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All Articles Tagged 'cpap' (26)

Men versus women: Sleep apnea symptoms are apparently different

A new study just published in Sleep has again demonstrated that women are different from men even when they have the same disorder—obstructive sleep apnea, often called OSA. As I mentioned recently, women might be less likely to be diagnosed with OSA in part because of doctor awareness that OSA is most common in men. [...]

Men versus women: Sleep apnea symptoms by… Continue

Added by Ernest Logan Jr. on March 29, 2009 at 4:25pm — 4 Comments

Old Sleep Apnea Supplies

Unlike a fine wine, CPAP supplies don't get better with age. In fact, they tend to deteriorate and become less effective over time, and be replaced by ever more comfortable and innovative CPAP technologies. So we're often taken aback to hear that someone's been using the same mask for years, not having even replaced the cushions. Ditto for the machines… Continue

Added by The SleepGuide Crew on March 9, 2009 at 3:00am — 8 Comments

Is Changing CPAP Settings on One's Own Machine Illegal?

I don't know. And that's the point. While never likely to be enforced, this article is to highlight that there is confusion over whether it's legal to change the settings on one's own CPAP machine. The CPAP community seems divided on the question of whether changing the settings should be legal, with most doctors, respiratory therapists and Durable Medical Equipment providers feeling we patients… Continue

Added by Mike on March 8, 2009 at 9:30pm — 10 Comments

Cartoonist Rick London Speaks Out On Sleep Apnea Surgery, And, How It Saved His Life

The apnea group Sleepguide.com, whom I had the pleasure to meet at Twitter has asked me to discuss my experience with sleep apnea. On November 22, 2008, I had major surgery to treat it.

It all started around 1998. My mother had just died in my rural home in Ms. I had returned there after almost two decades away to take care of her. I was there for four years as a caretaker. She was a trooper, always had lived life to the… Continue

Added by Rick London on February 27, 2009 at 9:00pm — 13 Comments

Sleep Apnea Depression

Sleep Apnea Depression. If you're asking which one it is, sleep apnea or depression, you're in good company: unfortunately, primary care physicians, psychiatrists, psychologists and patients often confuse sleep apnea and depression. Understandably so. Loss of energy, loss of interest in once enjoyable things, difficulty concentrating and fatigue are common symptoms of depression. But they are also common symptoms of sleep apnea, and new research is continually emerging to show… Continue

Added by The SleepGuide Crew on February 17, 2009 at 3:04pm — 34 Comments

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 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

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

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

Apnea Sexy: Man with OSA seeks Woman with Same!

Does OSA raise a red flag on the dating scene? I'm clueless since I was already in a committed relationship when diagnosed, but it remains an open question, especially for my single friends. Here's one personals ad I came across that just "puts it out there":

"Yes, I am a man with Obstructive Sleep Apnea. I am not obese, nor do I have a neurological condition. Some doctors claim they can 'fix me' with surgery, but after much research about the procedures I decided not to pursue… Continue

Added by The SleepGuide Crew on January 18, 2009 at 2:30pm — 3 Comments

Attention CPAP Users: Don't Try This At Home

If a loved one ever winds up in jail, you might think twice about smuggling contraband in by using a CPAP machine as the Trojan Horse. That's exactly what an El Paso woman, Bernadette Valenzuela, pictured here, did for her husband, an inmate at the El Paso County Detention Facility. Ms. Valenzuela got caught loading up the CPAP with a nice assortment of contraband, including 200 pain and barbiturate pills, 10 utility blades and a knife.

Ms. Valenzuela was brought up on… Continue

Added by The SleepGuide Crew on January 17, 2009 at 4:28pm — No Comments

Sleep Apnea Surgery: the FOX News Interview

Sleep Apnea surgery vs. CPAP: a recent FOX News interview provides some colorful commentary on the battle unfolding between proponents of either treatment option. During the interview, FOX News interviews Dr. Jennifer Walden, a doctor who is presented to us without any information other than she is affiliated with New York City's Lenox Hill Hospital. The topic of the interview is one which we have reported here, that Sleep Apnea kills. So far, so good: an interview with a trained medical… Continue

Added by The SleepGuide Crew on January 14, 2009 at 12:00pm — 12 Comments

Lending a Hand: Community in Action on SleepGuide.com

It's the ordinary little good deeds that go unnoticed that are often the most powerful. One of our members donated a CPAP machine to a person in need, and now that person is headed down the path to compliance with CPAP and a better life. To avoid embarrassing the donor and the recipient, I will not mention their names, but the deed speaks volumes about the quality of the community we are building here.

Like many in these troubled economic times, the recipient of the machine… Continue

Added by The SleepGuide Crew on January 11, 2009 at 3:30pm — 4 Comments

Novel CPAP Device Announced, But Will it Matter?

Metis Laboratories, an R&D innovation laboratory, announced yesterday that it had developed a novel CPAP device built on the principles of nanotechnology. Metis says that the device, which they call "PAPWear," is integrated with clothing and wearable by a user. The total weight of the machine and the accompanying mask, tubing and headgear system, Metis says,… Continue

Added by The SleepGuide Crew on January 8, 2009 at 1:00pm — No Comments

CPAP Treatment: Top 3 Questions To Ask Your Doctor

Chances are that if you haven't followed up with your doctor in years, or at all, about your CPAP therapy, something isn't quite right in CPAP-Ville. PAP treatment is as much an art as a science, and it requires continuous monitoring and attention, preferably between you and your physician. That said, I'm finding that doctor follow-up is more the exception than the rule. So you the patient must take the initiative. If you haven't seen your doctor in awhile, make an appointment, and… Continue

Added by Mike on January 7, 2009 at 2:00pm — 2 Comments

CPAP Cleaning: A Lazy Man's Method

I'm a fairly black and white kind of guy, so when I first got CPAP, I actually read the care and maintenance instructions. I'm also a fairly lazy kind of guy, so half-way through reading them, I stopped and gave up. I never liked puzzles, and assembling and disassembling and caring for a mask, humidifier, CPAP, tubing, etc., all seemed to me like a puzzle from hell, each night for every remaining night of my life.

Then my physician, who is at Stanford Medical Center and is… Continue

Added by Mike on December 29, 2008 at 1:30pm — No Comments

PAPer "Bill of Rights" --- Your Feedback Needed

DRAFT VERSION

Friends,

Today, we face an unacceptable situation with Sleep Apnea. Sleep Apnea is a chronic, serious disease that approximately 30 million Americans have, only 10% of whom have been diagnosed. Although the disease is completely treatable with the “gold standard” of positive airway pressure (“PAP”), of those who… Continue

Added by Mike on December 28, 2008 at 4:00pm — 9 Comments

I Have A Dream -- Ideal CPAP use

I have a dream for CPAP use that I announced in a previous blog posting on this site that has sparked a fair amount of controversy which I did not anticipate. The agenda was as follows:

• Users should use their machines at least 5 hours a night, almost every… Continue

Added by Mike on December 24, 2008 at 1:30pm — 8 Comments