Why you shouldn't wait to get help.

Hi, I wonder if it isn't time for a new reminder to people who come on the site to ask about symptoms they're having (not necessarily of OSA) and wait for strangers here to diagnose them and suggest cures. If you experience new problems (aside from just sleepiness) with any part of your physical system that give you any cause for concern at all, either speak to your doctor or go to Emerg. Don't be afraid of "bothering" the doctors - if no one did so they'd be out of work. Don't think you have to judge how serious symptoms are on your own, you don't, and shouldn't try to. And always be aware that very serious conditions like heart attacks can come on not necessarily with the usual dramatic few symptoms we're all familiar with, but often just pain in unexpected places such as the right side of your chest, or back, jaw, etc. or overwhelming tiredness different from the usual, just being short of breath whether or not you've been working, etc. etc. What's hugely important is that you be seen ASAP, because the longer you aren't, the more (often silent) damage is done to your body, when in fact it could have been stopped if addressed right away.

Doctors may chide you about coming to Emergency for a slight, slowly developed rash that could have waited til they saw you in their office the next day, but I've never ever heard of one say you're wasting their time by complaining of chest pain, shortness of breath, dizziness, or other new and possibly serious symptoms. And if you find one who does make you feel bad, report them!

good advice, however some have abandoned conventional doctors and only see naturapaths, I wonder how they manage

Last Dec prior to being dxed with SA, I had what i thought was just bad indigestion or heartburn--it had plagued me all day and despite taking a number of remedies (antacids, baking soda, pepcid, mylanta etc.) it couldn't get it to go away, however I couldnt bring myself to get to the dr. either because I was so uncomfortable. When my husband got home, I was able to finally get to the ER--turned out it was a gallbladder attack. very uncomfortable but fortunately not life threatening in my case and yes I felt really stupid going to the ER for "heartburn" i also realized now as I did then that it could have been a heart attack. Don't take chances--be checked.

Good reminder, Julie. I think there's a tendency once we get a diagnosis to attribute nearly everything to it, when other conditions may be begging to be diagnosed and treated. And it's easy to blame cpap for continued feeling bad when it's doing it's job but can't fix unrelated issues.

Here in Quebec we have an 811 number staffed by nurses and other medical professions.

I call them when I am unsure of what to do. In January I had a Urinary tract infection which blew up at 5:30pm. I called to see whether I should wait until morning or go to ER (I was peeing blood) I was given a list of clinics which were open in the evenings and told to get there NOW.

People should make sure they know what their options are locally. You used to be able to call the ER to get this kind of info.

harry33 wrote:good advice, however some have abandoned conventional doctors and only see naturapaths, I wonder how they manage

Yeah me too. I've read and listened to some lectures by these naturalpaths, IMO they seem like quacks.

Julie, if you were speaking about my post I hope you know I was not expecting diagnosis or cures from anyone here. I posted it to enter discussion with others who have similar experiences. I wouldn't substitute an online forum for medical care, but I've found that by using online forums and gathering experience of others it can be (and has been) very helpful in tracking down what might be wrong with me. I think these forums are very useful tools for all of us and I'm very glad to have access them and for the people who come around and post to them. I hope that people don't feel they need to be armchair doctors here. Just sharing of experiences.