Is my OSA/sleep apnea diagnosis a scam?

Ask yourself, "Of all the people I know who have had the test - has anyone passed without OSA? If the answer is no one try to think of another test with a 100% failure rate (Star Trek's "Kobe Oshi Maru" aside). I took the test twice. First one was inconclusive and the second time I didn't sleep well with all the junk strapped and hooked up to me. Still didn't give in. After a hospital stay (for something else) they said I had OSA and couldn't go home without a CPAP ($140.00) and a home oxygen system ($35.00 per month rent). Used the oxygen for about two weeks then got tired of the damn hose in my nose all the time and tripping (at 68 year old the "Help I've fallen . . . is for real) over the miles of tubing. A month later went back to see a respratorie specialist for a check (standard procedure) and was pronounced as fine and didn't need the home oxygen. I think the problem is the hospital is no pace to get any rest or sleep because they keep coming in to give you pills, take blood (at 4 AM so results will be ready by 8AM for the doctor) and a million other things to destroy your sleep cycle.

Corky
To answer your one and only question....Yes, I know someone that had the test and was not diagnosed with sleep apnea.
You sound pretty ticked off with the world, I would suggest you read some of the stuff here and then make up your mind. You can start with the New Users guy and CPAP Wiki at the top of the page. Look up what the definition and symptoms of sleep apnea are....you might be gently surprised. Not all people that get tested have the disease and NO it is not a scam. If it wasn't for the great results of my therapy, I would be a 69 year old pissed off and tired old lady. . Sometimes it takes awhile to get a proper diagnosis and if you can't sleep properly in the hospital or a sleep lab, take the home test and find out for yourself.
Good luck.

Symptoms of OAS are pretty prominent and usually questionnaires and history taking are done before the sleep study so I am not surprised few fail. It is pretty obvious (pre study) when you have it. I don't think they tend to test people with no symptoms.

Because sleep studies are so expensive, the diagnoses are mostly
done beforehand--otherwise, insurance wouldn't cover the cost--when it does.
Not a lot of people qualify for a sleep study and then test negative for this very reason.
Of course this old thread would not keep getting revived if there weren't
a lot of newly diagnosed folks looking for 'facts' to support their denial.
Sorry, folks; life is not fair--but if it is at all worth living, you will learn to fight FOR it.
We are here to help and support you.

Corky Lynch wrote: A month later went back to see a respratorie specialist for a check (standard procedure) and was pronounced as fine and didn't need the home oxygen. I think the problem is the hospital is no pace to get any rest or sleep because they keep coming in to give you pills, take blood (at 4 AM so results will be ready by 8AM for the doctor) and a million other things to destroy your sleep cycle.

So did that specialist do another sleep study? Because if not I would run very fast away from that person because how would they judge that? You can't tell from checking out a person during the day whether they are breathing at night or not!

Looks like the respiratory doc told him he didn't need "home oxygen". He didn't mention cpap. Perhaps the OP thinks they are one and the same?

I couldn't post this quick enough - I'm sorry, but the fact is "sleep apnea" is [please close your ears] - a complete scam. Yes, there are people, a small, small minority of people who have sleep issues/problems/disorders. I'm not speaking to those people. I am speaking to the masses. The fact of the matter is, the medical profession has a financial interest in prescribing medications, treatments, and equipment. Back in the early 1970's, nearly every child needed a straightening leg device on children under the age of 12 months because their legs were "crooked". My sister's child had this device prescribed, but my sister couldn't bring herself to put it on him because he cried consistenly with it on due to the restraint. Today, he is a 40-year old, perfectly-walking-young man. Gimmicks.

The first indicator that this is a fraud is the fact that every single person [and there are literally thousands a day] who are tested for this has some degree of sleep apnea or sleep disorder at the end of the testing. I have yet to speak to one person who went through the testing and simply does not have some degree of sleep apnea or sleep disorder.

Billions of dollars a year are pouring into this industry from the sale of these machines, masks, and devices for this malady. I've had two people tell me that once you begin using this "mask", it's addictive, and you just can't sleep without it.

I would caution that there are many, many things in life that may cause you to get less sleep, including anxiety, depression, work schedules, lack of physical activity or exercise, etc. And there is one more thing that will also cause you to be "off the charts" on sleep apnea and many other things: People are all individuals with individual chemical make-ups and not every person is going to fit into a graft or chart. Reality check here. Albert Einstein consistently operated on 4 hours of sleep a night. You are an individual. If you feel better going along with this, go for it. But not all of these people have sleep apnea, because the obvious question remains: Where were all of these cases 15 years ago?

Well if you want to get technical about it ... the whole world is a scam.

Some people are so far up the DeNile river that there is just no hope they will ever get back.

Blood sugar test levels are probably a scam also..someone just wants us to buy those those glucometers and test strips that we don't need. Or take those meds we don't need for whatever scam reason. I am sure that my report of my oxygen level falling to 73% was just a total lie and the absence of the killer headaches with the use of the machine is merely placebo effect.

Some people are just plain stupid or lazy and we can't help those people. Of course some people just want to start an argument again..reviving an old thread...trolls.

Well, the whole world may be a scam, but the fact is, this is dealing with peoples lives. I'm reading posts on here where every single problem in the entire world [even not getting into a law school] is blamed on sleep apnea. If you step back and quit drinking the kool-aid here, and look at this objectively, it's ridiculous. People snore. It's normal. People gain weight. They lose weight. Some people have high blood pressure. Some have high cholesterol [another scam, don't get me going]. The fact is, this is a manufactured "illness" much like fibromyalgia, which is a wide diagnosis when nothing else fits for undiagnosed pain. 20 years time will bear this out - it will fade away like the evening sun. By the way, I'm not looking for an argument and have never posted on here before.

The advantages of medicines and treatments are undeniable, like diabetes. I'm saying that many people are being diagnosed with sleep apnea or sleep disorders which are simply not the case. While I'm being called stupid, in denial, uninformed and close-minded, what is that making thousands of people who are blindly accepting something that was just medically manufactured 10-15 years ago?

Pugsy wrote:Some people are so far up the DeNile river that there is just no hope they will ever get back.

Blood sugar test levels are probably a scam also..someone just wants us to buy those those glucometers and test strips that we don't need. Or take those meds we don't need for whatever scam reason. I am sure that my report of my oxygen level falling to 73% was just a total lie and the absence of the killer headaches with the use of the machine is merely placebo effect.

Some people are just plain stupid or lazy and we can't help those people. Of course some people just want to start an argument again..reviving an old thread...trolls.

In my reply to you, I will be much kinder than you were to me. I did not comment regarding blood sugar levels. I'm not stupid or lazy or argumentative. I have no idea who you even are, let alone your medical issues. You may very well need oxygen; I have no idea. Again, if these treatments have taken away your headaches, that is wonderful. I was trying to make a point that you suddenly have thousands of people with something that 15 years ago, no one was even discussing. Thank you.

Sarah Kennedy wrote:Well, the whole world may be a scam, but the fact is, this is dealing with peoples lives. I'm reading posts on here where every single problem in the entire world [even not getting into a law school] is blamed on sleep apnea. If you step back and quit drinking the kool-aid here, and look at this objectively, it's ridiculous. People snore. It's normal. People gain weight. They lose weight. Some people have high blood pressure. Some have high cholesterol [another scam, don't get me going]. The fact is, this is a manufactured "illness" much like fibromyalgia, which is a wide diagnosis when nothing else fits for undiagnosed pain. 20 years time will bear this out - it will fade away like the evening sun. By the way, I'm not looking for an argument and have never posted on here before.

I suspect that you don't have sleep apnea ... good for you.

But until you do have sleep apnea and get successful treatment, you won't know if it is a scam or not.

There are many here who DO have sleep apnea and have treated it successfully (myself included) to know that it is real. I assure you that using CPAP is not fun and I would not be using this therapy if it made no difference in my life ... something you should try and find for yourself.

Sarah Kennedy wrote:...

I was trying to make a point that you suddenly have thousands of people with something that 15 years ago, no one was even discussing. Thank you.

Fifteen years ago there were no iPhones ... I guess they are a scam too.

Sarah Kennedy wrote: 20 years time will bear this out - it will fade away like the evening sun. By the way, I'm not looking for an argument and have never posted on here before.

You're probably right. Go away for 20 years and check back with us then.