Train crash n sleep apnea

[eeckel]

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-26927836

How tragic!

[jaye8898]

Horrible! It's too bad sleep apnea is not something that is regularly screened for. That poor man's life is ruined due to an illness and so many people were hurt!

[Scootergirl]

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-26927836

How tragic!

It's been on the news here, too. So scary and sad.

[jencat824]

This is why the DOT is going to begin screening truck drivers. I think any moving carriers (train operators, bus drivers, pilots etc.) need some type of OSA screening. I know that a sleep test for employment sounds extreme, but it could save lives.

My hubby drives a soft drink truck & has a Class A CDL, he knew screening will be coming & he thought he had a problem. After years of watching me struggle with OSA & other sleep disorders, he decided to have himself tested. He has mild OSA & is doing great with treatment. I wish all drivers & pilots were as thoughtful of the public as my hubby decided to be.

If this train operator had been screened & was properly treated, meaning full treatment & not just 4 hr compliance, look at the difference that would have made.

How sad this tragedy could have been avoided & those people who lost their lives would still be here.

[70sSanO]

The biggest problem is that the entire medical industry, doctors, manufacturers, DMEs, insurance, etc. has pretty much taken a hard line on taking steps to actually ensure that a patient gets the right therapy... or even cares if the patient is getting the right therapy.

Think about it, a person takes a sleep study and at the end of the night, they may be told that they have a sleep disorder and that the sleep specialist will contact them. They get a call or an appointment and hear all these foreign terms and told that they need a CPAP, APAP, etc. For the most part people walk out clueless about what is going on. They get to a DME who pushes whatever they are trying to get rid of and the patient is handed a couple of boxes and told clean this change that and never-ever turn this dial. They get home and plug everything in and when they struggle a doctor tells them it takes time, but the insurance needs to make sure you are using the machine whether or not anything is working. A few months later the DME sends a few more boxes of supplies that the person doesn't even know are coming and life goes on. If they are lucky they might have a doctor that will be able to help, but more often than not they are really clueless on how to treat sleep disorders.

What baffles me is how there is such a reluctance to provide a high quality device with software and train the patient how to monitor the progress. I mean people are given enough insulin to kill themselves and a cheap meter, but the same doctors will think it is a criminal offense to adjust the pressure on their CPAP machine. I went to, supposedly, a sleep specialist who basically discounted all the data from my machine as being faulty, chastised me for adjusting my pressure, ("since I somehow figured out how to adjust it"), and basically said everything looks fine to him. I did pose the insulin vs a machine that blows air question and he didn't answer.

I know I am ranting but one final thought... about 7 years ago I broke my wrist playing street hockey. I went in had the surgery and in a couple of weeks I was doing physical therapy to the tune of 2-3 times a week. Thankfully, I have restored the flexibility in my wrist through a lot of pain and I had a great therapist. But it has occurred to me that if I just been sent home with a list of exercises to do and to check in every month, things would have been different. And having limited use of a wrist is not a dangerous as a sleeping driver on the road.

That I believe is the issue. There is no place for anyone to go to get real help, there is no sleep therapist. There seems to be so many places where help can be found for a number of medical conditions, but I have never seen anything to help the sleep deprived. This forum is a Godsend for so many people, it is unfortunate that most of the medical professionals are quick to dismiss its value.

John

[jencat824]

The biggest problem is that the entire medical industry, doctors, manufacturers, DMEs, insurance, etc. has pretty much taken a hard line on taking steps to actually ensure that a patient gets the right therapy... or even cares if the patient is getting the right therapy.

Think about it, a person takes a sleep study and at the end of the night, they may be told that they have a sleep disorder and that the sleep specialist will contact them. They get a call or an appointment and hear all these foreign terms and told that they need a CPAP, APAP, etc. For the most part people walk out clueless about what is going on. They get to a DME who pushes whatever they are trying to get rid of and the patient is handed a couple of boxes and told clean this change that and never-ever turn this dial. They get home and plug everything in and when they struggle a doctor tells them it takes time, but the insurance needs to make sure you are using the machine whether or not anything is working. A few months later the DME sends a few more boxes of supplies that the person doesn't even know are coming and life goes on. If they are lucky they might have a doctor that will be able to help, but more often than not they are really clueless on how to treat sleep disorders.

What baffles me is how there is such a reluctance to provide a high quality device with software and train the patient how to monitor the progress. I mean people are given enough insulin to kill themselves and a cheap meter, but the same doctors will think it is a criminal offense to adjust the pressure on their CPAP machine. I went to, supposedly, a sleep specialist who basically discounted all the data from my machine as being faulty, chastised me for adjusting my pressure, ("since I somehow figured out how to adjust it"), and basically said everything looks fine to him. I did pose the insulin vs a machine that blows air question and he didn't answer.

I know I am ranting but one final thought... about 7 years ago I broke my wrist playing street hockey. I went in had the surgery and in a couple of weeks I was doing physical therapy to the tune of 2-3 times a week. Thankfully, I have restored the flexibility in my wrist through a lot of pain and I had a great therapist. But it has occurred to me that if I just been sent home with a list of exercises to do and to check in every month, things would have been different. And having limited use of a wrist is not a dangerous as a sleeping driver on the road.

That I believe is the issue. There is no place for anyone to go to get real help, there is no sleep therapist. There seems to be so many places where help can be found for a number of medical conditions, but I have never seen anything to help the sleep deprived. This forum is a Godsend for so many people, it is unfortunate that most of the medical professionals are quick to dismiss its value.

John

Well said John!