A note to the new user

I'm not a newbie yet, but have my titration study tonight. Had my first study last week, 9/19, and initial diagnosis from the RT is severe OSA. I won't get my prescription until 10/13. I really have no idea what to expect for me except I have to find peace somewhere and get back to normal. They threatened to fire me at work for falling asleep and at almost 60 years old with two 14 year old boys still to support, I find the whole thing very threatening. I am a business analyst in the IT department of a small workers comp insurance company and work with my PC and paper all day. I am surviving with Provigil but even that cannot go on for much longer. I feel very much in survival mode all the time.

Your posts both comfort and intimidate me but they have helped much more than hurt. I do know there are lots of others out there and also we are all different so I believe I benefit from the different experiences and points of view. Also comforting to know so many people care, I am not alone in this.

Thanks,

JimmyKSenior wrote:They threatened to fire me at work for falling asleep and at almost 60 years old with two 14 year old boys still to support, I find the whole thing very threatening.

Is an employer allowed to fire an employee because of their disability? Or does the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) require that they make accomodations for the employee? I really don't know.

I do know that sleep apnea among other sleep disorders is recognized as a disabily under the ADA. There is even a DOL (Department of Labor) suggested list of accomodations that includes allowing naps on the job, IIRC!

JimmyKsenior....

Bill has a great point--start studying your rights immediately. Maybe even consult a disabilities lawyer so you know how to handle yourself at work if you are threatened with losing your job again. That's nuts. And if you are primarily sitting at a computer...has your company not ever heard of FLEX TIME???? Maybe it would be better if you worked at home or were able to do your job based on productivity instead of a time clock. I know that with my sleep apnea...my sleep patterns are off and my productive hours don't match up with the corporate world's pattern...maybe you are the same?

But don't get intimated by this diagnosis and don't get scared. The whole point here is that the CPAP treatment can be as simple or as complicated as you want to make it. I am taking the simple route---simple machine, set at the pressure I was TOLD to have it set at. Simple as pie. Then my only "job" is to will myself into being as absolutely compliant as possible with the treatment....and ....voila....I am BETTER. Downright GOOD. Very, very simple.

But the machinery and technology are out there so that if you are indeed one of those who like to tweak and fiddle and play with your readings and your air pressures and all that stuff....then the means are there that you can play with all that stuff to your heart's delight. You can have a whole new hobby with it if you want. If you WANT....that's the point.

But do not get scared of this stuff.....the basic, very effective treatment consists of just sticking some weirdo plastic sh*t on your face, falling asleep and keeping that stuff ON all night. Not that difficult at all. Just put your mind to it (after trying a few masks to see what fits you best) and then DO IT. ALWAYS. And your life will be greatly improved. You are going to be okay...really you will.

Jan in Colo.

Bill and Jan,

Very good info and just the words the doctor ordered. Thanks! My sleep doc recommended I talk to a lawyer and I talked to one in town I know and worked with on some Little League issues and he told me to go through a lawyer referral service first. I have tried to call but have not gotten to a person yet and I have to leave my desk to make the call. I just have to get off my butt and do it. My boss also used abusive language when reaming me, including the f word and told me he didn't want to hear any medical stuff, that was between me and HR. Needless to say, it hasn't been comfortable here since then and I have even over-heard co-workers making fun of me. All this adds to the depression like symptoms of the sleepiness and compounds the problem for me. It is very apparent few people understand this issue and treat it as a disability. Glad I found tis site, and glad there are people like you who take the time to care! Thanks,

Jimmy,

One thing you NEED to do as soon as possible (if you haven't already) is to get your doctor (or sleep doctor) to write a letter (mine wrote it on a prescription pad) that you have been diagnosed with severe Obstructive Sleep Apnea and that you are under a doctor's (his/her) care.
In other words, you HAVE to notify your employer before you can get any protection under the law.

Best wishes,

Den

OK, Jim, it sounds like you need some help. I searched for a posting I made recently in another thread and I'm going to quote it here. Follow the embedded links to get even more information. And, as I remembered, allowing for naps is one of the federal government suggested accomodations for people like us!

I hope this helps. Just raising the spector of an ADA legal challenge is usually enough to get most employers to back off I've heard. And I'd do exactly what your boss suggested; take it up with HR. Let them know about the intolerance and abuse (including abusive language) and that what you have is an ADA recognized disability. Don't even mention lawyer or lawsuit ... yet. Let their imaginations run with it and you might scare them worse than any lawyer!

The Office of Disability Employment Policy, Department of Labor does recognize sleep apnea among other sleep disorders as a disability and has a number of job related recommendations in line with the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act).

Specifically, sleep apnea is classified as a disability as follows:

Under the ADA (Title I, Section 2.2), an individual with a disability is a person who has:

- a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities;
- record of such an impairments; or
- is regarded as having such an impairment.

You can read the full text here: http://www.jan.wvu.edu/media/Sleep.html.

If you go to http://www.jan.wvu.edu, click on "Search" and enter "apnea" a number of documents are found. Intresting reading!

Editted to correct quoted links.

Jimmy,

Boy, have you come to the right place. Look at Bill go to work for you...great going, Bill! You will get through this, one way or the other, either with the cooperation of your employer or without it. Sounds like he doesn't have a leg to stand on and somebody is going to make him understand that, probably the HR Dept. of your firm.

Secondly, about your situation with the OSA, you will be better once you start your treatment. How long that will take depends on how you react and how compliant you are in using your machine every time you sleep, naps included. I can only imagine what the stress you are enduring from your job is doing to what is ordinarily a very stressful time, finding out you have a condition that you know nothing about or how to treat; and now, after reading all these posts, you are even more totally confused. But this is the place to ask questions and get answers AND support. You will learn very quickly, I promise you.

If you haven't already figured this out, there is a "Search" button on the top of this page that you can type in subjects that you want to know about and it will list the threads that can apply to what you're interested in. Also, when you read something in a post that you may not undertand, such as a word like hypopnea, it usually is highlighted in blue down below the post. When you click on those words, it gives you the definition of them. If there is a word in a post you aren't familiar with, there is also a CPAPopedia at the top of the page, too, that you can look certain things up in. They have just added a great feature, too, to this site called CPAP FAQ where you can look up certain categories and find posts that were written regarding same.

I knew nothing back in May when I was diagnosed and I feel I have learned more than I could ever imagine at this point. We all feel the same way when we find this site unless we knew someone before us who was diagnosed with OSA and have learned from them. But before long, you will be one of the pros here, too, giving advice and help back to someone just coming on to the site like you are now. And once you've gotten some of your energy level back, you will be far more able to handle whatever your employer AND life throws at you because you will start to feel like a new person.

Keep us posted and keep posting. I wish you the best of luck. Remember, we're all here to back you up.

Bill, I can't get either of your wvu.edu links to work. Let's see if this will do it: http://www.jan.wvu.edu/media/Sleep.html
And here's another link (see down at the 2nd header for private companies): http://www.dol.gov/odep/pubs/fact/rights.htm
Finally, here's what the employer is required BY LAW to do: http://www.eeoc.gov/facts/accommodation.html

This seems like something that ALL of us should get familiar with, just in case.

This therapy WORKS!!!

Hi Jim,
My recommendation is that you provide your employer (go to the HR Dept.) and let them know that your are currently having problems and that you may need an ADA accomodation. Ask them what they require as notification from your healthcare provider. Please keep in mind that the they are only required to provide you with a reasonable accomodation. So think about what you might see as a reasonable accomodation. Additional time during lunch to rest, later start times, etc.

The employer should take the accomodation into consideration and provide you with feedback as to if they can accomodate you or not. If it were me, I would not go in with "your hair on fire" demanding an accomodation or threatining them with a lawsuit. Most employers really do understand the ADA laws. Please go to the HR department and explain your situation.

If you go in with guns blaring you don't always get the desired result. In the same breath I also understand that not all employers realize what to do with an ADA claim. But they can't do anything about a possible accomodation if they are not informed of a possible ADA claim.

Please feel free to PM me if you have any questions.

Teri

TXKajun, thanks. I went back and edited my post to fix the links. Yes, I think this is something we should all be aware of, just in case.

Teri, you did a much better job describing how to handle this than I did!

Grabraham wrote:As you all have noticed, when you take a big step back and look at the forums, a walking in could get the impression that they are fighting a losing battle because some of us have taken their treatment to levels that they cant begin to imagine. I just want to assure new hose heads that in 90% of the cases that the person who's post they just read that has the latest and greatest equipment would sleep just as effectively on the equipment they "got stuck with from the DME".

I agree that your initial post here was sorely needed.

I remember being a newbie and overwhelmed by all that I read. I knew I needed to read it, but part of me was scared upon learning that I had so much to learn and wondering if it was all worth the aggravation. New people should know that they should not be scared about the choices they make or are made for them, about their equipment. The key is to start, to get that relief we so desparately need. And if changes or additions need to be made along the way, so be it. So many of us suffered needlessly for SOOO long before starting treatment. Nothing should stand in your way from getting that relief so many of us have enjoyed, even worries over choices. It's important to make informed decisions and that's what these boards do, help. But newbies, take that step and don't be scared of the treatment. The treatment is your friend. Thanks Grabraham, for reminding us of what's important.

Oh, by the way, can I steal the use of your wonderful graphic?? That's cool..!


Linda

Thanks Bill... I guess my HR colors are showing.

First, thanks to all of you! I leave in an hour for my titration study and I will go in with good PMA thanks to all your responses and advice.

I did get the links to work, nice to know I can still do something! And I will definitely go to my HR department. At least I will be prepared and knowlegeable thanks to you!

I'll let you know how it goes.

Jim

Grabraham wrote:

I would love to see that at the top of the page somewhere so when people click onto these message boards, this is what they see. Absolutely adorable!!! Boy, that therapy is really working for you, Grab. You keep coming up with great ideas.