Dealing with work and sleep apnea

[valsedai]

How did you handle letting your employer know that you have sleep apnea, and what kind of accommodations did you need to be able to balance those days of work when you are fatigued, etc?

[Noctuary]

I just have to live with it. Make sure I have access to plenty of caffeine.

[webbie73]

I guess it depends on your job. If you are not driving or using heavy equipment and have for example an office type job, why would you tell your employer? It is your business.

[ZZzseekerREM]

I just have to live with it. Make sure I have access to plenty of caffeine.

x2

The time between when I was diagnosed and when I got my machine was not very long. Of course who knows how long I went with it being undiagnosed.

It would be very interesting to hear from people that had to leave/miss work or missed deadlines from having sleep apnea and being fatigued- with someone telling them that is why it happened and how their company responded to that.

[icipher]

Just two weeks ago, the power went out as i was going to bed and didn't come on for 4 hours. The following morning I was too tired to comfortably go into work, so I just emailed my manager and told him the situation regarding my apnea. He was cool with it. I took a PTO day and that was it.

[ZZzseekerREM]

This is a good read- see the article on Sleep Apnea and Employment Issues:

http://www.sleepapnea.org/assets/files/ ... su2006.pdf


Taking a PTO day now and then (when you have accrued paid time off hours) probably is not a big deal, but I'm sure it gets trickier when you ask for accommodations or modified work schedules. Or when you start missing enough days or being tardy enough for management to notice because of fatigue.

[Noctuary]

I just have to live with it. Make sure I have access to plenty of caffeine.

x2

The time between when I was diagnosed and when I got my machine was not very long. Of course who knows how long I went with it being undiagnosed.

It would be very interesting to hear from people that had to leave/miss work or missed deadlines from having sleep apnea and being fatigued- with someone telling them that is why it happened and how their company responded to that.

I have left early and have stayed home a few times because of fatigue. I don't get sick days or PTOs. I have to be careful.

[valsedai]

I am at an IT job, and yes does seem to affect my getting to work on time aka tardiness at this job.

Between that or the fatigue that stays with me unless I am guzzling down my mio enegy water enhancer, and even then my body doesn't like caffeine all that much and then the crash and burn feeling from the after effects of the caffeine.

Everything is such a delicate balance. And I have been written up for the amount of time I have been absent as well. It just seems like crap, and trying to fire me for cause that's covered by the ADA.

[ZZzseekerREM]

Everything is such a delicate balance. And I have been written up for the amount of time I have been absent as well. It just seems like crap, and trying to fire me for cause that's covered by the ADA.

Have you notified them of your condition?

[Krelvin]

I'm in senior IT and have to deal with CHF which causes a mobility issue. Had a sit down with my boss years ago and since I can do most if not all of my job remotely I just have a very moderated schedule.

I work two out of three days from home and arrive at the office typically around 10am when I do go in, but am on call pretty much 7x24 and logged in when I get up.

I have my OSA pretty much under control and as long as I schedule when I sleep to ensure I get enough hours, tiredness is not an issue. I do two sleep allot.

[rance22]

I removed myself from work (airline pilot) till I get issue resolved. They were very supportive and glad I came fwd. to treat issue. I have been off for 2 months. Now that I have ASV I plan to return to work in next few weeks as my AHI has been below 3.0 for last 2 weeks and feeling much better.

[palerider]

I do two sleep allot.

typical cat.

[Janknitz]

IF you have run of the mill OSA and you are using your PAP machine consistently, you should not need ANY work accommodations unless you are required to sleep on the job (i.e. firefighter).

Not everyone has "run of the mill OSA"--there may be other medical conditions (I.e. CHF mentioned above, neurological issues, etc.). In that case, if you need reasonable accommodations you need to inform your employer and ask for them under the Americans with Disabilities Act and your state's laws concerning disabilities.