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Please Vote: Trach or Dementia.

Posted by GBoogie on March 27, 2002 at 20:49:26:

I had a meeting with yet another sleep doctor today in the continuing struggle to get my Mom's OSA treated and her dementia reversed. It seems age discrimination is the latest problem facing my Mom.

This doctor is co-director of a sleep lab in NYC that has the reputation for being rather aggressive in treating OSA.

I started out falling in love with this doctor.

Yes, I agree that OSA can cause dementia.
Yes, I am aware that there are published journal articles in Neurology and the Lancet showing that dementia can reverse when the OSA is properly treated.
Yes, it does seem that you have tried everything to make CPAP work.
Yes, it does seem that these autoPAP charts document inneffective or intermittently effective treatment.
Yes, a tracheostomy would treat OSA perfectly starting on the first night. If her dementia is reversible, a trach would do the job.
However, look at her age. If she were a 45-year-old truck driver a trach would be indicated, but she is 70 and retired. Sometimes what we see as a poor quality of life in someone else doesn't really bother the patient that much. She is better off without the trach.

Huh?

I realize that Mom's dementia MAY be due to more than just OSA, but logically, we will never know until we eliminate OSA by doing a trach.

I'm starting to think I'm going crazy, because the proper course of treatment seems so clear to me.

So, if you all wouldn't mind:
If you were 70-years-old, and in good health except for OSA, would you rather have 1)dementia or 2) a trach tube.


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