Hey Guys/Gals, fellow hoseheads!   My friend called me last night and let me know that PBS McNiel Lehrer newshour did a piece on the new Wisconson SA study.    It is a real good look at OSA and what all of us know to well.   Just google it and watch.  It is great that the media is now looking at this and the severity of the condition.

Jabert

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/video/module.html?mod=0&pkg=13082008&seg=3


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Remstar Auto with CFlex (not M series) since Sept 05
Adams Circuit pillows
CPAP since Feb 23 '93, only slept one night without since (by accident)

Thanks for the PBS info and link!

That was well done, and fairly long (unlike some very quickie news pieces).
Very good descriptions.

I don't know that I agree with the 25% of patients intolerant to cpap, I think that's low.  Plus I think the piece was a little bit too discouraging with negativisms over using cpap.  And they could have noted that there are a variety of less claustrophobic masks.  They did show the one guy who uses it successfully for over 3 years, I just think they should have shown a little more of that.  But overall, a good piece, particularly on the seriousness of sleep apnea.


Linda

I am afraid that I have little sympathy for people who claim to be "intolerant" of CPAP unless there is a physical reason that CPAP wouldn't work for them.  

For example, I wouldn't consider the small number of people who really cannot find a full face mask that fits them properly to be CPAP intolerant.  There may also be some people who are senstive to or have an allergy to the materials that are used in CPAP masks and are unable to find a mask that doesn't cause contact dermatitis.  There are some people who have lung conditions that make the use of CPAP intolerable.  

Until recently, would somebody who has type 1 diabetes be able to claim that they are "intolerant" of needles or of finger sticks?

You make a good point.

Much of the so-called "intolerance" or refusal to use cpap can be attributed to inadequate cpap setup and followup.  Many don't want to fail, but they aren't given proper instruction or offered alternatives, other masks for example, to make it work properly.  So they give up because they don't know any way to make it right.

There are many who simply refuse to deal with it, even after trying.  At the sleep lab where I work, we have a small DME business.  Every few days someone walks in all grumpy and hands me their cpap equipment, telling me they just can't deal with it.  I ask questions.  Sometimes it's just that they don't know of alternatives and I try to get them to come back in to meet with the therapist again and try other masks.  But there are a few that even with the cpap being comfortable and working right, they just refuse.

Then there are the folks who have had the sleep studies and refuse to even try the cpap.  Some just refuse to come back for the second, titration, study -- they'd been shown the mask and refused to use it.  One such woman had a split night study and extremely severe sleep apnea, as well as heart irregularities and other medical problems.  I listened as my boss got on the phone with her and in a rare show of force, went so far as to strongly say that she could suffer terribly and die if this is untreated.  No matter, she refused.

But you're right, most of the so-called intolerance is not from people refusing, but from people having problems using their cpap that didn't get proper setup and followup care.  Most really do want it to work.  That's why I feel that 25% tolerance number is misleading.  The sad thing is that stating that misleading number could very well frighten off people.


Linda