Respironics Newsletter

[genes]

I do not know how many have seen this newsletter but it shows the importance of staying on treatment and is worth reading. I do not understand how so many people with sleep apnea remain undiagnosed and untreated and nothing has been done to get them treated. I think treating people with sleep apnea would be less cost than treating all the health problems that develop from not treating the apnea.
GeneS


http://sleepapnea.respironics.com/clinic...e_June.pdf

[SuperSleeper]

Thanks Gene... good read.

[Denial Dave]

some of those untreated /undiagnosed folks may be like me.

My obstructions did not wake me fully, so I had no idea that they happened

My parents snored, so it was natural that I snored too...

Both of my parents napped, so it was normal to need naps. 30-45 minute naps in the evening and weekends took care of any sleepiness I had....

If not for my wife noticing my PLM's and stopping breathing and then forcing me to get a sleep study done, I would have had no idea that I had sleep apnea or PLM's.

[genes]

some of those untreated /undiagnosed folks may be like me.

My obstructions did not wake me fully, so I had no idea that they happened

My parents snored, so it was natural that I snored too...

Both of my parents napped, so it was normal to need naps. 30-45 minute naps in the evening and weekends took care of any sleepiness I had....

If not for my wife noticing my PLM's and stopping breathing and then forcing me to get a sleep study done, I would have had no idea that I had sleep apnea or PLM's.

Sounds familiar
I knew that I had a problem but the local doctors did not have a clue what was wrong. My wife saw an article about sleep apnea and noticed that I stopped breathing etc. She recorded me sleeping on a casett recorder and took the tape to the doctor with the article. After going to a few clinics I got diagnosed. That was 1985 so most doctors were not aware of sleep apnea yet.

It seems like there should have been more progress in the last 25 years but it sounds like they are now doing studies that I wish would have been done 20 years ago. Hindsight is always good.

Phillips the company that wrote the newsletter and talked about the current research is a very large company with resources. They purchased Respironics a few years ago. Hopefully they will help figure out how to reach and treat more people with sleep apnea.
GeneS

[aehjr]

I knew something was wrong due to extreme fatigue and fuzzy thinking but I thought it was a middle age issue. It took a new girlfriend who told me I snore and that I occasionally stopped breathing to see a doctor. The doctor said, "you have sleep apnea" within about one minute of my description of symptoms.

Perhaps the bigger challenge to solve is finding a way to convince the people that know they have sleep issues to use their machines. I know how much better I feel when I use the CPAP and it is adjusted properly. It amazes me that "compliance" is defined as using the machine 4 or more hours per night.

[Ugly]

I do not understand how so many people with sleep apnea remain undiagnosed and untreated and nothing has been done to get them treated. I think treating people with sleep apnea would be less cost than treating all the health problems that develop from not treating the apnea.

For starters, some of us have had doctors whose attitude was shoved so far up their righteous regions they didn't want their patients to even consider something that they hadn't. So when I first heard about sleep apnea and suspected I might have it, my dear old doctor told me I was imagining things. It wasn't until after I got a girlfriend who confirmed my suspicions. Then I got a second opinion and then fired my doctor. Okay I couldn't get his license revoked, but he lost me as a patient. I had no trust in him any longer.