Anesthesiologist detect apnea?

[Rainmom17]

I saw this mentioned in somebody else's post, but didn't want to hijack their post so am starting a new thread. He said an anesthesiologist told him he has apnea. I'm curious if other people have had this happen as well. I bring it up because I have had general anesthesia 4 times in the past 5 years and twilight anesthesia about 3 times, and no mention of sleep apnea was ever made to me. So, I'm just curious about other people's experiences.

[Bertha deBlues]

I have also never been told by an anesthesiologist that I might have sleep apnea; however, when I tell them now that I have it, they take extra care to monitor my breathing.

[Grace~~~]

My situation is definitely "an outlier". The anesthesiologist were the first to notice with me. Then just being in ICU there was talk that maybe I should get a sleep study.

I tried to set up for the sleep study when I came back to Florida. I visited the nice building and saw the hotel style bedroom and met with the doctors and nurses there and it was all scheduled. Then I started getting weird calls saying it was unnecessary. They couldn't even tell me who they were? They told me to go to an address which was is a rough part of town and took me in to a closet behind a bunch of boxes (presumably cpap inventory?) and just gave me a cpap and basically sent me on my way. I've never been in a drug deal but this is how I imagine they go down?

I have good doctors in Florida, but the care I received at NYP/Cornell in Manhattan was like I was on another planet. In NYC was where the cpap idea originated.

I tried vigilantly ... I promise you ... vigilantly to understand what was going on with the DME?/ sleep study / insurance when this all started. Apparently, BCBS (my PPO) had contracted with some other HORRIBLE group created just to deal with sleep issues? They were so bad I just gave up. I try to block out of my mind the foulness and rudeness of the people I had to deal with while simply trying to follow my doctors prescribed orders. My doctors got involved too. ... anyway ... it was awful ...and I officially HATE those people.

So, I have the machine, I found this place and the ADORED PUGSY and others and I think things are going fairly well? Though I do want to know what my SP02 is and will get to that soon I hope. I have too many other battles to fight to go back and worry about a sleep study. I dream of a day when that is all I have left to fix.

[Goofproof]

They should, if they are really doing their job, not sitting reading a book or joking with the OR staff. Jim

If they are just waiting for the montor to go crazy, not so much.

I found out about mine from my heart By-pass, took them 20 minites in the OR to tube me/

[USMCVet]

It might of been me who posted anesthesiologist said I had it. When I had tonsils out in military my throat collapsed and I had to be reintubated ( funny how my medical records said everything was fine) . I've also recently woken up a few times and it would take me a few seconds of actively trying to breathe before I could breathe again.
Before my biopsy they screened me with questions and I got lucky to get call back for more questions. After I was taken into recovery and loopy from sedation they told me I had sleep apnea. I kept asking if they were serious LOL.
So I don't know if they watched me extra close because of my phone screening or what.

ETA: have you always told them before surgery you have sleep apnea?

[Goofproof]

It might of been me who posted anesthesiologist said I had it. When I had tonsils out in military my throat collapsed and I had to be reintubated ( funny how my medical records said everything was fine) . I've also recently woken up a few times and it would take me a few seconds of actively trying to breathe before I could breathe again.
Before my biopsy they screened me with questions and I got lucky to get call back for more questions. After I was taken into recovery and loopy from sedation they told me I had sleep apnea. I kept asking if they were serious LOL.
So I don't know if they watched me extra close because of my phone screening or what.

ETA: have you always told them before surgery you have sleep apnea?

YES, and I take my set-up with me and use it, they use it in the OR too. Jim

[chunkyfrog]

Nobody noticed. General anesthesia several times.
I even fell asleep in the dentist's chair--WHILE GETTING A ROOT CANAL.
My dentist never made the connection.
INTUBATION:
Once I was intubated while still conscious. [[[HORRIFYING]]]
I make it a point to tell about my experience.
Now they either skip it or wait . . .

[greatunclebill]

My wife had to have a procedure to close a hole between heart chambers. the hole was found thru investigating a heart murmur. they seal the hole by going thru both sides of the groin up into both sides of the heart. the cardiologist told her that her breathing was stopping during the procedure and to see the sleep doctor. as expected, she joined the ranks of us hose heads.

[Goofproof]

My wife had to have a procedure to close a hole between heart chambers. the hole was found thru investigating a heart murmur. they seal the hole by going thru both sides of the groin up into both sides of the heart. the cardiologist told her that her breathing was stopping during the procedure and to see the sleep doctor. as expected, she joined the ranks of us hose heads.

I wish her many good years on the hose with you by her side! Jim

[Okie bipap]

When I had knee replacement surgery, the nurses noticed my blood oxygen was dropping a lot when I slept. The doctor that did morning rounds was a pulmonologist and he scheduled me for a sleep study.

[Rainmom17]

I've only been diagnosed with apnea for 5 months, so all my anesthesia experiences were pre-diagnosis. Sure would have been nice if at least one anesthesiologist would have noticed - would have like getting diagnosed sooner!

[jnk...]

Any observant human being, including an anesthesiologist, is capable of telling another human being that he or she has signs of OSA, especially if the observant human being has seen the observed human being sleep.

[Bertha deBlues]

Any observant human being, including an anesthesiologist, is capable of telling another human being that he or she has signs of OSA, especially if the observant human being has seen the observed human being sleep.

Assuming they are actually observing.

[jnk...]

My point is that, to the best of my knowledge, there is nothing in the training for becoming an anesthesiologist that would disqualify him or her from making helpful observations to fellow human beings.

[Bertha deBlues]

My point is that, to the best of my knowledge, there is nothing in the training for becoming an anesthesiologist that would disqualify him or her from making helpful observations to fellow human beings.

Agreed.