A doctor I spoke to last night argued that severe sleep apnea should be treated more often with a tracheostomy. A tracheostomy is a surgical procedure to create an opening through the neck into the trachea (windpipe). A tube is usually placed through this opening to provide an airway into the upper trachea. This tube is called a tracheostomy tube or trach tube.… Continue

If you're reading this, you can pat yourself on the back. You're part of the elite, the "Top Gun" of those with Sleep Apnea. How? Largely just by virtue of knowing that you have Sleep Apnea -- ninety percent of those with Sleep Apnea remain undiagnosed. Moreover, not only are you in the top 90th percentile of the "Sleep Apnea Class," but because you're educating yourself about the disorder and trying to improve your life by actively seeking treatment, you, the members of this forum, are more… Continue

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

Is Sleep Apnea a disability? The question of whether Sleep Apnea is a disability is a legal one concerning state and federal anti-discrimination laws. The short answer to whether Sleep Apnea is a disability: maybe. The Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA") and related state laws don't define what constitutes a disability in black and white terms. Rather, the question as to whether Sleep Apnea is a disability, or whether any other disorder is a disability for that matter, rests on an… Continue