Dealings with employers about your apnea & treatment?

I have Sleep Apnea as well...and it can be a headache...literally..I have been a suffer from migraines and come to find out I am getting them from my sleep apnea disorder. When you don't get oxygen to your brain...it can cause severe migraines. I have an apap machine now that I sleep with and it adjusts to how much air I need throughout the night to make sure my airways stay open...Anywho..I am going to file for FMLA because it has been a big ordeal with calling out from work for headaches and having to go to doctors appointments. It is really for you own protection. The doctor just has to agree that this is something that is ongoing and that is something you have to deal with. Get this...they even suspended my license because I would get so tired and doze off while driving. So it is very serious.... I would definitely do FMLA your doctor just has to approve it. So what if I can't make it to work cuz sleep apnea made the dmv suspend my license..hehe

The older you are and the more health issues you have, the larger liability you become to a business in the form of much higher health insurance premiums. (The insurance companies don't want you there either.) They may use another excuse, such as the failing economy, to terminate you to help protect their bottom line, at this time when most companies are having to tighten their belts.

I wish I'd keep my mouth shut about sleep apnea. If they don't know at least you have a fighting chance, even if you are exhausted and can't think straight.

I know there are all the protection regulations, but they all have minimum employee provisions and won't apply to small business.

Good luck with your therapy.....it's more important than your job!

Georgio

LDuyer wrote:

experiences with employers concerning your sleep apnea. My job was, still is, in jeopardy due to the exhaustion behavior I had before I was diagnosed and started treatment.

Employees are protected from employers asking for medical information due to historical discrimination and disclipinary action related to employee health problems, costs to the company directly (productivity) and indirectly (increased insurance). Even with FMLA paperwork, specific diagnostic documentation is not required. However, it can be difficult to explain meeting the criteria for FMLA eligibility without disclosing significant health information. The most likely consideration is your employer's current level of response to your health issue symptoms. If supportive and understanding, employer is likely to continue without more specific information. If critical and in the realm of disciplinary action, medical information may place you at greater vulnerability. So precede with thoughtful caution. Also, doctors don't always understand their limitations of power and influence. A doctor's order for a prescription medication or equipment may get action. Letters requesting understanding, symptoms, perceived special privileges are often less well received. Letter may not be worth more than the paper it's written on, and my give your employer documentation you are not up to par to complete your job responsibilities......AKA, justification to state you are not meeting job expectations. I think you are best to limit personal medical information unless you definitely KNOW the receptive mindset of the employing company. Once the kat is out of the bag, it's forever out!!!!

Hopefully, you'll soon feel better and this won't be an issue!!!!

elg5cats.

My boss knows. I am a programmer and I was falling asleep on my keyboard. I was waiting for the test results and appointments with specialists and my boss told me to work from home so I could take naps when I needed to. After I talked about it at work I was amazed at how many people said "Oh yeah my mother in law/father / brother/husband...( you name it ) has it!" Or "Really I should talk to my ....... she/he is really tired/snores/..."
Mind you I caught pneumonia 2 years ago (from my boss!) when I started there and did a whole project entirely from home for 4 months and brought it in on time with extra bells and whistles and it hasn't had a single bug yet. So it was a not an issue for me to work from home during this time.

If you are about to get fired because of your exhaustion at work, show them the letter. If your job is not in jeopardy, there is no reason to tell them anything.

I would suggest that you check the Job Accomodation Network website at http://www.jan.wvu.edu/media/sleep.html. It is part of the US Department of Labor Office of Disability Employment Policy. Based upon the information at this website and others that I have reviewed, OSA is covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act. You might also want to check the EEOC website at http://www.eeoc.gov/foia/letters/2003/a ... apnea.html for more information.

Good luck. I have been upfront with my department head about everything from my heart condition to my OSA and have not had any problems.

LDuyer wrote: My job was, still is, in jeopardy due to the exhaustion behavior I had before I was diagnosed and started treatment.

I'm somewhat confused; you've been a member of this forum for four and a half years ......... surely your employer isn't harrassing you about behaviour from more than four years ago. Appropriate CPAP treatment should have remedied your apnea issues years ago; if after all this time, workplace attendance remains a challenge, the problem may lie elsewhere.

In all candour, I was diagnosed less than three months ago with severe sleep apnea ..... scoring more than 120 events per hour during my sleep lab tests with oxygen levels plunging to 53%, yet up to that point I was attending work regularly although meetings and my afternoons were a huge struggle, my employer never caught on and certainly didn't challenge me. I was put on my APAP machine (titrated to 16cm) the same day that I left the hospital sleep lab. Thanks to the expertise I learned here, I've succeeded in managing my condition to the point where I average 7.5 hours sleep and my AI's are averaging less than .1 and AHI's less than 4 per hour (on a Resmed Autostart II) with average pressure at 16.6 cms. These are monthly stats.

My attendance is perfect; but after 35 years its difficult to be enthusiastic about getting up at 6:10 am every morning to drag my derriere into the office. My co-workers have had a good laugh over my various tales of nightlife trussed up like a fighter jockey as I battled rainout, and the indignities of aerophagia, mask leaks etc.

If you are too tired to function properly at work, either you are not getting the proper CPAP treatment or you have other problems that should not be blamed upon sleep apnea. I'd aggressively pursue the correct diagnosis and treatment because in this economy it would be very difficult to find alternative employment should this job not work out.

Good luck! I wish you only the best.

I'm considering myself lucky on this one. My boss's boss (the Director here) has sleep apnea and has come to me more than once for information regarding masks, medicare replacement schedules, how to use it on his boat, etc.

So... I don't think I have anything to worry about there.

Spanky wrote:Linda: If there is one thing I have discovered during my two and a half year relationship with sleep apnea, its that the only people that really understand and have compassion, are the ones that have it themselves. I firmly believe though, that we are responsible to keep our employers informed, of new or existing medical conditons.

I cant agree with you more about both these points. I get the 'if you are sleepy, take a nap' way too often. People say 'everyone has trouble sleeping, but we all cope with it'...

I told my company because of the traveling that I do and how I don't want to take red eye flights, etc.

I agree with CrystalBlue2. I am currently a Human Resources employee and I am the Human Rights Officer for my community. It is my job to received, investigate, mitigate and, if necessary, adjudicate claims of discrimination and harassment in the workplaces within the coporate limits of our municipality. Having sleep apnea and being on XPAP therapy myself, it is a disability as defined by the ADAAA of 2008, in that sleeping is one of what is referred to by the act as "a major life activity" and those of us who suffer from OSA have the major life activity of sleeping substantially limited which qualifies as a disability under the law.

Most of the bad experiences people have had with reporting their disabilities to their employers was under the old ADA which was repeatedly abused, disregarded and ignored by the nation's courts and even the Supreme Court. That is why the ADAAA of 2008 went into effect January 1, 2009. It is a whole new ballgame now and the arguments over whether or not you are disabled are out the window; YOU ARE. The only question left now is determining what is a "reasonable accommodation" that your employer can and must make for your disability (unless he or she can show that it is unduly burdensome on his business to make the accommodation). The spirit of the new Act is in favor of the disabled and no longer in favor of the employer.

You need the letter from your physican and you should give it to your employer to let him know of your disability. You can discuss with him whatever you believe would be a reasonable accommodation. It is best to be out in front of the game with this than trying to invoke it after he or she has disciplined (or terminated) you for being drowsy. If you let him know first and request he or she be understanding of your need to occassionally sleep in or recoup for a day, or take a nap, whatever, and he denies you the request, then the Act kicks in and, if need be, you can file a claim with your local municipality or the date or even the EEOC.

The key, of course, is not to abuse the situation, as others have pointed out. Also, as it was pointed out, if your employer qualifies, FMLA leave may be available for your use. If the employer or your coworkers in any way treat you adversely after you have made your diability known they can be charged with retaliation under the ADAAA and the penalities there are severe.

Good luck!