Why are so many people being diagnosed with sleep apnea?

LindaCPAP · Post by **LindaCPAP** » Thu Mar 27, 2008 2:01 pm

Is it because of new technology? I've talked to four people in the last two months that have been diagnosed.

Wulfman · Post by **Wulfman** » Thu Mar 27, 2008 2:07 pm

If you look at it from the "medical professionals'" standpoint, it's a new source of revenue.
In actuality, it's a relatively new medically defined condition......and probably the source/cause of many other illnesses. In just the last few years, it's gotten a lot more publicity......which is a GOOD THING.

Den

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu Mar 27, 2008 2:38 pm

I've wondered this too. I think it's a fad thing. Like Erectile Dysfunction. Folks HAD IT, they just didn't TALK ABOUT IT like they did after Viagra.

I do think entirely too many things are attributed to sleep apnea. I don't think cpap therapy is the miracle cure for all that ails you.

I do think it helps. Which is quite a departure from my thinking circa May 2007.

CPAP - the Viagra of 2008.

LOL,
Babs

sharon1965 · Post by **sharon1965** » Thu Mar 27, 2008 2:59 pm

i think it just stands to reason
the more people talk about something, the more we come to know about it

while i was waiting for my psg appt, 9 times out of 10 anyone i mentioned it to would tell me they knew at least one person on cpap; i must have 4 or 5 friends whose parents are on the hose, and have been for years

my boss from more than 14 years ago was dx'd and has been on cpap for 10 years, but we never discussed his symptoms

a man who comes to the family resource centre where i work casually mentioned to me that he used to have a heavy caffeine and sugar habit to help him stay awake, till he started cpap...he's been on for 10 years; i 've known him for about 5 years, but i didn't know that about him...just so happened that we chatted today and the subject came up

the only reason i even went for a sleep study is because my neighbour and friend of more than 20 years was diagnosed...even then i knew he had sleep apnea, but didn't really know what that entailed...it wasn't until i found out he was off work on sick leave that we got to talking about the symptoms...he's been on cpap for nearly 3 years, but we just had the conversation a year and a half ago...with the help of my handy dandy internet, i was able to ascertain that my symptoms absolutely matched those of a person with OSA

now if i hear anyone mention that they are sleepy in the daytime or snore like crazy or any of the other things that we have all come to know as hallmarks of OSA, i promptly climb onto my soapbox...i've only been on cpap for a year, but i know at least 4 people who have gone for sleep studies because of my diagnosis

the signs and symptoms have always been there for these people, they just didn't know there was a treatable cause

just my two cents on the subject

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no_more_headaches · Post by **no_more_headaches** » Thu Mar 27, 2008 3:10 pm

I have been on the hose for a month. I actually went in for a study ten years and was diagnosed with mild to moderate but I freaked when they tried to titrate me so I just walked away from it.

However last year I went through a lot of medical tests and wound up donating a kidney to my wife. All is well now but I realized that one of the major risk factors of apnea is hypertension. Hypertension is one of the big reasons people have kidney failure.

As a result I immediately asked for another sleep study and found I was now moderate to severe.

Also I read a lot of other risk factors with bad sleep like diabetes, gerd (leading to esophageal problems), attention deficit disorder, and on.

I used to have headaches every morning, that has reduced 80 percent.

The above symptoms are pretty common now, it wouldnt surprise if many of them derive from apnea.

With all this attention perhaps they will increase investment and find a better solution. Of course the DMEs would hate it if they found a silver bullet.

Bearded_One · Post by **Bearded_One** » Thu Mar 27, 2008 3:57 pm

I have heard that it is estimated that 4% of the population in the US has sleep apnea. That means that well over a million people in the US have sleep apnea. I wonder how many have been diagnosed and are being properly treated.

yorkiemum01 · Post by **yorkiemum01** » Thu Mar 27, 2008 4:01 pm

However last year I went through a lot of medical tests and wound up donating a kidney to my wife. All is well now but I realized that one of the major risk factors of apnea is hypertension. Hypertension is one of the big reasons people have kidney failure.

no_more_headaches posted

Now theres one of the sweetest love stories I've ever heard...Your
donation touched my heart. Thanks for sharing your journey with us.
God Bless you both!

JeffH · Post by **JeffH** » Thu Mar 27, 2008 4:22 pm

I had a Doc a long time ago tell me that our design doesn't bode well for sleeping lying down. I believe him. Probably has something to do with all the apnea around. Probably most folks have it to a degree.

My GF snores and snorts all night long. She hasn't had a sleep study, but did the over nite O2 test and it was OK. I still don't know if she has it or doesn't. Recently dropped her Oklahoma High Risk Pool Insurance, because it was basically worthless.

goose · Post by **goose** » Thu Mar 27, 2008 5:22 pm

Like Sharon, I jump on my soapbox as soon as I sense the symptoms -- but always preface by saying that just because you do <fill in the blanks> doesn't mean you have apnea. The only way to tell is to talk with your doctor and have a sleep test. I've found many in my travels that were unknown to me previously including one of the directors at my former place of employment -- I caught him with the strap marks and just kind of out of the blue asked if he had apnea....the conversation went from there (I had just been diagnosed and didn't have my machine yet).....

Regulars here have all heard of my wife, the RN in denial, that snores like a freight train. Recently she had an appointment with my neurologist for migraine issues and because the doc and I had talked about her snoring and choking, when wife mentioned she wanted to talk about other things, doc said -- Apnea??
Turns out wife doesn't meet the criteria for the insurance company to do a diagnosis. In other words she's not sick enough -- no high blood pressure, no diabetes, no peripheral types of symptoms that would justify a PSG. She also didn't qualify on the 7(?) questions that they ask us about conditions (I score high, she scored nearly 0, so.....).
I'm working on getting an oxymeter for "me" to hook her up to to see if her sats would warrant a test....Her only real symptom is that she snores so loudly the neighbors (2+ acres away) call in the middle of the night to tell me to give her an elbow (grand exageration - but the neighbor says he'll do it just for fun!!!).

Bottom line is that there are lots of folks out there with the condition.
It may be a fad and so be it, I know I'm feeling better and I know a lot of folks here on the forum are feeling better.

My folks called Rock'n'Roll a fad back in the 50's too..........

cheers
goose

roster · Post by **roster** » Thu Mar 27, 2008 5:23 pm

JeffH wrote:I had a Doc a long time ago tell me that our design doesn't bode well for sleeping lying down. I believe him. Probably has something to do with all the apnea around. Probably most folks have it to a degree.

..........

Somewhere on the internet I saw a doctor say it was a big mistake of evolution to have us breathing through the same tube we must eat and drink through. A better design would call for two separate tubes.

Myself, believing in design by God, I wonder if Adam once had a fabulous airway and something with it went badly wrong when he bit into that apple?

BTW, I am reading lots of reports that indicate the incidence of "treatment-indicated" sleep apnea is much higher than 4% of adults; maybe as high as 30 - 40%.

I think it has always been there. Until the 1950s the medical profession did not know what it was. CPAP has only been around since 1982.

goose · Post by **goose** » Thu Mar 27, 2008 5:27 pm

As a part time minister, I've always said:

God's not perfect!!! Shows in her work!!!!!

cheers
goose

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu Mar 27, 2008 5:32 pm

Hey Goose.... My Primary basically told me to LIE, and answer yes to at least 7 of those 10 questions, so she could order me a sleep study.

Which is one reason why I fight folks on this forum when they insist I MUST have GERD.... I KNOW I lied about that.

Possibly your wife will have to get to the point where she's willing to lie about her symptoms so she fits the "computer profile" and the insurance company will pay for a sleep study.

What did it for me was my Mom's refusal to sleep with me anymore. Which sounds really sick and perverted, but none of the previous BF's who complained about my snoring had any effect, so....

GOOD LUCK!!!!!!!!!
B.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu Mar 27, 2008 5:37 pm

Oh, and Little Historian must chime in here....

In the 19th Century, it was common for people to sleep in a semi-prone position. If you tour a historic house, and see a very short bed, it's NOT because people were shorter back then. It's because they piled pillows behind them and slept in a semi upright position, in order to DRAIN THE BAD HUMUORS FROM THEIR LUNGS.

Now, all of us are well aware that this is actually good medical science. But somewhere in the late 19thC, some goofball convinced us that it WASN'T and now we're all sleeping prone.

I really wish I could train myself to sleep semi-reclined. I tried back in January and I just couldn't manage it.

Cheers,
Babette

no_more_headaches · Post by **no_more_headaches** » Thu Mar 27, 2008 6:35 pm

yorkiemum01 wrote:
However last year I went through a lot of medical tests and wound up donating a kidney to my wife. All is well now but I realized that one of the major risk factors of apnea is hypertension. Hypertension is one of the big reasons people have kidney failure.
no_more_headaches posted

Now theres one of the sweetest love stories I've ever heard...Your
donation touched my heart. Thanks for sharing your journey with us.
God Bless you both!

Thank you - I left out 99% of the journey. However if anybody needs information about what it means to be a kidney donor or about kidney failure shoot me a line.

jsmythe · Post by **jsmythe** » Thu Mar 27, 2008 6:44 pm

Anonymous wrote:Oh, and Little Historian must chime in here....

In the 19th Century, it was common for people to sleep in a semi-prone position. If you tour a historic house, and see a very short bed, it's NOT because people were shorter back then. It's because they piled pillows behind them and slept in a semi upright position, in order to DRAIN THE BAD HUMUORS FROM THEIR LUNGS.

Now, all of us are well aware that this is actually good medical science. But somewhere in the late 19thC, some goofball convinced us that it WASN'T and now we're all sleeping prone.

I really wish I could train myself to sleep semi-reclined. I tried back in January and I just couldn't manage it.

Cheers,
Babette

Sure glad you posted this Babs...when I toured Biltmore, I couldn't figure out why all the beds were so darn short!!! When most of the men were tall!!!

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