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All Articles (135)

Celebrity CPAP Users: Andy Richter

Andy Richter made an appearance recently on Late Night with Conan O'Brien sporting the celebrity's CPAP mask, which appears to be the Respironics Comfort Fusion Nasal Mask. Looks like Conan is laughing at him, but Conan's brand of humor is generally good-natured, so I'm sure this raised awareness of OSA in a good way.

Added by The SleepGuide Crew on February 13, 2009 at 11:21pm — No Comments

Sleep Apnea and Shame

Are we ashamed of having Sleep Apnea? I know the answer for myself is a resounding "no." But for others, it's not so simple. To my way of thinking, Sleep Apnea is a common disorder to which no stigma is attached. Sure, sleeping with a hose attached to a breathing machine every night is inconvenient, but I don't feel as if it's something I need to hide. But for my friend Peter (name changed for sake of anonymity), it's a black mark that he feels compelled to hide from others. When he… Continue

Added by The SleepGuide Crew on February 12, 2009 at 3:30pm — 4 Comments

Insomnia and Sleep Apnea

Contributed by Dr. Steven Park, a featured member of SleepGuide.com: http://www.sleepguide.com/forum/topics/is-insomnia-really-a

Sleep doctors have always thought of insomnia as a behavioral or stress aggravated issue, and the standard ways of treating this all-too-common condition is to either give sleeping pills or have the patient undergo cognitive behavioral therapy. However, a recent study… Continue

Added by The SleepGuide Crew on February 11, 2009 at 2:00pm — No Comments

Sleep Apnea, Obesity and Type @ Diabetes

Obesity definitely is a contributing factor to a sleep apnea condition. Weight loss will diminish it to a great effect. Type 2 diabetes is also associated with obesity which causes your BMI to climb and chances of hypertension to also develop. I have all three conditions and anyone who is obese and has sleep apnea may have several other comorbities such as ED, Bladder Urgency, Skin conditions, tingling in your lower extremities, etc. Our bodies are very complex and we need to exercise good… Continue

Added by Art Hyde on February 10, 2009 at 4:22pm — No Comments

Upper Airway Resistance Syndrome — A Primer

Note: This is an edited transcription of a podcast recording

Today, we are going to spend the next 30 minutes talking about upper airway resistance syndrome, or UARS. It’s a relatively new description of a condition that’s related to obstructive sleep apnea but as you’ll hear in this podcast, has enormous ramifications in regards to so many health conditions that we see, not only in our field, but in almost every other field in general. I have to say, however, that this is a… Continue

Added by Steven Y. Park, MD on February 8, 2009 at 11:00pm — 5 Comments

Sleep Apnea and Diabetes

The connection between Sleep Apnea and Diabetes is real and scary. Studies published in the European Respiratory Journal and Journal of Internal Medicine tell us that up to 40% of people with Sleep Apnea will have Diabetes. Other studies show that up to 50% of those with type 2 Diabetes have Sleep Apnea. Essentially, Sleep Apnea causes intermittent shortages of oxygen in the body and fragmentation of sleep, which in turn causes physiologic stress which then wreaks havok on glucose… Continue

Added by The SleepGuide Crew on February 7, 2009 at 9:30pm — 14 Comments

Insurer Reimbursement: Could Less be More?

If you haven't heard, Medicare and private insurers are putting the screws to the DMEs that provide our Sleep Apnea equipment in an effort to cut costs, much to the chagrin of DME providers. One aspect of the cost-cutting is to deny reimbursement to DMEs and other providers that cannot show that their patients are complying with CPAP treatment. While at first blush, this might seem like an adverse development for us patients, the problem for us might be that the insurers didn't do this sooner,… Continue

Added by The SleepGuide Crew on February 6, 2009 at 4:50pm — 8 Comments

New Product Releases

I tuned into ResMed's quarterly earnings call this afternoon, and was generally impressed with RMD's performance over the quarter, along with the explanations for that strong performance put forth by senior management. One of the financial analysts on the call noted that the pace of new products ResMed is bringing to market seems to have picked up over the last year. ResMed's CEO, Kieran Gallahue, confirmed that this observation has some basis in fact, and spoke proudly of the… Continue

Added by The SleepGuide Crew on February 5, 2009 at 6:00pm — 11 Comments

Dogs and Snoring

I came across this video of a dog snoring that was very disturbing to me. As a dog lover, I'm going to talk to a vet about how common this is with dogs, whether it's just as dangerous for them as for human beings, and what treatments are… Continue

Added by Mike on February 5, 2009 at 1:23am — No Comments

MD on MD Violence: Turf War in Sleep Medicine

Sleep specialists are ticked off that, looking for new revenue streams, an increasing number of primary care physicians and other non-Sleep certified MDs are hopping on the Sleep Medicine bandwagon. As patients, the question is whether we should care. The answer I think is yes.

The complaint of the Sleep specialists is that interpreting sleep studies and diagnosing sleep disorders takes a fair amount of skill and training. Now, if you've ever taken a gander at your raw sleep study… Continue

Added by The SleepGuide Crew on February 3, 2009 at 10:53pm — 4 Comments

Primary Care Physicians and Sleep Apnea

Primary care physicians are on the front lines of the War on Sleep Apnea. Unfortunately, nobody told them that they're on the front lines of the War on Sleep Apnea! Below is a typical list of tips for healthy living given to me by my primary care physician. Notice the glaring absence of anything Sleep-related:

1. Make sure appropriate screening tests and immunizations are up to date.

2. Complete an Advance Health Care Directive.

3. Exercise… Continue

Added by The SleepGuide Crew on February 2, 2009 at 10:00pm — 7 Comments

PAPer "Bill of Rights" -- Version 2

The comment period is over, and the attached represents the revised version, based on your feedback so far. The original, along with the context surrounding it, is set forth in this article. Given the growth of the community over the past month, and the addition of many… Continue

Added by The SleepGuide Crew on February 1, 2009 at 10:30pm — 10 Comments

Used CPAP Masks and CPAP Machines

A substantial marketplace is developing online for pre-owned CPAP masks and machines. Sites like craigslist and ebay offer used CPAP masks and machines at heavily reduced prices, giving many access to CPAP supplies they otherwise would not be able to afford. The benefits are undeniable, and lots of good has come from this marketplace. But I was recently talking… Continue

Added by The SleepGuide Crew on January 31, 2009 at 6:30pm — 7 Comments

Sleep Test in... a Hotel?

If you're like me, you had your polysomnography sleep test done in a cold, clinical medical setting, devoid of any creature comforts whatsoever. Not so for those lucky enough to have their sleep study done at the Vanderbilt Sleep Disorders Center, which recently held its grand opening at a new location: the local Hyatt hotel. The Hyatt Place Cool Springs will be… Continue

Added by The SleepGuide Crew on January 30, 2009 at 7:30pm — 6 Comments

Sleep Apnea and Truckers

Sleep Apnea and Truckers. To the Respironics, Resmeds and Fisher Paykels of the world, the two go together like Love and Marriage. To truckers the combination is more like oil and water. Clearly, the manufacturers have the moral high ground. But whether they will be able to woo truckers remains to be seen.

Truckers are disproportionately predisposed to having some form of Sleep Apnea, with one study pegging the number at 28% of all those holding commercial trucking… Continue

Added by The SleepGuide Crew on January 28, 2009 at 2:18pm — 14 Comments

Advanced Member Search on SleepGuide.com

Now you can find others on SleepGuide.com who are just like you. Check out our Advanced Member Search, and find other people with Sleep Apnea by region, by interest in Sleep Apnea, by type of machine or mask they use, and more. Let us know if you'd like to find people some other way and we can look into incorporating your suggestions into future releases of the site. Enjoy!…

Continue

Added by The SleepGuide Crew on January 27, 2009 at 7:31pm — 1 Comment

Apnea Sexy: Results are In

In a prior post, we brought to your attention a personals ad we came across for a gentleman with OSA seeking a woman with the same. The ad read: "I am an intelligent, kind, and passionate man and I refuse to let the CPAP machine dampen my social life and passion for life and, hopefully, for someone like you! Are there any smart, cute women out there that have this condition too? I don't feel like I need to find someone else with this condition, since it is not all that bad and most… Continue

Added by The SleepGuide Crew on January 26, 2009 at 9:00pm — No Comments

Sleep Apnea and Obesity: the Overstated Connection

Sleep Apnea and Obesity have become synonymous in the public's awareness, so much so that when the term Sleep Apnea is mentioned, the term obesity is reflexively, and often improperly, tacked on. Case in point: yesterday's USA Today article. The story (which can be found at http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2009-01-24-obesity-sleep-apnea_N.htm?csp=usat.me) is about new scientific research showing that liver disease, insulin resistance and a less-than-active lifestyle are all independently… Continue

Added by The SleepGuide Crew on January 25, 2009 at 3:07pm — 1 Comment

Respironics A-Flex vs. C-Flex

For all of you who don't know the difference between A-Flex and C-Flex on Respironics CPAP machines, you're in good company. Each is a comfort option on the most popular Respironics CPAP machines that makes it easier to tolerate CPAP treatment. A-Flex is a little more comfortable than C-Flex, in that it provides pressure relief on both inhalation and exhalation. C-Flex only provides pressure relief on exhalation.

However, there is often a trade-off between comfort and the… Continue

Added by The SleepGuide Crew on January 24, 2009 at 4:04pm — 7 Comments

Another Benefit of CPAP Treatment: Escaping Deadly Infernos

Add saving your life in case of fire to the list of CPAP benefits. Geraldine McNeil, an Alabama woman whose home was engulfed by fire Wednesday morning has Sleep Apnea and was using the machine the night of the fire. Her daughter says she may not have escaped from the house were it not for CPAP. The daughter, Danna Hollis, reported that her mother's entire face was black except for where the mask was "so we know that had it not been for the good lord and her having a c-pap on she probably would… Continue

Added by The SleepGuide Crew on January 24, 2009 at 1:26am — No Comments