How can I convince my dad to get tested for OSA

Hello all,

I'm on here today for a change not to talk about myself but someone I care about. I'm looking for ways to convince my dad to get tested for sleep apnea despite his hesitance to look at the matter. He doesn't think he has sleep apnea but has started having some issues come up. My dad has always been pretty healthy and fit. But over the past 10 years I've noticed a decline. My dad has always been in the manufacturing sector. He chose to work night shift 7:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. on a rotating schedule for the past 10 years. He's 64 now. He started gaining weight in his midsection that he was having a hard time getting rid of, his testosterone numbers declined and started snoring. I've told him for years to get off of night shift and address his snoring. But he chose to ignore them. His fatigue has been hitting him harder as of recent I've noticed.

He finally went to the doctor and had lab work and found out that his RBC and hemoglobin were both elevated. He has high blood pressure 165/105+, and he is technically now diabetic. Several months ago I allowed him to use my Fitbit overnight to track his oxygen and his average oxygen for the night was 90%. He seems to think that getting off of night shift when he retires and eating better will fix everything. But to me it looks like he is waiting too long. Does this sound like he has sleep apnea to you? To me it does. How can I convince him to get tested?

I worked as an operator in power plants. We worked rotating 8 hr shifts rotating weekly. I always thought I was tired because of my work. I retired in 2002 due to Myasthenia Gravis. Funny thing I never was able to get good sleep and I was still always tired. Finally in 2008 my doctor had me do an overnight oximeter test. A week after the test my doctors nurse called, asked if I was at home, and after my affirmative reply she said that a DME was already on the way with an O2 concentrator. That was kinf of scary. Then I was sent to a sleep test on a Friday night. Saturday morning the tech told me I had sleep apnea. She said it would take about 2 weeks for me to get a CPAP machine. I thought, crap, now I have to try and sleep with a mask on my face. On Monday (2 days later) I got a call from a DME telling me they had a machine for me and I need to come that day and get it. They had a nice shiny new Respironics M series BiPap Auto waiting for me. I picked it up and I was cognizant of the fact that my doctors and DME were setting me up in quite a rush. I decided it was probably very important so I worked really har to make the therapy succeed. If they had not been so concerned I probably would have been a CPAP failure. After getting used to my BiPap I quit taking naps, I didn't need them anymore. I wasn't using Red Bull and quarts of Coke to drive on vacations. I stopped yawning while driving . I also could sleep through the night without getting up to pee 4 or 5 times a night. What a difference. I will be 69 on August 2nd. If I hadn't treated my apnea, I probably wouldn't be alive to write this today. I was surprised that a machine could do this for me when I wasn't able to escape being fatigued all of the time even after retirement when I could sleep as much as I wanted. Nope, it wasn't the rotating shift hours that made me tired, it was OSA. Looking back on my life, I'm sure I was suffering OSA even as a teenage since it was quite common for me to fall asleep at school.
Dale

there is a section called announcements in which there is a thread called "Newbie would like to hear success stories, please." perhaps something there will inspire you or show you the way?


https://www.cpaptalk.com/viewtopic/t144 ... lease.html


good luck!

Unfortunately, it's going to be pretty hard to convince your dad. I'm one of those stubborn people who refused to acknowledge what was patently obvious. My dear, sweet husband bought himself polar fleece footie pj's and slept on the couch for 3 years because he could no longer endure my snoring which I attributed to "allergies"

Finally, I had to face facts. But if anybody had pushed me, I would have pushed back further. I took the sleep test with the attitude of "I'll show them". I sure did. The sleep tech who went over my results with me (Kaiser) wouldn't let me leave without a machine in my hand, it was so bad.

What I'm saying though, is that "convincing" your dad is going to be tough. And if he's like me, the more you push, the more he'll push back. Don't bother with stories of success etc., He is in deep denial and you don't want to push him in any further. He doesn't want to be "one of those people" who have to use a CPAP.

All I can suggest is "Dad, I love you and I'm frightened for your health. Putting this off won't make it any better. Please get tested for me and the family." Then step away, and let him come to his decision. That's all you can do.

Thanks for the reply, this is what I was actually looking for. I've got to find a way to sway his decision.

If your dad has a smart phone, convince him to get an app called, Dream Talk Recorder and install it on his phone.

The app records any snoring or other things that may happen while he is asleep… And he will be able to play them back and listen to what may be happening to him when he sleeps. The app is made mainly to record the funny things that people may say while they are in a deep sleep and dreaming but it is also a great way that someone can hear their snoring, or their gasping for air as they encounter sleep apnea that they don’t know about.

That would be the first step…

Then, every time you see your dad, go up to him, hug him, and look in his eyes and tell him that you love him!

When he asks why you keep doing this… Tell him that you are doing it because you want him to know, before he may suddenly die in his sleep, that you love him!!

I heard that a doctor told a man once, in his office, to look over at his wife and tell her how much he loved her… Because there would not be many more times that he would be able to say that based upon his suspected sleep apnea.

The man got the sleep test and now many years later, every night, kisses his wife Good Night, right before putting on his CPAP mask!

JLROhio wrote: ↑

Tue Jul 27, 2021 2:59 pm

If your dad has a smart phone, convince him to get an app called, Dream Talk Recorder and install it on his phone.

The app records any snoring or other things that may happen while he is asleep… And he will be able to play them back and listen to what may be happening to him when he sleeps. The app is made mainly to record the funny things that people may say while they are in a deep sleep and dreaming but it is also a great way that someone can hear their snoring, or their gasping for air as they encounter sleep apnea that they don’t know about.

That would be the first step…

Then, every time you see your dad, go up to him, hug him, and look in his eyes and tell him that you love him!

When he asks why you keep doing this… Tell him that you are doing it because you want him to know, before he may suddenly die in his sleep, that you love him!!

I heard that a doctor told a man once, in his office, to look over at his wife and tell her how much he loved her… Because there would not be many more times that he would be able to say that based upon his suspected sleep apnea.

The man got the sleep test and now many years later, every night, kisses his wife Good Night, right before putting on his CPAP mask!

Thanks for the reply! My dad has been pretty stubborn. Ever since I let him use my Fitbit and I shared his negative results with him he has been hesitant to do anything else. I even bought a pulse oximeter for home use and he refuses to use it. He's always been a penny pincher so I also suspect that he is trying to avoid any additional medical costs that could be incurred.

This may be the route that I have to take. I've noticed constantly staying on him trying to push him to get it checked out hasn't gone anywhere so maybe just letting him know that he is loved and he needs to get it checked out. He also has a new granddaughter that he needs to live for too.

You need to make him understand that sleep apnia damages your organs and will shorten his life span.