New Joiner Advice on SA Self Diagnosis

[Tired OZ]

Hi There,

It is great to find this forum. I am based down in Australia, and have slowly realised that I need to accept I have Sleep Apnea. I;m a big lad - 128kgs but under 6 foot tall. My father had Sleep Apnea and was overweight and he never really had treatment like a CPAP machine and I remember him getting so bad in terms of sleeping all day before having a heart attack.

So at 45 years old I'm now facing upto needing treatment, I have all the symptoms of Sleep Apnea (falling asleep regularly during day at desk, on sofa, always tired  every morning, fitful sleep, my wife tells me in morning how often I get Apena moments it is very often). I am trying to do more exercise and got to the gym a couple of times a week and want to do more but I am lacking in energy

So the Doctor has referred me to a sleep clinic. However I am very concerned about being diagnosed "officially". As I know this will impact the cost of all my health, life and travel Insurance. Also in Australia they inform the driving licence authorities to monitor you and make you have sleep tests regularly

Therefore everything I have read about SA, I am thinking do I need to get the diagnosis to tell me what I know already? Shall I just move to purchasing an automated CPAP machine (second hand) which can set the pressure when it is needed vs going the costly route through appointments, sleep specialists and then be given the machine which has a couple of pressure settings they set but I could do anyway? I feel like I am going down a path that is going to cost a lot, plus label me for the rest of my life and penalise me finanicially as a greater risk. 

I am sure everyone is going to recommend going the GP, specialist route. I just wanted people's feedback if they self diagnose or at least determine their own treatment rather than go the traditional route? Is it really risky to use a an Auto CPAP machine without the help of a sleep specialsit ( will obviously read the instructions closely).

Any feedback much appreciated.

Cheers

[dwd1249]

Don't be too concerned about your driving. The only time you need more then your GP to ok you is if you drive commercially , then once a year you need to get the ok by a sleep specialist .

 I had a home study then got my own machine and that would have been the end of it. The thing in my case was I was a bus driver so had to see a sleep specialist once a year.  
Not having health or life insurance I don't know of the impact there. There is a post running on Whirlpool forums where people talk about how much money they get back from their insurance for machine cost. https://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-re...=94&#r1874

I guess the bottom line is go to the sleep clinic and get your test done and go from there. You may want to stick with the care that the clinic provides or look at other avenues for treatment. I did get my first machine and started treatment before I saw the specialist. That and the help from this forum could have seen me doing it on my own, except for the fact that I was a bus driver at the time.

I just saw my sleep Dr yesterday for the first time in 3 years, since I retired. I had some strange sleep breathing patterns that I wanted checked out.

Good luck with it all and do ask any ? here

Just remembered this

[DeepBreathing]

G'day Tired Oz, welcome to Apnea Board.

Apnea doesn't affect your health insurance premiums as by law they can't increase the premium because of any condition or illness. Likewise I've never seen it affect my travel insurance. I don't carry life insurance any more so I don't know about that. As for the doctor informing the DOT, I know in WA they do not do that - the onus is on the patient to self-report.

As to the cost of the study, you should be able to find a clinic which bulk-bills the sleep test. Do a search for Snore Australia.

So after all that, the question remains as to whether you should have a test or just assume you've got apnea. And judging by your description I'd say it's pretty likely that you do. The good thing about a full polysomnography test in a clinic is that they wire you up with all sorts of probes and electrodes and do a suit of other tests besides. So if you have any problems with your heart, lungs or brain then it's likely to show up. It will also show if you have central sleep apnea, which is not common but cannot be treated by an ordinary CPAP machine. You don't really need the test, but I think it's a good idea.

If you decide not to have the test then I suggest you hire a machine for a month or two rather than buy it. That way if it doesn't work out or you need a different type of machine then you won't be too much out of pocket. If you get a fully data-capable auto-titrating machine and use #SleepyHead software to analyse your data, you will be able to pretty quickly home in on the optimum settings. The machine I recommend is the Resmed Airsense 10 AutoSet. An alternative is the Philips Dreamstation Auto. I'd avoid other machines like the Fisher & Paykel or DeVilbiss, not because they aren't good machines (they are) but because they are not as familiar to communities such as Apnea Board. People here can tell you pretty much everything you need to know about the Resmed and Philips machines, not so much for the others. I'd avoid Chinese machines machines like BMC or Apex as they aren't supported by #SleepyHead.

Hope this helps.

[trish6hundred]

Hi Tired OZ,
WELCOME! to the forum.!
Good luck to you as you consider CPAP therapy, hang in there for more answers to your questions.

[wishicansleep]

Hi TiredOz. I know the feeling. I had two sleep studies - as it was considered an admission I had to pay $500 excess for the first time (Medibank Private). Second time was free. Resmed do let you do a sleep study at home (upto $200) but then you will get their impartial (??) advice and their machines / masks. I haven't had any issues with travel insurance or life insurance nor have i declared it on Drivers License. Medibank give $500 contribution to a machine only. Cheaper to import (1000 saving and forgo the crappy Medicare Private). A proper diagnosis is well worth it for the health risk. Even with a Respironics and SleepyHead my results are all over the place - but no question that in the beginning my wife hated the machine noise and now she sleeps much better and won't allow me not to wear it my "snorkel".  All the best.