A great place to start Disorder information source Rated and Reviewed Sleep Links Entrance to all monitored Sleep Forums Search all of Sleepnet.com


Sleep Apnea
Forum Posting


Archived Apnea Forum103 viewing only. To post a new topic go to the Apnea Forum Homepage.

Re: Finding a sleep doctor

Posted by SleepyActor on October 18, 2002 at 17:12:57:

In Reply to: Re: Finding a sleep doctor posted by Rebecca on October 18, 2002 at 16:49:05:

Hi Rebecca-

Well, it's a gray area. 2 of the 4 sleep doctors that I ended up seeing in total told me that young people don't respond as well to CPAP as older people. Now, part of that may just be because we're less willing to commit to wearing it all night every night, but I imagine there are other factors too. And in an obese person who has lots of redundant tissue in the throat, the CPAP helps because the problem is directly related to that tissue collapsing in sleep. However, I also had a pretty unremarkable airway, which contributed to CPAP not doing much for me. In fact, I was one of those rare cases where raising the pressure made me worse instead of better.

I don't want to discourage you - *CPAP will probably help you!* It helps/fully treats the majority of cases. I just turned out to be a really unique and confusing case, one that seven months after being diagnosed w/ OSA we're still trying to iron out. I tried CPAP to no avail, and then a Klearway dental device to no avail. We talked about surgery but agreed it wasn't right for me.

Now, it appears I may have fibromyalgia in addition to OSA, and definitely do have generalized anxiety disorder, which can manifest itself in symptoms such as fatigue, and can even influence the presence of sleep disorders! So although I do definitely have OSA, I didn't respond to the usual treatments and it looks like my root problem, whatever it turns out to be, is not OSA alone.

Sorry for that mouthful. Bottom line. CPAP will probably help you, and hopefully it'll be all you need. Do be patient with it - it may be a day or several weeks before you can determine if your pressure (or CPAP at all) is sufficient. But while you're being patient, do be informed -- educate yourself from sites like this, Dement's "The Promise of Sleep," and so forth. Question your doctor, don't just accept whatever he says as instantly true, seek out second opinions - in general, be proactive about your own health because even the best-intentioned doctors may not be pursuing the correct path.

Hope that helped.

Best of luck,
Rich

Follow Ups:


Archived Apnea Forum103 viewing only. To post a new topic go to the Apnea Forum Homepage

  • IMPORTANT : Information not intended as medical advice. If you suspect that you have a sleep disorder you should seek care from a qualified professional. Read Terms of Use.
  • The Sleep Forums are not to be used for commercial purposes.
  • Commercial products and services are not endorsed by Sleepnet.com.
  • Sleep Deprivation due to Sleep Apnea and insufficient sleep are common and can present as insomnia, narcolepsy, or idiopathic hypersomnia. In infants and children sleep problems commonly present themselves as ADD or ADHD.


Copyright ©1995-2010 Sleepnet.com., All rights reserved          deadmanwaking.com