Join Our Newsletter

New? Free Sign Up

Then check our Welcome Center to a Community Caring about Sleep Apnea diagnosis and Sleep Apnea treatment:

CPAP machines, Sleep Apnea surgery and dental appliances.

CPAP Supplies

Latest Activity

Steven B. Ronsen updated their profile
Mar 5
Dan Lyons updated their profile
Mar 7, 2022
99 replied to Mike's discussion SPO 7500 Users?
"please keep me updated about oximeters "
Dec 4, 2021
Stefan updated their profile
Sep 16, 2019
Profile IconBLev and bruce david joined SleepGuide
Aug 21, 2019
A blogger made a provocative remark about sleep apnea:

Society medicalizes imperfections that formerly were either not defined as disease or thought to be too minor and/or too intractable for treatment. Rambunctiousness becomes attention deficit disorder; impotence becomes erectile dysfunction; snoring becomes a symptom of sleep apnea. (excerpted from http://voices.washingtonpost.com/postpartisan/2010/01/health_reform...)

I for one am happy for this "diagnostic creep." Treating this disorder that not long ago wasn't even recognized as a disorder has turned my life around for the better.

Views: 14

Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Isn't prevention supposed to cost less than crisis care? Heart attacks, strokes, diabetes, are all quite expensive for our "health care system". Some people don't recognize the logic until they have something personal to deal with, or someone very close to them does, not to mention quality of life. Sometimes frontiers are not about longitude and latitude. I know I am benefitting from the evolution of all of the CPAP equipment and the individual efforts of many to make it work better. Just starting with it now, and I imagine it will be even better in another ten years and costs will improve too, just like with computers.

The article writer seems to be just provocatively posing the question, without committing to an opinion. I do believe we can have better health care and contain costs. We all have to do our part though, and not go to ERs for conditions that can be treated by Urgent Care clinics (which did not exist very long ago) or expect a pill to fix a lifestyle problem. Not so easy to change quickly, I know. I think the "Creep" shows real progress, but does change the medical landscape. Good for some, less so for others. As in other discussions, some entities seem to have control issues with patients managing their own condition, but ultimately, it is the only way. The patient is the CEO, the medical practitioners are the team. The patient lives with the bottom line.
I'm not impressed with this guy's thought process. He's clearly just trying to be provocative. I'm older and I either have, am related to-, or know someone with every single one of the conditions he mentions. His argument just doesn't hold water in this day and age. People have a right to quality of life, especially when they're doing their part as RL said to keep health maintained and cost contained.

He needs to either get older, broaden his spectrum of awareness, or go take a nap for the next 30 years. Science and health care will continue to progress and improve, as it should. Who's to decide which women get to have their bones strengthened or which child can have a medication that enables him to sit down for more than 1 minute and learn effectively in school. Who's gonna decide that a healthy man who has erectile dysfunction can't have access to a medication that enables him to maintain a sexual relationship--he thinks these things aren't a dysfunction?? He might ask the people who actually KNOW about the reality of even a few of these conditions he mentions? Baloney.....

Oh, and here's a thought!! How about our limiting access heavy-duty medical care for illegal immigrants who aren't citizens, pay no taxes, and yet obtain FREE medical services when our citizens and their children are denied care. This is happening all over the country. Taxpayers are bearing the cost of their no-cost care. I don't get it. Back in the day, people who came to America came with the intention of becoming citizens, got jobs, went to school, learned English,.......this is a political issue, I guess, which probably isn't helpful on our Forum, but it does bear a comment.

Susan McCord



RL said:
Isn't prevention supposed to cost less than crisis care? Heart attacks, strokes, diabetes, are all quite expensive for our "health care system". Some people don't recognize the logic until they have something personal to deal with, or someone very close to them does, not to mention quality of life. Sometimes frontiers are not about longitude and latitude. I know I am benefitting from the evolution of all of the CPAP equipment and the individual efforts of many to make it work better. Just starting with it now, and I imagine it will be even better in another ten years and costs will improve too, just like with computers.

The article writer seems to be just provocatively posing the question, without committing to an opinion. I do believe we can have better health care and contain costs. We all have to do our part though, and not go to ERs for conditions that can be treated by Urgent Care clinics (which did not exist very long ago) or expect a pill to fix a lifestyle problem. Not so easy to change quickly, I know. I think the "Creep" shows real progress, but does change the medical landscape. Good for some, less so for others. As in other discussions, some entities seem to have control issues with patients managing their own condition, but ultimately, it is the only way. The patient is the CEO, the medical practitioners are the team. The patient lives with the bottom line.
i wish this creep had ED and see how he likes it that he cannot proginate

Reply to Discussion

RSS

© 2024   Created by The SleepGuide Crew.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service