Need Help/Advice/Sympathy

[Nenetx2004]

It's been a long, long time since I've posted on the forum.....

I've been dealing with OSA for 4 years now. It's been good and bad. Right now facing some bad. I work for a BIG computer company in Central Texas (can ya guess which one?) and so far I've been pretty fortunate with managers understanding some of the idiosyncrasies of dealing with this.

What I've been going through is that there are times where I won't wake up in the morning. My mom will call, I'll have a conversation with her, and then go back to sleep and not remember the conversation. It happens every once in a while. Normally, it's just every once in a while this will happen.

Flash forward to this morning.....didn't wake up, ran around getting ready and hopped in my car. I got a screaming phone call from my manager about not communicating with her about what was going on. There were a couple of escalations and I wasn't available.

Then she had the audacity to tell me that I needed to call her when this happens.....ummmm.....hello? If I'm not "conscious", how the hell can I call her?

That aside, I've got an appointment with my neurologist on Monday to see what maybe the next step might be.

Do you think I should get an attorney at this point? Just to cover my butt?

Thanks.....

[Wulfman]

After four years, it seems that you would not be having those types of issues if your therapy was working properly.
Sleep Apnea is supposed to be covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act......but, you need to get a letter/note from your doctor and give it to the HR department (and probably supervisor).....to "cover your butt".

Your profile shows you having a S8 Vantage machine. Are you "monitoring" your therapy?
What is your average/typical AHI?
Do you have any other medical conditions? (that could be affecting your health)

Den

[Babette]

Yeah, start with a letter from your neurologist. Mine is very good about this sort of thing and is very familiar with wrangling with the various agencies.

Check your stats and let us know what your numbers are.

Try another mask? Sounds like you're NOT getting adequate therapy. There's a couple of free test drives for some different masks, if you might be interested:

HYBRID – by pjwalman
viewtopic/t33434/Hybrid-TestDrive-Continues.html

LIBERTY – by fortomorrow
viewtopic/t35474/ResMed-Mirage-Liberty-Test-Drive.html

NASAL AIRE II – by Babette
viewtopic/t30639/The-Return-of-the-Grea ... Drive.html

Cheers,
Babs

[echo]

hi netnetx - i agree with the others - contact your doc, and evaluate your therapy.

Do you have a sleep clinic / doc that you (can) go to?

I too had the same problem before therapy - I could never ever get to class on time as a kid, and i missed many morning classes in college because I couldn't wake up. I also nearly got fired from one job because the untreated OSA was so bad, I couldn't wake up even if my boyfriend pushed me out of bed (almost literally). That, and insomnia. I was always awake when I shoulda been sleeping, and sleeping when I shoulda been awake

Sounds to me like your therapy's not working, for whatever reason. Is this a new occurence, or has it been getting steadily worse in the past year(s)? Have you had weight gain/loss, allergy issues, other health problems, in the meantime, that could be contributing to worsening OSA or changing pressure needs?

[Julie]

Hi, I think what your boss wanted was for you to call her when you did awake and let her know then that you'd be late, rather than just showing up late. It's about being considerate, whatever problem you're having at home.

[Paul56]

The company I work for is setting up a new data center in San Antonio (Schertz). We have purchased a nice package of equipment from your outfit that is being installed this week.

Does setting an alarm clock wake you up? If it does, then as soon as you wake up with that alarm going off get out of bed and start in on your morning routine and keep busy so you don't fall asleep again. I wouldn't go the lawyer route yet as that may only antagonize your employer. Keep the lines of communication open. I can understand how a manager would get somewhat irate when someone says they fell back asleep as the reason they were late... but in your case there is more to it that they need to understand. That lack of understanding can be corrected through communication.

It sounds like your treatment is not working very well what with your propensity to fall asleep. Are you keeping track of your data?

[Nenetx2004]

Hey Julie,

So how long does it take you to get ready in the morning? I was out the door in 30 minutes......

It was not a case of calling or not. The fact was that I was late....she was pissed because she couldn't get a hold of me.

To all others:

Yes, I set an alarm clock. Yes, I have phone calls in the morning. No, no other health issues. This happens every now and again. Usually at inopportune times. I don't remember answering the phone or turning the alarm clock off. Or as in the case of this morning, the alarm had been going off for several hours....

Anyway....HR has been aware of the ADA issues dealing with this.....

[DreamDiver]

Are you taking Ambien? If so, how long have you been taking it?
When was the last time you had a polysomnograph done?

[jules]

Are you taking Ambien? If so, how long have you been taking it?
When was the last time you had a polysomnograph done?

The question might not be specifically about ambien since if that was taken at bedtime, the drug should have undergone a few half lives by morning, but there may be drug taken that is causing this affect or it might be some interaction that the liver is unable to metabolize in the presence of something that is affecting the enzymes (for example: the grapefruit / med interactions).

A careful scrutiny of all meds, supplements, and foods needs to be done.

[looking4zzzz]

A few years ago I had to take Ambien and I had a terrible time waking up. I actually did not take it when it was recommended, because I was too afraid I would oversleep. Eventually my doctor and I cut the Ambien in half so I could wake up when I needed to.

My guess is it is probably premature to get an attorney. You might want to read up on the American's with Disabilities Act, particularly where it applies to accomodations, and to the major functions of your job. If your job is one that can be done with a flex start time, so you still perform the major job responsibilities, and it doesn't create a major hardship (usually it's the employer's call as to what is a hardship) for your employer, then you can probably have your doctor write a justification for that accomodation and the company couldn't bug you. The problem comes when your employer says a major function of your job is covering from 8am to 6 pm, for example. If they can demonstrate that your arriving at 8:15 or 8:30 or 9 am or whatever, sporadically, hurts their business or creates a hardship for them to cover in your absence, then they don't have to make that accomodation, and could use a tardiness/disciplinary track to move you out of the organization.

Don't know how supportive your HR department is, but I would try to get a feel for what, if any, avenues they could suggest to help you continue to contribute to the success of the company, while taking care of your health. Perhaps a short-term disability leave would help you get your therapy working at a level that would enable you to arrive to work on time regularly. That short term disability could count as part of your Family Medical Leave Act yearly allowance.

Good luck!

[Nenetx2004]

Thanks for the advice/support. I have been taking 5 mg of Ambien along with Requip for PLMS. The really weird thing is that this only happens once in a while. Today I had no issues getting up......weird......

Anyway, job functions are not really dictated by specific hours. And after yesterday's a$$ chewing, it was determined that the "escalation" was a sales exec getting his panties in a wad because of a change of process he wasn't aware of. You know the type, doesn't matter how much you do for them, they'll never be happy.....

I don't believe a short-term disability stint would do me any good.....I'm having a discussion with my manager about all of this next week and I'll lay it all out on the line for her.