Work and Sleep Study Troubles

General Discussion on any topic relating to CPAP and/or Sleep Apnea.
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Wulfman...
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Re: Work and Sleep Study Troubles

Post by Wulfman... » Wed Oct 29, 2014 9:58 pm

borgready wrote:Hey palerider,
Have we crossed paths before. I know you don't like my ideas on nigtmares and sleep apnea. It ain't just my idea. Google it.

No wait. Maybe you didn't take to my opinion on Robin Williams.

The truth is a drug addict don't wanna hear the truth. If your 300 or 400 pounds you have food addiction problems. Its so easy to make excuses and keep eating to curb your pains. If you got the fat gene then losing weight is even harder.
Thank you for demonstrating your ignorance.


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Re: Work and Sleep Study Troubles

Post by palerider » Wed Oct 29, 2014 10:05 pm

Wulfman... wrote:
borgready wrote: The truth is a drug addict don't wanna hear the truth. If your 300 or 400 pounds you have food addiction problems. Its so easy to make excuses and keep eating to curb your pains. If you got the fat gene then losing weight is even harder.
Thank you for demonstrating your ignorance..
he's been spewing that for a while at least he's consistently worthless. it's good to have things you can depend on in life.

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Re: Work and Sleep Study Troubles

Post by 49er » Wed Oct 29, 2014 10:38 pm

RogueWarrier,

Welcome to the forum. So sorry that you are dealing with one person who feels the need to badger you about your weight.

Anyway, in keeping with Den's excellent advice, here is a website by the Job Accomodations Network that could give you some ideas to ask your employer regarding accomodations for sleep disorders:

https://askjan.org/media/slee.htm

Of course, your employer has to be cooperative and as Den said, if they want to get rid of you, they will find a way. But it might be worth a shot and at the minimum,it would buy you some time until you could optimize your treatment.

Best of luck.

49er

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Wulfman...
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Re: Work and Sleep Study Troubles

Post by Wulfman... » Wed Oct 29, 2014 10:40 pm

Moogy wrote:I just want to offer some encouragement. I also fell asleep at work, driving, etc. Your bosses need a note from a doctor, but your doctor does not seem the least bit helpful. I hope you find a solution soon. Sorry about all the preachy posts above.
Moogy
Hi Moogy.

Good to see you post again.
Please don't stay away so long.


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CollegeGirl
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Re: Work and Sleep Study Troubles

Post by CollegeGirl » Thu Oct 30, 2014 1:37 am

Wow. Fat-shaming on a sleep apnea board is just sad. Can we really just not support the great job RW is doing of fighting for his life and his job and his efforts to get treated? I for one applaud it. That alone can be hard.

Weight loss is easier once apnea is under control - remember the effects serious sleep deprivation has on both cravings (carbs & sugar give your body instant energy, so your body gives you strong cravings for those things when you're sleep deprived) and on the hormones leptin & ghrelin, which control hunger and satiety.

I know Julie was just trying to help, but I'm sure RW is perfectly aware surgery is an option given the fact that larger people get the surgery spiel even when they go to the ENT for strep (happened to me). If you do decide to look into surgery, RW, look at ALL your options yourself - don't just go to a surgeon, as some will only do some types of surgeries and will only recommend what you do. The lap-band has by far the worst success rates long-term of any surgery out there - a very large percentage of patients have to have revisions to other types of surgeries. For SSMO (supersized morbidly obese) people like RW (and like me, too) the surgery with the best stats is actually the Duodenal Switch. In the hands of an experienced surgeon it's no more risky than the gastric bypass and it's loads more effective long-term than the bypass, lapband, VSG (sleeve), etc.. In order to have surgery of any kind, though, apnea needs to be under control first anyhow (well-treated with CPAP).

Anyhow... throw yourself into research, IF that is something you decide you want. If you are NOT in a place where you want to consider surgery, don't let anyone harass you about it. Weight loss will be somewhat easier post-CPAP anyway - might as well get a handle on it and see what happens.

I really hope you get the results you need from your sleep study. I'd really fight for an auto machine in your case - you sound like you slept like I did (read: not at all), and they were WAY off with my prescribed pressure. I never would have known without my auto! My bet would be that your apnea is worse than they think, they just can't measure it well because you have such a hard time sleeping in sleep studies (boy do I empathize with that).

Best of luck, RW.
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Tatooed Lady
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Re: Work and Sleep Study Troubles

Post by Tatooed Lady » Thu Oct 30, 2014 2:11 am

I have a friend who has narcolepsy. He falls asleep constantly. Have you been tested for a mild case of that?
Maybe your job is just too slow paced. You may be the type who simply needs a more stimulating atmosphere to stay awake. Does the sales floor need rearranging? I won't harp on the weight thing...I've got my own issues to cope with. How about changing doctors? Is that an option?

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Re: Work and Sleep Study Troubles

Post by Julie » Thu Oct 30, 2014 9:07 am

I realize my note re lapband was short, and I don't know that much about it though apparently it's not a great option... but I was curious to know if you'd thought about surgery as it wasn't mentioned in your note... obviously you have to do what feels right for yourself and I'm not suggesting you do any one thing, plus apnea definitely does make it hard to lose, let alone not gain more. I think the point is that we'd all like to help, so are throwing everything out there and hope you come back with your thoughts on some of it, and hope you find an answer.

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Re: Work and Sleep Study Troubles

Post by archangle » Thu Oct 30, 2014 9:49 am

Julie wrote:Is there a reason why you haven't considered lap-band surgery - over and done with and you could get on with your life.
Hogwash. They're beginning to realize that there are long term side effects to lap band, such as stomach damage. They're also beginning to realize that the weight loss is temporary in many cases and the weight slowly comes back.

As for the sleep test, any doctor who sends a patient to a sleep test without a sleeping pill to take in case he can't sleep needs a good, stiff beating. You'd rather have the test without drugs, but drugs are better than no sleep.

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Re: Work and Sleep Study Troubles

Post by Day_Dreamer » Thu Oct 30, 2014 10:27 am

Wulfman... wrote:
borgready wrote:Hey palerider,
Have we crossed paths before. I know you don't like my ideas on nigtmares and sleep apnea. It ain't just my idea. Google it.

No wait. Maybe you didn't take to my opinion on Robin Williams.

The truth is a drug addict don't wanna hear the truth. If your 300 or 400 pounds you have food addiction problems. Its so easy to make excuses and keep eating to curb your pains. If you got the fat gene then losing weight is even harder.
Thank you for demonstrating your ignorance.


Den

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and thank you for ruining my work papers as water just spewed out my nose I laughed so hard

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Wulfman...
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Re: Work and Sleep Study Troubles

Post by Wulfman... » Thu Oct 30, 2014 12:40 pm

Day_Dreamer wrote:
Wulfman... wrote:
borgready wrote:Hey palerider,
Have we crossed paths before. I know you don't like my ideas on nigtmares and sleep apnea. It ain't just my idea. Google it.

No wait. Maybe you didn't take to my opinion on Robin Williams.

The truth is a drug addict don't wanna hear the truth. If your 300 or 400 pounds you have food addiction problems. Its so easy to make excuses and keep eating to curb your pains. If you got the fat gene then losing weight is even harder.
Thank you for demonstrating your ignorance.


Den

.
and thank you for ruining my work papers as water just spewed out my nose I laughed so hard
Sorry 'bout that.
But.......
When you read my posts.......be prepared for "whatever".


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RogueWarrior
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Re: Work and Sleep Study Troubles

Post by RogueWarrior » Fri Oct 31, 2014 11:10 am

Wow, a lot of awesome replies. Thanks for the support and advice, guys. Sorry it took me a day or so to get back to this post, life can be kind of hectic. A few things to kind of cover some of your questions:

1. I'm a woman, not that it matters too much, but I realize the name can be a bit misleading.

2. As far as weight loss/surgery options, I've tried Weight Watchers multiple times, but the meetings aren't all that useful to me, and I can get the same benefit from free apps like LoseIt as I can from their eTools, without having to pay for it. I've considered surgery in the past (and believe me, I have people in my life pushing for it or who believe it's inevitable that I get it), but my problem with surgery (for me personally, no judgements on anyone who chooses to get it for their own health) is two-prong. First of all, when I attempt to stick to something and lose weight through diet/exercise, I'm fairly successful at it (at least in the past), making the surgery unnecessary. Second, my personality and attitude towards weight loss at this time makes me a poor candidate for surgery, because I know how to cheat the surgery if I want, and if I get stressed out and choose to emotionally eat, I tend to snack throughout the day, which means the surgery won't be very effective for me. My problems would most likely be resolved by seeing a nutritionalist (although I'm not sure that's necessary either, I KNOW how to cut carbs, protein to carb ratios, that sort of thing), and a therapist to help me deal with some of my unresolved resentment issues that I can't seem to get over myself. I do NOT suffer from depression, or from anxiety, so I'm not on any sort of psych meds. But I have been a heavy girl most of my life, I don't remember or have a comparison for what it feels like to not be drastically overweight, and I resent having to give up what feels like more important/interesting parts of my life in order to dedicate the amount of time that it takes to make the drastic lifestyle changes necessary to lose. I have a bit of an OCD/perfectionism streak, especially in response to problem-solving, but that all-or-nothing approach doesn't work with lifestyle changes. I've tried, believe me. I start with the best of intentions, I track what I'm eating, I do well for a couple weeks. Then I hit a bad day, don't track for several days, get frustrated that I failed - AGAIN - and end up just dropping it. I've heard all the answers - try small steps, make small changes instead, don't give up, if you have a bad day just start over the next day and keep at it. Your health is more important than anything. The time it takes now is worth the time you'll gain, and the health benefits in the long run. I *KNOW* all that, but at the same time I just want to give it all a big middle finger. I hate it, I hate that I've been big since I was young, I hate that being prone to being large runs in my family, I hate that I have to put the kind of effort into it that smaller people never even have to think about, I hate that I have to sacrifice time with my friends, my family, my interests in order to make these changes. I hate that I hate all those things, I wish I could just jump on the healthy living bandwagon and get excited about it like so many other people seem to do. So yeah, I have a lot of emotional issues tied up around my need for weight loss, and all the surgery in the world isn't going to help me with that. And if I can get that sorted out, I likely won't have any need for the surgery. That, in my opinion, is why so many surgeries fail - they address the weight and the initial eating habits, but they don't deal with emotional baggage associated with weighing three or four hundred pounds.

So there, there's my weight loss rant, LOL. Also, I do NOT have Type-2 (sugar) diabetes. Until this last year my glucose numbers have always been good, and while my primary care physician did express some concern that my last three-month numbers looked a little high, I am trying to manage that by cutting down on my carb intake to return my numbers to normal levels. My doctor suggested/prescribed Metformin, but I haven't started taking it yet because I would prefer to bring my blood sugar down through dietary changes, without becoming dependent on medicine. I also have hypothyroidism, but am aware of it and manage it with medication.

3. My job is a bit slow paced at times, but I'm not really sure what to pursue other than what I'm in that would give me the kind of financial stability I would need. I'm in furniture and mattress sales, and there are times when it's just slower, no matter where you work. If I were to switch to a much faster-paced sales environment, I'm afraid I would have other sorts of difficulties, being unable to be on my feet for that long a period of time. I know busy holidays, when we're much faster paced, are a bit rough for me because as the day goes on my feet start to hurt, I get physically exhausted, I get cranky and frustrated. And that makes it hard to sell to people. I think I need to BE in better shape before I can keep up with that kind of a job, so it's a bit of a catch twenty-two. And as much as I'd like to start my own design company, I don't have the capitol for that right now or the financial safety-net. And those are all long-term issues that can't be dealt with in the here-and-now.

4. I have not been tested for narcolepsy, but I don't seem to suffer from any of the other symptoms, like sudden loss of muscle tone or sleep paralysis or anything like that. My symptoms are much more in line with OSA, so I'd never really given it that much thought.

5. 49er, thanks for the awesome link. I'll have to browse through it.

6. Yes, if the situation gets really desperate I have access to a sleep machine, though I have no idea what kind it is or how to set it. The sleep study people told me they wouldn't set an old machine even if I had it, they won't take the liability.

7. My assumption regarding my sleep apnea was based on my father's experience, who has a very similar build and situation. His sleep apnea seemed to be weight related, and as he lost weight his need for a machine went away. I realize that may not be the case for sure, but it seems likely in my situation.

8. My doctor told me that based on new regulations (not sure if it's related to the Affordable Care Act, but that was the impression that I got), people have to be evaluated for sleep apnea if they haven't had a test in the last... six months? Year? Something like that. So since my last sleep study was nearly six years ago, he said he couldn't do anything with it. But thank you for the link to the 1800cpap.com for home tests, I might pursue that route if I have to as well.

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Re: Work and Sleep Study Troubles

Post by Pugsy » Fri Oct 31, 2014 11:16 am

RogueWarrior wrote:6. Yes, if the situation gets really desperate I have access to a sleep machine, though I have no idea what kind it is or how to set it. The sleep study people told me they wouldn't set an old machine even if I had it, they won't take the liability.
There's an easy way around the "setting of an old machine" obstacle. That part is easy.
http://www.apneaboard.com/adjust-cpap-p ... tup-manual
and while far from ideal...a plain no data machine can be used.
It would just be better for evaluating therapy if there was some data to look and help with decisions about pressures and therapy in general.
If you can find out exactly which model of machine you have access to we can tell you if it has any data available.

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Re: Work and Sleep Study Troubles

Post by jaycee2 » Fri Oct 31, 2014 12:14 pm

Roguewarrior, see if one of your doctors will prescribe a sleep aid to help you sleep at the sleep study. Zolpidem (Ambien) is often used. My sleep medicine doctor said that It's vital to sleep at the study so that there would be some good results. The dosage for women is 5 mg. It just occurred to me that it might depend on a woman's size. The large size for men is 10 mg. It would be worth asking if weight is something to be considered.

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Re: Work and Sleep Study Troubles

Post by palerider » Fri Oct 31, 2014 12:24 pm

RogueWarrior wrote: 1. I'm a woman, not that it matters too much, but I realize the name can be a bit misleading.
Rogue... can I call you Rogue? you can mark that on your profile if you don't want people thinking you're one of us guy guys...

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Re: Work and Sleep Study Troubles

Post by ems » Fri Oct 31, 2014 12:28 pm

RogueWarrior wrote:So yeah, I have a lot of emotional issues tied up around my need for weight loss, and all the surgery in the world isn't going to help me with that. And if I can get that sorted out, I likely won't have any need for the surgery. That, in my opinion, is why so many surgeries fail - they address the weight and the initial eating habits, but they don't deal with emotional baggage associated with weighing three or four hundred pounds.
Hello RW... I've read all of your posts as well as the replies. You hit the nail on the head with this post. I've always had an issue with food and my daughter does as well. Most wouldn't consider my issue a big one, but it is for me. I use food to take the place of so many things... eat when I'm happy, eat when I'm sad, bored, tired, etc., etc. Food helps the moment I'm eating but seconds later I feel guilty and miserable which then becomes a vicious cycle. I also have Gerd and as I get older find things I could easily eat years ago makes me ill now. I want that stuff tho (sweets, carbs) and when I eat it I feel terrible; thus a vicious cycle.

I may have missed it, but I'm wondering if you have seen a therapist for your emotional issues? It's not the end all, be all... but it's a first step and in my opinion, a healthy one. My daughter is presently seeing a therapist and working on her issues (I have in the past). It helps her. She is more able to think about what she eats and when she is eating it. And if she chooses to eat something she is learning how to address the guilt that usually follows. As I said, no miracle, but a beginning. She is on the Paleo diet... you prob know what that is but if not you can google it. She has lost about 20 pounds. She said she doesn't feel deprived - especially when she can have a steak with lots of vegetables with butter. Her favorite snack is almond butter and carrots. I know there is sugar in carrots but so far it's working for her.

Be careful with the Metformin... I was on a very low dose and felt beyond awful because I never really needed it. Watching my food intake was the only thing that was necessary in my case.

I so relate to what you are dealing with... wish I had those miracle words that would help. I remember well those afternoons when I would sneak upstairs for a power nap in the lounge at work. Addressing the possible sleep apnea issues, along with a therapist, would be a really good place to start.

I will continue to read your posts and cheer you on. I wish you the best!
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