ABC News reports on sleep apnea

[Gaga58]

What a shock when I sat down to watch the evening news tonight and hear Diane Sawyer talking about "all these woman who can't sleep"...the report focused on one woman who kept a journal and went to six doctors before being diagnosed with....you got it...sleep apnea!! Before they actually said what they had though, they did the run up of symptoms and all these woman who were recording themselves up in the night and my first thought was "test them for sleep apnea". I really expected it to be something completely different than what they said, so I hope there were millions of women out there watching tonight because as they said, it's not always men, it's not about age, and it's not always whether you snore or not! Kudos to ABC news!!

[Starlette]

Yes, really good article.
btw, recogonized that mask she was using too. I have one just like that
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/health/2012 ... for-women/

Starlette

[Gaga58]

I recognized it too Starlette, even though I don't use it! lol! Was a little aggravated at the reporter though making the comment about how it "wasn't very romantic looking", but was at least glad to see maybe this is starting to get some recognition!

[retrodave15]

I have witness first hand the doctors looking everywhere else but sleep apnea with my wife. She had every symptom noted in the story along with high blood pressure and depression. It finally took a admission to the hospital for a hypertensive crisis for her to get diagnosed. During the admission they did a pulomonary consult as she was retaining some fluid in her lungs. The pulmonary doc just happened to walk into the room while she was sleeping and watched her for about 10 minutes. He then had me wake her up to talk to him and he scheduled her for a sleep study after her discharge.

Now with CPAP she has turned the corner, depression is better, her blood pressure is better, and she has lost 5 pounds.

She had brought up her sleeping issues with the doctors before, but they wanted to look everywhere else first.

[ameriken]

I have witness first hand the doctors looking everywhere else but sleep apnea with my wife. She had every symptom noted in the story along with high blood pressure and depression. It finally took a admission to the hospital for a hypertensive crisis for her to get diagnosed. During the admission they did a pulomonary consult as she was retaining some fluid in her lungs. The pulmonary doc just happened to walk into the room while she was sleeping and watched her for about 10 minutes. He then had me wake her up to talk to him and he scheduled her for a sleep study after her discharge.

Now with CPAP she has turned the corner, depression is better, her blood pressure is better, and she has lost 5 pounds.

She had brought up her sleeping issues with the doctors before, but they wanted to look everywhere else first.

I don't get it, I had the same problem with my own doc who knew me for years. He swore up and down that it all had to do with low testosterone (though my levels weren't that bad). Even on androgel, I kept complaining about fatigue and his next step was to put me on an anti-depressant which I refused.

I just don't understand what is with doctors...do they not know what sleep apnea is?

[letmezzz]

I had the same problem, I kept telling my doctor all my symptoms and how bad I felt. The morning headaches, body aches, tired all the time, sleep issues....he did lab work up and said everything was fine, I must be depressed and handed me a RX for meds. I refused to take them because I knew I was not depressed, I know my body. I kept pushing him to do something but he thought I was a pain in the butt. I got to the point when I called his office his nurse did not return my calls. Then my daughter, who always said I snored, taped me and played it! Oh my!! I went to my doctor and demanded a sleep study and now I have a CPAPand my headaches are gone and my body feels better after one week.

[retrodave15]

I don't get it, I had the same problem with my own doc who knew me for years. He swore up and down that it all had to do with low testosterone (though my levels weren't that bad). Even on androgel, I kept complaining about fatigue and his next step was to put me on an anti-depressant which I refused.

I just don't understand what is with doctors...do they not know what sleep apnea is?

Now my family doc, I go to a different doctor than my wife, did the total opposite. I went in for an appointment looking for something to help me sleep, he sent me for a sleep study and ran a battery of tests on me for testosterone, vitamin d, metabolic panel, basically the works. I came back with a very low vitamin d and sleep apnea.

And I don't even fit the "perceived" profile for sleep apnea I am 6' and 180 pounds. He said it is one of the first places he looks.

[Gaga58]

I feel like I have a really good family doc, but I think because I didn't fit the "mold" it was the last thing he even considered. Actually, he didn't consider it at all...I did!! I wasn't the stereotypical person either...petite build, active (once upon a time!), generally good health other than my hearing problems and hypertension, but I'd basically treated everything else, the stressful life events were well past, and I still felt like crap! However, he did send my daughter for a sleep study (she's not typical either), and hers was negative, but until then I don't think I had really heard much about or ever even thought about sleep apnea. She was actually the reason I started kind of reading about what it was and I immediately could check off several symptoms for myself. It wasn't until I started waking myself up feeling like I was suffocating that I decided to have it checked. I remember Doc looking at me when I told him I wanted a sleep study and saying, "so why do you think you need one?" I told him and he didn't hesitate then to send me, but I'd never really said before that I was tired all the time or not feeling like I had any sleep, so the fault there was my own. And quite truthfully I think he was a little surprised when it came back like it did because the girls called me immediately and said, "Doc wants you on a cpap!"

So I really don't blame my doctor...he knows my life and all the things I deal with on a day to day basis and there's no doubt in my mind he thought I was just pushing myself to the limit...he also knows me well enough to know many of those "limits" I can't just quit at, so he treated me as best he knew how. I don't understand doctors though that won't even consider sending a person for the study even when the person presents them with their thoughts or requests the study..to me that's just poor medical practice when it should be considered process of elimination!

[chunkyfrog]

I suppose the cell phone video is good for convincing any apnea denier--patient or doctor.
People can use that.

[ameriken]

I don't get it, I had the same problem with my own doc who knew me for years. He swore up and down that it all had to do with low testosterone (though my levels weren't that bad). Even on androgel, I kept complaining about fatigue and his next step was to put me on an anti-depressant which I refused.

I just don't understand what is with doctors...do they not know what sleep apnea is?

Now my family doc, I go to a different doctor than my wife, did the total opposite. I went in for an appointment looking for something to help me sleep, he sent me for a sleep study and ran a battery of tests on me for testosterone, vitamin d, metabolic panel, basically the works. I came back with a very low vitamin d and sleep apnea.

And I don't even fit the "perceived" profile for sleep apnea I am 6' and 180 pounds. He said it is one of the first places he looks.

Good doc you've got.

My personal doc never checked my D either. He even did a sleep study questionairre for all his patients and even thought I checked off my problems, I never heard a word. It wasn't until I switched to the VA that I learned about my low Vit D, and they're the ones who discovered my sleep apnea....all within a few months. Kudos to the NP at the VA.

[jazzer4]

ChunkyFrog

What is the cell phone video?

[LSAT]

Vitamin D Hormone......
http://drgominak.com/vitamin-d

[chunkyfrog]

Cell phone video--my bad, sorry for being unclear.
Everyone who has a cell phone has the possibility of having a video camera in it; so, a home video--right there in the bedroom.
Close up on the face, with sound.
We can use it to convince the loved one to get tested---AND to show the symptoms to the doctor.
"Doctor, this is what I see and hear at night--and it's scaring the crap out of me."

[Muse-Inc]

Former doc missed my apnea starting in late '90s. Untreated, it progressed to severe category, lotta wt gain, and my low low BP rising to 210/115 (needed cardiac ck for possible heart damage), brain damage, severe exhaustion, flash-fire volatile moods that earned me the title of bitch from hell, self loathing of who and what I'd become, labs that were totally screwy -- all detected by new doc with tentative diagnosis during first visit. I have yet to forgive that doc who prided himself on being up on all the latest info...he's the doc who said I was a normal-sugar diabetic during my last visit with him following a bout of pneumonia (he was miffed I hadn't come to him instead of the ER to figure why I was breathing so funny with a horroble 'cold' or flu or something...they didn't catch the OSA either but then I was really sick at the time).

Too many of us with apnea go untreated because we don't fit that now all blown to hell stereotype.

[archangle]

I had the same problem, I kept telling my doctor all my symptoms and how bad I felt. The morning headaches, body aches, tired all the time, sleep issues....he did lab work up and said everything was fine, I must be depressed and handed me a RX for meds. I refused to take them because I knew I was not depressed, I know my body. I kept pushing him to do something but he thought I was a pain in the butt. I got to the point when I called his office his nurse did not return my calls. Then my daughter, who always said I snored, taped me and played it! Oh my!! I went to my doctor and demanded a sleep study and now I have a CPAPand my headaches are gone and my body feels better after one week.

Do you think the doctor learned anything from the experience?