Obesity, Pride, Ignorance, and CPAP

[Traumer]

The CPAP journey has been very eye opening for me. I discovered I had sleep apnea when my snoring was causing too many sleepless nights for my wife (girlfriend at the time) so I 
embarked on my journey like many on this forum by getting a sleep study. In the course of learning about sleep apnea, cpap treatment, tweaking sleepy head/OSCAR, reading various forums about using a CPAP, talking to others, and more. I am learning that there is some very real discrimination against the usage of a cpap. 

Here are some of the cases I have encountered.

• Individuals don't have sleep apnea and associate everyone who does as obese people. I was once told "Only fat people use CPAP".
  
• Individuals who are "normal" or even "fit" who have sleep apnea and refuse to use it because they are not obese. This could be from a medical condition like having and extremely narrow nasal passage.
  
• Individuals who are very ashamed of using a cpap machine because they don't want to be "special" and want to sleep "normally".
  
• Individuals who likely have sleep apnea but are not diagnosed and don't even bother with it.
  
• Individuals who have always snored like a freight train and don't think they have a problem.
  
• Individuals who have spouses/parents/friends actively discourage them from seeking treatment for one or more of the above reasons.
  

There are many other cases for all sorts of people out there, but its ridiculous to see so much ignorance and active discrimination against people trying to seeking treatment. I don't think anyone of us here want to have sleep apnea. It is not a choice. People who have sleep apena comes in all shapes, sizes, ethnicity, genders, etc.There might be propensities toward certain groups of people, but why actively try to hate on people trying to seek help for something they never asked for? 

I wanted to write this post because it took me a while to come terms with many of this issues and want others starting on the CPAP journey to know that they are not alone. You could be an obese middle age man using a CPAP or petite athletic hmong women using a CPAP and both of you are awesome for seeking treatment and both of you are awesome for trying to help yourself. There are people who die from leaving their sleep apnea not addressed. Do not let pride, ignorance, or the words of others stop you from getting the treatment you need.

[mesenteria]

... 

Here are some of the cases I have encountered.

• Individuals don't have sleep apnea (...or, so they think) and associate everyone who does as obese people. I was once told "Only fat people use CPAP". (A common misconception, as is the one where only 'old' people have apnea.  Many under the age of 25 have sleep disorders and breathing disorders, including apnea)
  
• Individuals who are "normal" or even "fit" who have sleep apnea and refuse to use it because they are not obese. This could be from a medical condition like having and extremely narrow nasal passage. (Yup.  I was one of them.  Fit, active, and maybe a tad smug about my falsely assumed overall health.  Then, reality slapped me...)
  
• Individuals who are very ashamed of using a cpap machine because they don't want to be "special" and want to sleep "normally".  (Sounds like they need help with maturation or perhaps a personality defect)
  
• Individuals who likely have sleep apnea but are not diagnosed and don't even bother with it. (Not sure what you mean here. What information have they discounted or ignored?)
  
• Individuals who have always snored like a freight train and don't think they have a problem.  (They may not have a problem other than snoring.  True, on the basis of probability, especially as time goes on, there may be a non-salutary development like apnea, but not necessarily)
  
• Individuals who have spouses/parents/friends actively discourage them from seeking treatment for one or more of the above reasons.  (That's a whole 'nuther problem right there.  I'd wonder at their motives)
  

There are many other cases for all sorts of people out there, but its ridiculous to see so much ignorance and active discrimination against people trying to seeking treatment. I don't think anyone of us here want to have sleep apnea. It is not a choice. People who have sleep apena comes in all shapes, sizes, ethnicity, genders, etc.There might be propensities toward certain groups of people, but why actively try to hate on people trying to seek help for something they never asked for? 

I wanted to write this post because it took me a while to come terms with many of this issues and want others starting on the CPAP journey to know that they are not alone. You could be an obese middle age man using a CPAP or petite athletic hmong women using a CPAP and both of you are awesome for seeking treatment and both of you are awesome for trying to help yourself. There are people who die from leaving their sleep apnea not addressed. Do not let pride, ignorance, or the words of others stop you from getting the treatment you need.

  (Each of us must hoe our row.  That may involve ditching some friends, or maybe just offering them constructive feedback on the quality of their advice.)

[Diotima245]

Individuals who have always snored like a freight train and don't think they have a problem.

That's my dad... snored for years, gets up 3-5  times a night to "pee"....  thinks its just because he's getting old. So hard-headed he would never get a sleep study no matter how much I insisted.

Ce la vie!

[DaveL]

Individuals who have always snored like a freight train and don't think they have a problem.

That's my dad... snored for years, gets up 3-5  times a night to "pee"....  thinks its just because he's getting old. So hard-headed he would never get a sleep study no matter how much I insisted.

Ce la vie!

That was me before my sleep study about 30 years ago.
A reflexologist recommended I have one.  Yup. Sleep apnea.

[OpalRose]

I think it’s mostly ignorance...and before anyone gets mad at me...I don’t necessarily mean from the newly diagnosed person.

I’m talking about Health Care Professionals.  How long does a person have to see their regular doctor with issues and complaints of being tired and just not feeling right, before that doctor recommends a sleep study???  

My brother in law had just been diagnosed with SA, and I started to wonder if I had the same problem.  
Their are many doctors that know very little or just enough about Sleep Apnea that they don’t recognize it right away.

My GP took 5 years of listening to my complaints, before recommending a sleep study...at my insistence.  He usually blamed it on my weight and brushed me off.  Or he’d say, “well you are getting older.”  “Older people shouldn’t expect to get a good nights sleep.”  

As for myself, once I was diagnosed, I couldn’t wait to get started.  I didn’t care what anyone thought.  
I needed to sleep!

[Phaleronic]

I demanded a sleep study after my wife told me I was choking in my sleep, but I had complained about all kinds of issues for years.

[Gideon]

Not me. I didn't have a sleep problem. Not at all. It was the rumble strips on the side of the road waking me that got my attention. What? Those weren't rumble strips? They were driveways? My AHI was only 90+.
They told me 8 to 10 weeks to get my brick (I didn't know better) and I said BULL sh*t and got one in a week and a half.

I was one of the lucky ones that adjusted to CPAP immediately even though the 18cmw of the prescribed 19cmw was all my machine could produce.

[DaveL]

I think it’s mostly ignorance...and before anyone gets mad at me...I don’t necessarily mean from the newly diagnosed person.

I’m talking about Health Care Professionals.  How long does a person have to see their regular doctor with issues and complaints of being tired and just not feeling right, before that doctor recommends a sleep study???  

My brother in law had just been diagnosed with SA, and I started to wonder if I had the same problem.  
Their are many doctors that know very little or just enough about Sleep Apnea that they don’t recognize it right away.  

My GP took 5 years of listening to my complaints, before recommending a sleep study...at my insistence.  He usually blamed it on my weight and brushed me off.  Or he’d say, “well you are getting older.”  “Older people shouldn’t expect to get a good nights sleep.”  

As for myself, once I was diagnosed, I couldn’t wait to get started.  I didn’t care what anyone thought.  
I needed to sleep!

Wow.
I talked to my GP for 2 years. Sleep study came and he wanted to take credit for ordering the test for me. Later he lost his license for abusing prescription drugs...
Is there a mechanism to simplify this process?
Couldn't we do a sleep study at home with an autopap?
Or instead, could they monitor oxygen level in the blood?


Thanks for telling us your issues. 

My lesson learned is  that we all have to be our own advocates for our health.

[SarcasticDave94]

Funny (well not really) how many people, even myself for a while, will not admit or agree with a sleep study that indicates apnea. That's living in or near Denial, which is NOT the famous river in Egypt.

Even my Auntie has extreme snoring issues, which I believe are indicative of apnea. Mention it and she wants to deny there's a problem and it must mean we dislike or hate her for some reason.  

So yep, just mention snoring and apnea and it sets off a negative chain of events in many people. Where does the blame lie? Some of that blame is on the doctors and the rest on an ignorant and misinformed society.

[DaveL]

My work friend is about 71. He was diagnosed two years ago. Score was 105 in his test.
He has had problems since.
Bought two 'pap machines due to issues. ( I haven't seen his equipment. He says he has an autopap machine now. He had a bipap before.)
Had sleep quality issues.
(Pain in gut...)
His sleep doc hasn't fixed that for him, so he doesn't wear his gear.

My take: the system sucks. It doesn't work. My health has improved so much since I started reading information here.