Sleep apnea?? The doc thinks I might have sleep apnea and has me

me set up for a sleep test. If it is so, does everyone have to go on those machines ? I do not want to go on that. I already wear wrist guards to bed because of my carpal tunnel, I dont want to look like a robot. Will they just wait to see if surgery will fix that ?? I think even if they said I had to have a machine, I wouldn't use it. I have an infant daughte and I am up all night already with her, this would make it impossible ( or very inconvienent) for me to take care of her, plus, what about the "snuggle" time with the hubby... what an intrusion ? Right ?

First off I have Sleep Apnea and I wear the mask to bed, its a nasal pillow. Do you know the risks of having sleep apnea and not using the machine? Do you know you can stop breating, have a stroke, or a heart attack, or your O2 level can get low enough to cause damage to your brain? Looking good isn't what its all about, its about your health. If you want the surgery but aren't sure if you can get it, and until you can, if you are told you need the machine, get it, use it, and maybe if you have the WLS you can get off of it. Also no they will not wait, they will want to know you have the machine and use it, and they will want you to bring it with you to the hospital. I know I saw the pulmonologist, I told him I have the CPAP machine and he told me I would need it there. Just thought I would let you know the facts.

Thanks Renee for responding, but I really didn't mean I need to "look good". Shoot he's been in the delivery room for 4 c/sections and seen everything, whats left ? I just wasnt aware if this was really warranted or just something they want you to do to push an appeal through. So I am guessing millions of people have this and don't do anything about it , since the only way to diagnose this is to spend the night in the hospital, right ? I just feel like I am being a hypochondriac with all these doctors and crap and why wouldn't someone ( the gazillion doctors I have seen in the past) have brought this to my attention since I have always been fat and this is a life threatening risk ? And why don't more obese people see this as a regular thing to watch in their life ?? Like a standard testing for "obese" people ?? I guess since I am at the beginning of my process I "don't" know all the facts about this issue, I have spent most of my life investigating how to beat my infertility instead. Thanks for the post and if anyone has any answers to the above questions I would like some opinions on what they think the reasons are ?

The reason they check you for this is to make sure you don't have any breathing problems. Mine was done at a sleep clinic, just a building with thier equipment and some rooms with a washroom and a TV. It was nice but a little hard to sleep with all the wires on. It just lets them know if you have it and what else is going on. I also have restless legs and Fibromyalga brought on by lack of oxygen and rest to my muscles which will hopefully go away once I have been on the CPAP long enough. Also you might not realize you have it, I told the Dr I was always tired even though I slept a lot of hours and he did blood tests, autoimmune tests because I have pain. When they came back negative, he said I might have sleep apnea and sent me for the test. It was good he did, not that I "love" the machine but I feel better than I did, and I don't have to worry about stopping breathing when I sleep. If you do have sleep apnea, it will work towards helping your insurance possibly approve your WLS.

Along with the risk of stopping breathing....your organs, such as liver, kidneys and your heart are not getting enough oxygen throughout the night when you have sleep apnea. It really is a serious condition and I personally know someone that did stop breathing in her sleep and died. Over time your internal organs are not getting that oxygen that they need to function. Sure you may look like a robot while sleeping, and yes you may think of it as an intrusion, but there are alot of people who cannot afford or do not have the insurance to get a CPAP machine, and by the way they are 2-3000.00 per machine, so think of it as a blessing and a necessity. I would say that you should wait absolutley until the last minute before you fall asleep before you put the mask on, this way you are not constantly taking it on and off. Good Luck, and God Bless...Kathy

Susan, I have Sleep Apnea. As part of the pre-surgery testing, I had a sleep study done at Northwestern Hospital. Prior to the test, I had an inkling that I had apnea, but not to the degree that I do. I do not snore, but I went to bed tired and got up tired. Just by the questions that I answered, my doctor was willing to bet I had it. The test is annoying, but there is no pain. If you move around a lot in your sleep you will find it bothersome to be hooked up. Each time I flipped, I need to get reconneted, lol The test confirmed what I suspected, I had apnea, but it also confirmed the severity. I had 15 plus episodes of stopping breathing each hour. No wonder I was always tired, it wasn't just the weight. I got my machine last June and it took a bit of getting used to. My insurance paid for a very expensive compact machine along with a very high tech mask that looks like a little nose pillow. If you have apnea, you are watched much more closely after surgery and you must bring the machine with you to the hospital. Since I am losing weight, the machine I have auto adjusts which is great because I do not have to keep having it re-calibrated. Surgery cures some people of apnea but not all. As far as your "Snuggle Time" you can work around it, believe me Mary

I felt the same way that you do about the potential of sleeping on a CPAP before my first sleep study a year and a hal*****hen, after one hour, they put the mask on me and I got the most incredible five hours of sleep that I have had in years. I use and have been using a nasal pillow since December 2005. The sleep that I get is incredible. I wouldn't give up my CPAP for the world now. I put my head on the pillow at night, turn on my CPAP, and geting 7.5 to eight hours of great sleep every night.

Hi Susan - I'm a lurker on the Illinois board - I'm from Indiana. I agree with the rest of the responses - - the machine isn't bad. I got diagonosed with it on my quest for approval - - and if it hadn't been diagnosed as a co-morbidity, I wouldn't have been approved for the bariatric surgery. The machine is acutally very quiet and I couldn't believe the difference in the quality of my sleep. Amazing. I love my CPAP machine. The sleep study at the hospital I went to is a special part of the hospital - and the room looks like a hotel room w/ some extra equipment. Regular bed - not a hosptial bed. I"m sure you could find a set up like that in Illinois too. Also - for the carpal tunnel - - get the surgery for that too! I wore splints for 6 months and they just didn't work. If you let the carpal tunnel go long enough you risk permanent nerve damage and it can impair your ability to grip with the 3 affected fingers. I had surgery on both hands last year - Jan & March and wish I'd done those a year earlier. Actual surgery took 7 minutes... yes - 7 minutes. Was bandaged /cast for about 10 days and then it took about a month to get full strength back but the carpal tunnel pain was gone immediately after the surgery. Have had no problems or pain since. Lynn