought it back. What I'm supposed to do is wear a CPAP, but since I can't sleep with one I use a method I call suffer in silence. So far, I would say it hasn't worked. I intend to get the surgery done soon and I'm considering getting a Power Lung under the theory that if my respiratory system is stronger I will be less apneic.

question... why cant you use one?
Is it because you toss and turn or kick alot during your sleep?

If this is the case.. once your settings are correct.. most of this stuff goes away as your body is now getting the oxygen and sleep it needs therefore goes into rest mode verse the fight mode that it knows it needs to do to keep you from dying.
short term use of a sleeping pill kinda helps with the learning curve. Most people say once they are using their cpap machine.. they never really a good night til they got one.

[Henry Thomas Williams III]

I underwent a sleep study and the Army gave me a CPAP; when I don't sleep with it, feels like I stayed up and drank the night before. Only downside is sometimes the mask makes me break out in a couple of spots, no matter how much I clean the mask.

I was shocked to see how much the contracted company charges for the device and replacement supplies - I would pay for it if I had to, though.

[Rachel Y. B. Lindsay]

The company gets a contracted rate; at times it's a struggle to keep it high enough above their cost. I do billing for a DME company.

[Bryan Veis]

If you truly cannot tolerate a CPAP, most insurers will (after a fight) pay for a dental appliance. There are several varieties available. One is the Silent Nite appliance. Essentially, it pulls your lower jaw forward in order to keep your airway open. Your dentist can adjust the appliance to get the position of the lower jaw right. There are also cheaper versions ("as seen on TV) that do the same thing, but I somehow doubt that they can be adjusted.

[Robert D Taylor Jr]

Originally Posted by Frank E Morel

question... why cant you use one?
Is it because you toss and turn or kick alot during your sleep?

If this is the case.. once your settings are correct.. most of this stuff goes away as your body is now getting the oxygen and sleep it needs therefore goes into rest mode verse the fight mode that it knows it needs to do to keep you from dying.
short term use of a sleeping pill kinda helps with the learning curve. Most people say once they are using their cpap machine.. they never really a good night til they got one.

I feel out of sync with the machine's breathing and end up feeling like I'm drowning. Sleeping pills are not a viable option for me. I have allergic reactions to meds with similarities to benzos.