Central Sleep Apnea

[cooter]

My Dr has me on morphine and percs for my pain. Now my sleep study I just had shows sever Central apnea, and he says, more than likely it's due to the opiates I'm on.

My question is, if I filed a claim for the apnea, will they deny me cause its the meds that causing it or will they just try to get me off of the meds so I wouldn't have apnea?

Coot

[brokensoldier244th]

The analogy ive seen used for this before was "just because you take medication for your ED doesn't mean you don't have ED" and "just because you have a prosthetic or brace doesn't mean that that part suddenly works OK now". If your opiates are causing CSA and you are taking them for another condition there isn't a lot that can be done about that.

[cooter]

LOL.. Sorry, that one flew right over my head. Can you be a little more precise. Thanks bs

Coot

[carlie]

My Dr has me on morphine and percs for my pain. Now my sleep study I just had shows sever Central apnea, and he says, more than likely it's due to the opiates I'm on.

My question is, if I filed a claim for the apnea, will they deny me cause its the meds that causing it or will they just try to get me off of the meds so I wouldn't have apnea?

Coot

If the meds are for a SC'd condition and the doc write's that you have apnea (obstructive)

and the cause of the apnea is more/as likely as not the meds AND the

doc supports this with full medical rationale AND says that there are no other meds on the market

that work for you to treat your SC condition - then it might get SC'd.

Are you RX'd a C-PAP ?

JMHO

[Pete53]

Many believe that somehow medication that helps a condition means that VA won't compensate for the service connection. If you take blood pressure medication you still have High Blood Pressure unfortunately if not careful VA will rate with meds than when meds were prescribed. It is up to the claimant to make sure the VA gets it right.

As far as I know meds are a temporary relief from symptoms and not a cure. Don't forget the side affects too.

[cooter]

This is how it all started;

When VA SC me for a bad knee in 07, they prescribed hydrocodone at first, then it was changed to oxycodone later. Since then, my private Dr prescribed morphine with the oxycodone as a kicker, due to the pain in my back (NSC) and knee (SC).

My Sleep Study that I just had last week showed sever Central Apnea and not Obstructive Apnea. Even tho during the test, they placed a mask on me which also showed it was working for a while, until I started to have more episodes. All this is what the Tech told me afterwords.

I was told the pain meds can be one of the conditions that causes Central Apnea. The others are, head injury or spinal cord surgery. Central Apnea is defined as; It's a condition where the mind fails to tell the muscles to breathe, verses Obstructive, where there is an obstructing condition blocking the airway.

I have to wait till my sleep Dr. gets the results in order to get the whole scoop. But the tech said I will more than likely have to wear the mask.

Carlie, I don.t see an alternate for the pain except opiates, except maybe surgery, which is a no at the present time.

Pete, wouldn't Apnea be considered as a side effect from the hydrocodone the VA prescribed for the SC injury?

Coot

[brokensoldier244th]

Following this discussion. I was diagnosed last week with severe apnea ( I dont' know if it's obstructive or mixed) I take hydrocodone, meloxicam, gabapentin for a back injury, and zoloft for depression. I found in my medical records where I was prescribed elavil in 2002 by my (then) army PCP before I discharged for sleep problems as well, but I never claimed it, then.

This is how it all started;

When VA SC me for a bad knee in 07, they prescribed hydrocodone at first, then it was changed to oxycodone later. Since then, my private Dr prescribed morphine with the oxycodone as a kicker, due to the pain in my back (NSC) and knee (SC).

My Sleep Study that I just had last week showed sever Central Apnea and not Obstructive Apnea. Even tho during the test, they placed a mask on me which also showed it was working for a while, until I started to have more episodes. All this is what the Tech told me afterwords.

I was told the pain meds can be one of the conditions that causes Central Apnea. The others are, head injury or spinal cord surgery. Central Apnea is defined as; It's a condition where the mind fails to tell the muscles to breathe, verses Obstructive, where there is an obstructing condition blocking the airway.

I have to wait till my sleep Dr. gets the results in order to get the whole scoop. But the tech said I will more than likely have to wear the mask.

Carlie, I don.t see an alternate for the pain except opiates, except maybe surgery, which is a no at the present time.

Pete, wouldn't Apnea be considered as a side effect from the hydrocodone the VA prescribed for the SC injury?

Coot