Navigating medical leave

[zoraa]

Hi all,

This question regards FMLA and short term disability (STD). Please feel free to let me know if this is not the correct place to ask this!

I am 34/F and have been diagnosed with moderate sleep apnea, RDI = 16 (though, I slept on my side during the sleep study, I usually sleep on my back, so likely my RDI would be higher in reality) - really it is mostly driven by RERAs rather than apneas, just for context. 

I'm currently going through the process of adjusting to the oral appliance, which has been really hard on my ability to work (I am a statistician, desk job but mentally very taxing). I have to take a sleep aid to even be able to tolerate sleeping with it, and the whole process is just making me incredibly drowsy and out of it the next day.

I'm planning to take a month off, whether it is unpaid or I'm able to get coverage, so that I can commit to consistent treatment and adjust. I also have a septoplasty scheduled in a few months.

I have been struggling with the fatigue for over 10 years and it is taking a significant toll on my life, my body, my health, etc (I know you all get it). I am taking this time off because I have put off fully committing to treatment for too long due to my worries around how it affects my work performance.

I'm in the process of submitting my claim to my STD insurance carrier and I was just wondering if anyone has any insight they could provide. Particularly:

--questions like how long this has affected my work performance, I'm not sure how to answer that. I've been struggling for 10 years but only just got the diagnosis this year

--questions around when I expect to be back - again, could depend on so many factors (if the oral appliance doesn't work and I need to consider CPAP again and/or surgery, etc)

--whether or not I should contact a lawyer now or later (or ever?)

I fully expect my STD claim to be denied (initially at minimum) just based on what I'm generally seeing, but I figured worth a try at least.

Thanks in advance for any help you're able to provide, and for all of the info I've been able to get from the boards.

[Gideon]

You lost an AutoSet in your profile.
Could you use it for a night then post the data. It will give much better insight on what is going on.

See if there is an advocate you can talk to on submitting your claim. They will know the INS and outs of the process and should be able to help frame your case.

In the meantime, consider using the AutoSet with our help here. It will provide, worst case, insight on how you are doing, on the best side significantly improve your well-being.

I'd also suggest getting a recording oximeter, one compatible with OSCAR to bundle all your data. The symptoms you state could, only could be caused by reduced O2 levels. This will look at that.

[zoraa]

Thank you so much! This is really helpful - I hadn't thought about looking into a health advocate. I am lucky that we have lots of resources at my job for things like this, so I will investigate.

I'm currently trying out an oral appliance instead of CPAP, but will update my settings if I do end up going back on the CPAP route. Though, I do monitor my O2, arousals, etc with wearables and can post the data here. Y'all helped me so much when I was first starting, it made a huge difference.

Thanks again!