Sleep Apnea?

[Mike_S]

Buck

Say it the way you said it here when you see your VA PVP and request a sleep study.

I had to deal with SA for several years while the VA would dick around with other BP meds to try and reduce the drowsiness. They finally had me do a sleep study (I was not even aware of SA). They gave me a very good cpap machine without much info on how to use it and the Swift FX nasal pillow mask. Nobody ever told me of the problems people have getting used to a mask, leaks and other problems. There is also a problem getting supplies on a regular basis from an unresponsive prosthetics dept.

It took me a long time to adjust, over a year but now I feel much better.

When I looked for help with the problems the VA techs were useless. I owe my successful use to an online website and forum.

http://www.freecpapadvice.com

The site owner is a registered sleep tech. He has some very useful video reviews of many of the available masks and machines.

Good luck, do it!

[broncovet]

I was treated at my local VA for 12 years. Never once did they do a sleep study, and they did not ever even suggest it. I guess they want me to self diagnose sleep apnea.

Then, I had chest pain. My wife called VAMC and told them they were bring me in for a possible heart attack. They said, dont bring him here, we are full up.

They said to have me go to a private hospital, and VA would pay as the beds were full.

My wife, being a cardiac nurse, knew what to do. She sent me to a world class heart hospital, where they diagnosed sleep apnea in 12 hours, after VA could not do it in 12 years. I had an enlarged right side of my heart, which means sleep apnea. The heart compensates for lack of oxygen while sleeping by enlarging the right side.

I took the diagnosis to VA and got a sleep study, and poof, I had sleep apnea. I have a CPAP machine, that I use and know for absolute certain that VA would have never diagnosed sleep apnea, and I would likely be dead by now if the VA was not full that day.

[Andyman73]

I noticed by the second day of using mine, that my hearthburn, which I had been suffering with for years, was gone! That by itself is the #1 reason I'm happy with it. My wife likes the fact that I no longer snore and keep her from sleeping well. I got mine through my insurance, paid in full, up front, and they robocall me every 90 days to see if I want/need to reorder the consumables...mask, and all the stuff. Apria is the name of the company that provided the CPAP and the accessories. When I did my sleep study I had my first apnea in less than 3 minutes of sleeping. Had over 130 in 2 hours!!!!!!! Pulse Ox dropped as low as 73%!!!

I had all kinds of trouble sleeping, while on AD. Used to drink just to help sleep. All the stress and such....

[Buck52]

broncovet, enlarged heart is the cause of sleep apnea?

Dang I better get my heart check out too.

I am waiting on a sleep study from the VA??...IF I Don't hear from them by the 4th of next month I have a 6 month check up....I'll ask then...some times your Dr can put in for something like sleep study and if the clerk was busy with something & he/ don't write it down was busy ect,,ect, it never gets ordered...(from my experience anyway),....then I 'll tell my Dr.

Thanks For the reply's Everyone

...............Buck

[broncovet]

Close, Buck. The enlarged right side of the heart is a symptom, not the cause.

If you have severe sleep apnea, you dont get enough oxygen and the heart compensates, making the right side bigger. The right side of the heart goes to the lungs to supply oxygen. Thus, if you have sleep apnea, you can also have an enlarged right side of the heart. Sleep apnea causes an enlarged right side of the heart, not the other way around.

[Andyman73]

And it can kill, too. One of my co-worker's father died last fall, due to SA. He was only 53. He had gone to his hunting camp, and never came back. They found him sitting on a lawn chair in front of the fireplace. Apparantly he fell asleep, head dropped down as he relaxed, and that was it. He had left his CPAP at home!