A cure for sleep apnea?

[TRT]

.

You want to drive next to a truck driver going 75mph who hasn't hit REM sleep in a few weeks and whose O2 levels drop into the 60's for 8hrs? Be my guest, by all means.

You just reminded me of the shit that was involved with my old man. I remember we use drive one of his company trucks (big freightliner) that was basically a workshop on wheels and I would have to drive cause he'd fall asleep even if he just woke up. The doctor also talked about his O2 levels and shit.
I should also add that when I say this mother fucker had no neck...there was no neck. He was just a solid guy.

I think neck size, again without any research so far, does play a roll in this sleep apnea.
My neck maybe slightly bigger then the average but can't say for sure.

 

[Eman]

Police, fire, airline employees, emts, doctors, etc, etc

Do you need a physical and a license that needs approved prior to these positions? It's not regulated in the same manner as the DOT either...

I said it was a scam. It's a problem in which the government used to cash in at other peoples expense.

No, asset seizure is a scam. Testing for sleep apnea to prevent people from getting run over by a truck makes sense.

Oh, and the other underlying health issues would be like high bmi coupled with high blood pressure, but not high bmi alone.

Those things tend to go hand in hand, I'm not sure what you think you're going to accomplish by adding in another qualifier. But sure, if you think that would actually make a difference, I'd agree with it.

And just because you come up with a catchy little phrase about driving next to a truck driver with low 02 levels doesn't mean folks should be forced to go through with what truck drivers are forced to do.

I didn't come up with it... The medical community came up with it.

I'm sure it's real, but dot and the doctors pushing it labeled it an epidemic so they can take peoples hard earned money.

Let me ask you, what does the DOT stand to gain from trying to prevent people from getting a license? It would serve them to have more truck drivers on the road, they make more money that way. CDL license fees to the state are way more money than sleep apnea treatment...

You have a much greater chance of having sleep apnea if you are black. Should they force you to pay out of your pocket for sleep apnea test and if you fail cost you your job just because your black? It's about safety, right?

Yeah, if someone is black they should have to get a sleep apnea test or not have a job... Again, you're an idiot.

 

[mghoward74]

I'll quickly address the issue of sleep apnea.

For those who don't know, there's 2 types of SA.
a). Obstructive (osa)
b). Central (CSA)

obstructive being the most common, but not strictly specific to weight gain.

There 2 factors to which SA form, natural & unnatural. Unnatural are those cause by injury or medicine

Injuries are the most common factors, I.e. head, neck, back. Another factor is individuals associated with PTSD & depression.

Sleep deprivation can be a cause of SA also.

*If you snore, chance of SA are real. You can also snore and not have sleep apnea. If you don't snore, there's no chance of having apnea (osa).




Truck driving jobs aren't the only line of profession effected by workers with sleep apnea.

Most professions where lives & property are at stake, you will need a yearly physical if you have SA, in order to be compliant and to keep your job. That's if they find out you have SA.



THERES IS NO CURE FOR SLEEP APNEA

 

[TRT]

I'll quickly address the issue of sleep apnea.

For those who don't know, there's 2 types of SA.
a). Obstructive (osa)
b). Central (CSA)

obstructive being the most common, but not strictly specific to weight gain.

There 2 factors to which SA form, natural & unnatural. Unnatural are those cause by injury or medicine

Injuries are the most common factors, I.e. head, neck, back. Another factor is individuals associated with PTSD & depression.

Sleep deprivation can be a cause of SA also.

*If you snore, chance of SA are real. You can also snore and not have sleep apnea. If you don't snore, there's no chance of having apnea (osa).




Truck driving jobs aren't the only line of profession effected by workers with sleep apnea.

Most professions where lives & property are at stake, you will need a yearly physical if you have SA, in order to be compliant and to keep your job. That's if they find out you have SA.



THERES IS NO CURE FOR SLEEP APNEA

Fuck I've been working some serious hours. 16hr shifts back to back and it take me 1:20min to get home one way. Sleep deprivation I definitely have. So when I do get sleep it's not good. Even on the weekends.

 

[mghoward74]

Fuck I've been working some serious hours. 16hr shifts back to back and it take me 1:20min to get home one way. Sleep deprivation I definitely have. So when I do get sleep it's not good. Even on the weekends.

How long?

Studies show that when military personnel go on deployment, roughly 18 month after, a majority develop SA. Military personnel normally work 12-18 hours during deployment. Usually deployment can last up to a year depending the situation.

BTW...military members are at higher risk than anyone of getting SA.

Edit:

SA relation to weight gain...

*SA cause low metabolism, hence the weight gain. Most individual get a sleep study years after acquiring SA. See the relation.*

Can you see the relation between truck drivers and SA, in regards to sleep deprivation?

 

[TRT]

How long?

Studies show that when military personnel go on deployment, roughly 18 month after, a majority develop SA. Military personnel normally work 12-18 hours during deployment. Usually deployment can last up to a year depending the situation.

BTW...military members are at higher risk than anyone of getting SA.

Edit:

SA relation to weight gain...

*SA cause low metabolism, hence the weight gain. Most individual get a sleep study years after acquiring SA. See the relation.*

Can you see the relation between truck drivers and SA, in regards to sleep deprivation?

Well they're 16hrs shifts plus 1:20min drive to and from home. That's about 19hrs plus the hour to get ready for work and the hour to get ready for bed which includes eating. These times are also best case scenario. It's been going on for 4 months now. About 2 years prior to this I worked even more. And that lasted 3-4years.

 

[Dr JIM]

1) I am a fat ass too but the tonsils are the main cause.

2) I never really had issues with waking up while asleep, but my wife always bitched about the snoring so I looked into it.

3) The way I see it is this... if you wake up many times during sleep, you never get the chance to enter the all so important REM.

4) A sleep study does the same exact thing that the kit you can rent for $300

5) does except you sleep on your own time and in your own bed which is important to most people.

6) a lot cheaper than a sleep study, and it is as just as good as a sleep study or else you wouldn’t be able to get a legitimate prescription with it.

7) With most modern CPAPs, you have the ability to see your sleep quality and monitor what the machine is doing.

1) of SNORING!

2) you need to spend A LOT more time "looking into " the difference bt sleep apnea and snoring bc they are NOT mutually inclusive

3) A lack of REM sleep can result in a less than restful day but it will not KILL you and sleep apnea most certainly can.

4) Sure why not a "mail order sleep study kit" LMAO

5) Its obvious you like many "discussants" on this board have no idea about what, why and how specific physiologic parameters are monitored during a medically directed sleep study.

6) the cheapest means is to have the condition appropriately diagnosed and allow one's insurance cover what a patient already paid for HEALTH CARE!

7) Oh do tell how a SLEEPING patient is supposed to watch their "bar graph" on some monitor!!!

*****
And the winner of the I don't know shit award goes to @miketee

 

[miketee]

Thanks Jim. I have always wanted a blue ribbon. The CPAP stores the information on an SD card and you review it when you are awake. The latest model is Wi-Fi enabled and it uploads this information to your phone. Sleep Apnea tests monitor your quality of sleep which is the same thing the home kit does, as well as a CPAP machine that can log information. Would you care to enlighten us peasants that are beneath you of what else these in house studies do that a machine can’t? Are these people not just reading an instrument in real time vs at a later time? The OP doesn’t have insurance nor did I at the time. I guess you just casually skipped that part.
Home Sleep Test - CPAPSupplyUSA.com

 

[TRT]

1) of SNORING!

2) you need to spend A LOT more time "looking into " the difference bt sleep apnea and snoring bc they are NOT mutually inclusive

3) A lack of REM sleep can result in a less than restful day but it will not KILL you and sleep apnea most certainly can.

4) Sure why not a "mail order sleep study kit" LMAO

5) Its obvious you like many "discussants" on this board have no idea about what, why and how specific physiologic parameters are monitored during a medically directed sleep study.

6) the cheapest means is to have the condition appropriately diagnosed and allow one's insurance cover what a patient already paid for HEALTH CARE!

7) Oh do tell how a SLEEPING patient is supposed to watch their "bar graph" on some monitor!!!

*****
And the winner of the I don't know shit award goes to @miketee

I lol'd at number 4!
Your such a prick. Ha

 

[Switcher]

How long?

Studies show that when military personnel go on deployment, roughly 18 month after, a majority develop SA. Military personnel normally work 12-18 hours during deployment. Usually deployment can last up to a year depending the situation.

BTW...military members are at higher risk than anyone of getting SA.

Edit:

SA relation to weight gain...

*SA cause low metabolism, hence the weight gain. Most individual get a sleep study years after acquiring SA. See the relation.*

Can you see the relation between truck drivers and SA, in regards to sleep deprivation?

Yeah, I have stories about flight ops and how I tried to stay awake. Should there be more tests for the condition and in more professions? Most definitely. Want to understand what happened on those ships in the Pacific in the past year? Look to this as one possible aggravating factor.

I agree with the Dr in that everything I have ever read says it is most commonly related to obesity. I have to believe genetics also rolls in to this. Then again perhaps I am just malformed.

People thinking sleep apnea is a scam are burying their heads in the sand. This reminds me of the debate of second hand smoke. The issue has been treated in the military for over 20 years. Today, the VA is having a run on sleep apnea claims for disability. We are just beginning to comprehend, as a society, the issue.

Oh, I am not diagnosed from the VA. I sleep on my stomach and just missed the scores necessary to justify sleep apnea. Had I slept on my back, the Dr said I would have been diagnosed. That said, I have other major injuries and receive all my care from them so they did give me a machine.

 

[Dr JIM]

Lets be clear here when folk aren't breathing bc their airway is OBSTRUCTED their 0-2 levels (AKA oxygen desaturation) fall and THAT decline results in the enhanced mortality and morbidity of OSA patients.

The remainder are well established effects of obesity and include: metabolic syndrome, HTN, LVH, CHF, renal disease, bla, bla, bla

And while some with "sleep apnea" possess other predisposing clinical features, NONE exceed the prevalence of obesity as an independent risk factor for OSA.

Finally as an aside TONSILAR HYPERTROPHY is NOT an independent risk factor for OSA
in adults!

 

[miketee]

Finally as an aside TONSILAR HYPERTROPHY is NOT an independent risk factor for OSA
in adults!

No but it sure does piss off your wife to the point where some of us must sleep in the spare bedroom. There are no other “cures” for snoring aside from surgery or a CPAP.

Are there any risks of using a CPAP that is delivering the proper amount of airflow to your respitory System?

 

[Old]

Interesting. everyone I know who has it and even use the machine, not one of them is obese. Just as I’m sure the people here who have it aren’t obese.

The people I know with CPAPs are heavy. But I have one and everyone thinks I'm thin. At 6'2" with weight between 158 to 178 doesn't seem fat ... but never had muscle (ectomorph?). Now at 190 with less fat - CPAP usage is the same. Only with PT does it change.

That sounds about right. Thanks buddy. I'm 5'9-5'10, 170lbs 12% and I don't know what my neck size is but 16 1/2 inch shirts are tight on my neck. Too tight in my opinion. I have to unbutton my collar and use my tie to cover it. I'll definitely measure it though.
Why? What do you got in mind?

170 at your height should not be considered obese, and no way with visible 6 pack

Well I'm not waking up gasping for air every night caught I get off on suffocating myself.

After my back/neck got resolved, I couldn't nap in a chair for this very reason (yes, am getting old and like me naps). Thankfully it resolved.

When having a sleep study, they put a whole set of EEG and EKG probes on. Wondered how one was to fall asleep with all that crap on me ... but I did. Fortunately wasn't abducted by aliens so avoided the anal probing thing (nothing quite like testimonials).

I was diagnosed "Moderate". To put that in perspective, they recorded 278 obstructive apneas and 7 'brain' apneas for that night. Wonder what "Severe" would require. Yet my CPAP setting is so low its almost not on.

Home Sleep Test - CPAPSupplyUSA.com

This goes along with the home vasectomy kit

But if you are squeamish, you can contract to a low bidder

 

[mghoward74]

In regards to the military...

The VA wants to get rid of SA claims, but that's going to be a difficult task. There's quite a few vets who have it, whether on its own or secondary to another injury. The push against SA related claims is because some senator/congressman wants to make a name for himself and/or pressure from the VA administration.

Where I work, a lot of guys have sleep apnea and getting treatment for it.

Yeah, I have stories about flight ops and how I tried to stay awake. Should there be more tests for the condition and in more professions? Most definitely. Want to understand what happened on those ships in the Pacific in the past year? Look to this as one possible aggravating factor.

I agree with the Dr in that everything I have ever read says it is most commonly related to obesity. I have to believe genetics also rolls in to this. Then again perhaps I am just malformed.

People thinking sleep apnea is a scam are burying their heads in the sand. This reminds me of the debate of second hand smoke. The issue has been treated in the military for over 20 years. Today, the VA is having a run on sleep apnea claims for disability. We are just beginning to comprehend, as a society, the issue.

Oh, I am not diagnosed from the VA. I sleep on my stomach and just missed the scores necessary to justify sleep apnea. Had I slept on my back, the Dr said I would have been diagnosed. That said, I have other major injuries and receive all my care from them so they did give me a machine.

 

[Switcher]

In regards to the military...

The VA wants to get rid of SA claims, but that's going to be a difficult task. There's quite a few vets who have it, whether on its own or secondary to another injury. The push against SA related claims is because some senator/congressman wants to make a name for himself and/or pressure from the VA administration.

Where I work, a lot of guys have sleep apnea and getting treatment for it.

You bet it's a push. Service connected is 50% automatic disability. That means a tax free payment each month for the rest of your life AND free healthcare. My sleep Doc looked at me and was like, "Why did you have to sleep on your stomach?!?!?!"

 

[Dr JIM]

You are an idiot.



1) Neck size being associated with sleep apnea is backed by scientific data. Once your neck has reached a certain size, your chances for sleep apnea go up dramatically.

I know from experience. I'm a healthy guy too, but I have sleep apnea because of my size so your logic completely falls apart. What other fucking underlying health issues do you think they'll find? They give you a sleep study, sleep apnea is confirmed, and you're no longer at risk of falling asleep behind the wheel.

You want to drive next to a truck driver going 75mph who hasn't hit REM sleep in a few weeks and whose O2 levels drop into the 60's for 8hrs? Be my guest, by all means.

YEP and it's been shown many obese folk lack the cervical MUSCULATURE required to support the extra adipose tissue with the net effect being upper airway collapse.

The inability to move air in and out results in hypoxemia (lowered O-2 levels) and
eventually the patient gasps for air and is awakened

Should the above process continue throughout the night and for prolonged interval a "sleep disturbance" is the inevitable outcome.

To that end a presumptive diagnosis can be made simply observing some at risk patients SLEEP, under the most bizarre circumstances and in spite of extraneous disturbances that would awaken the DEAD

JIM

 

[Dr JIM]

You bet it's a push. Service connected is 50% automatic disability. That means a tax free payment each month for the rest of your life AND free healthcare. My sleep Doc looked at me and was like, "Why did you have to sleep on your stomach?!?!?!"

And how is any OSA risk factor, obesity in particular, a "service connected disability"?

 

[miketee]

What is interesting about these DOT cases is what are the parameters once you are diagnosed with SA. Sure you can diagnose SA and prescribe the CPAP but are they requiring you to use it? It’s very uncomfortable the first few nights and I can see people saying fuck this if they have no ambition to use it. Most modern machines log the usage, but do you have to send that data to a dr every week? What happens if there is an accident? Will they make sure you used the machine the previous night? Is there a certain amount of sleep required on a daily basis to get behind the wheel? Will insurance deny a claim if the data is non-existent? Interesting subject...

 

[mghoward74]

And how is any OSA risk factor, obesity in particular, a "service connected disability"?

If your diagnosed with sleep apnea while in the military (or can prove it happen in service) its considered service connected. A sleep study has to be conducted 1st or some form of entry in one's military service record. The military failure to pre screen service members is its own fault. The military assumes your fit for duty before entering.

Since they fail to do the proper Pre screening, theyre literally paying for their mistakes. Prior to 2004, SA was not a compensatable disability. Since then the VA has been overrun by both real and bogus SA claims. Everyone I know is somehow trying to get an SA claim.

Until they come up with a better Pre screening, the problems going to get worst.

 

[ronin17]

If you go off of a bmi chart, many on this board are probably morbidly obese. Might look totally healthy too.

With that said, I know some skinny guys can have it too but they're the exception not the rule.

Yeah, I know what you mean. My last checkup according to their charts Im considered obese at 6 1” and 216lbs. Lol.