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Operations and Sleep Apnea?
#11
RE: Operations and Sleep Apnea?
Quote:As was said already being under anesthesia is like sleeping in that your airway relaxes so just like in sleep you can quit breathing. That makes them a bit skittish. Doctors don't like it when you quit breathing when they are operating on you!

And I bet they don't like the thrashing about part, either!
PaulaO

Take a deep breath and count to zen.




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#12
RE: Operations and Sleep Apnea?
When I had my back surgery a year ago, I told them I had SA. My doctor wasn't too concerned about it and neither was the gas passer. I was told to bring just my mask, but it didn't fit anything they had. They put me on a remote O2 sensor and if my numbers went south, they would bring their big machine in. Because f the way I had my bed, I never really slept that night - just a couple of cat naps, so there wasn't a real problem. Besides, who can sleep in a hospital anyways. I went home the next day at lunch and back to my own machine.
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#13
RE: Operations and Sleep Apnea?



The reason I asked, which I suppose I should have made clearer, was that although the hubby was given a machine, the doctor said he was really just borderline in the regards of having sleep apnea.

So little was the doctor sure of it he didnt even want to bother giving Kevin a machine and just told him he needed to lose weight and he'd be ok.
But Kevin insisted so he did, although he then forgot to write down the prescription and another 4 months have passed so we finally had a second sleep study and even after this one again, he wasn't crazy about giving him a machine.
He wrote down on the prescription to lend him one for 2 weeks and if he wanted one then, fine.

Of course the DME didnt want to have 2 visits and suggested he just take it the first time which he did, but that was only yesterday and his operation is tomorrow so he hasn't yet started on the machine.
He wants to wait a few days until he comes around from the operation.

Hence, I guess my point really was, that had he been on this machine for 5 years, I would not have asked the question but since he's new to it, his doctor says he has it slightly, his pressure is set for 8..............did he really need to bother both telling them about having it, and does he really need to take in the machine?

Of course he is taking it since they asked but if they need to set it up, it will be the first time its been used.......



PAULA:

I did not get the idea that anyone was laughing at me for the machine, or whatever it was you suggested and i understand that people are just angry at the doctor, believe me so ws I, but there isn't anything that can be done about it now, hence, i would like to just move on and get into this treatment and not have to constantly feel as if i have been ripped off by the DME and the doctor.
I have already done what i could do which was to give him a terrible write up on every listing where I found his name from google, and i also s suggested that anyone about to be diagnosed with Sleep Apnea, google such a forum and read up on the machines before going to a doctor and why. I gave them all the info they need to do the research and hopefully this doctor will lose patients due to it and hopefully he knows why for he knows I was not impressed with him one bit ;-)

Beyond that, there isn't anything else i can do but just use what i have until my insurance plan pays for another one. In my case they pay 100% so I think its a 5 year wait
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#14
RE: Operations and Sleep Apnea?
(03-04-2014, 08:28 PM)me50 Wrote: ShelaghDB

If you had problems with your machine and treatment, maybe b/c of the high pressure or other reasons, then you might qualify for an autoset that has EPR capabilities. I don't know if that works in Ontario. I started out on the Elite and still had a lot of issues. Went to S9 auto set and still had trouble. Now I am on VPAP auto. Since these machines are so expensive, I told the doc to give me the auto set b/c now the insurance rents it for 13 months rather than pay for it like they did with my Elite and I can't afford to keep starting over if the VPAP set pressure didn't help.

We did an experiment where after I was on the VPAP auto for a month, I went to straight VPAP for a week and then back to VPAP auto for a week and the RT is looking at the reports that I gave him for each day of that 2 week period. I do better with the VPAP auto because I am not at a set pressure all night. YMMV



Please understand that I don't mean to be rude but I haven't a clue of anything you have said here ;-)

EPR Capbilities?
VPAP auto?

Not sure what pressure would have been good for me had i had an auto set anyhow as I don't know anything about this yet..

Ive not had anything explained to me. I basically taught myself how to use my machine. The first night i almost took it back because i did not know there was a humidifier on it and couldn't understand why my teeth were all freezing cold the first morning I woke up with it ;-)


I am going to pull out my report and start a thread so perhaps you and others can tell me what kind of sleep apnea i have or anything that will help me understand what i have..... ;-)
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#15
RE: Operations and Sleep Apnea?
The operation did not go well. He's now ok but there were complications and i haven't any idea of it was due to Sleep Apnea or not.

He's just turned 52 and up until 3 years ago was quite healthy but let himself go over the past 3 years due to a lifestyle change and gave up walking and was driving so he gained weight, too much weight, etc but after today he's going back to walking.
Hes also a smoker, which is also ending after today.
We both are and have been taking Champix and planned to quit before his surgery but i think the stress of it kept him smoking and he planned to do it afterwards.
After today I am sure he regrets not having done it sooner.


In any event, he took in the machine but they never once used it.

However, he was in for a hernia operation. He had it in his chest and had had it done before about 3-4 years ago but was much healthier then and it was a very different outcome this time.
But he lifted heavy things too soon last time and it popped again so they put some mesh in this time and he now realizes his days of living heavy things are gone. He can't risk popping it again.

But about 90 minutes into the operation, he remembers being in a dream and then the next thing he remembers is having all these doctors yelling at him to wake up, over and over, quite rudely he seems to recall........and they kept telling him to breathe deeply, to take more breaths, to breathe deeper and deeper, over and over....or at least this is how he remembers it but he was very stressed and agitated which is not like him at all. He's normally very laid back and sweet but he was so stressed out his blood pressure shot up high and his oxygen dropped dangerously low during the operation so they decided to keep him in over night to make sure his oxygen levels straightened out again. He remembers having a tube down his throat although i don't know if that is typical in operations or not?

I never got a chance to speak to the surgeon but the nurses in the first recovery room, I mentioned that he had Sleep Apnea although apparently his doctor had prescribed him as being only borderline and didn't really want to give him a machine he felt it was so low but that it was Kevin that insisted on having one and the nurse laughed and told me from what she knows of his oxygen levels, he needs to be stapled to that machine and always have it with him----which I found odd considering that they didn't use it.

So, I don't know if what happened during his surgery was a result of Sleep Apnea OR a combination of smoking, being overweight and a bit older now, although 52 i don't consider old but its not 25.............


Does this sound to any of you if this was perhaps sleep apnea related and if so...........I don't understand why this doctor told him he was borderline and didn't really want to give him a machine..yes the same doctor that refused to give me an Auto-Set. nor Kevin either although he's supposed to be a highly thought of Respirologist dealing with Asthma issues I gather?
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#16
RE: Operations and Sleep Apnea?
Just chiming in here, but it sounds like that doctor is very paternalistic. They know what you need and how dare you question them. I think you really need to find another provider.

The reaction he had could have been a number of things or even a combination of things. It could have been a reaction to the anesthetic. It's impossible for us to say if the apnea had anything to do with it.

Most general anesthesia surgeries are assisted respiration surgeries. Which means that you are intubated and a ventilator breathes for you while you're under anesthesia.
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#17
RE: Operations and Sleep Apnea?
I am sorry your husband had such a rough go during surgery and am glad that he is okay. I would definitely be talking to the surgeon to find out exactly what happened. He/She would be the best person to tell you that. We could only guess and there are a number of reasons this could happen.

I don't know if you can do this where you live ShelaghDB but if you can, return both of your machines to the DME where you got them AFTER you find another one that will supply your machines and an autoset to you. At the minimum, see if you can find another sleep doc that will listen to you and your husband.

My sleep doc prescribed a VPAP for me but he didn't prescribe an autoset. I asked him to prescribe an autoset and he did. These machines are not inexpensive as you all know, even in the US and I did not want to get a straight VPAP and then have to change to an auto set and start the rental period over again.

I did that for 2 reasons (1) the DME was screwing up all of my supplies, etc. and causing me undue stress and a huge amount of time to fix their screw ups (and 6 months later, they still are not fixed). (2) I was prescribed a different type of machine and I was not going to deal with my former DME anymore.
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#18
RE: Operations and Sleep Apnea?
(03-04-2014, 07:43 PM)ShelaghDB Wrote: I might suggest that its not really a good idea for everyone to keep mentioning how much they hate the S9 Escape machine. I don't have this machine because i asked for it but because it was forced upon me and i have no way of getting the S9 Autoset

ShelaghDB, please don't take the comments about the Elite the wrong way. It does what it is supposed to do in terms of providing therapy....there is no problem with it in that regards at all.

The reason for the negative comments / attitude toward the Elite version is related to how much it can be used to improve treatment, rather than just providing treatment. When combined with some medical professional's attitudes and/or ignorance toward OSA, there are numerous people here who want/need the extra information to be more proactive in their treatment (which, of course, leads to a bit more passionate responses and opinions).

I'm sorry your husband had such a poor surgery experience and I hope he heals up quickly. We probably won't be able to say whether the OSA played any role in his difficulties, but it is good that he's looking at getting healthier.
INFORMATION ON APNEA BOARD FORUMS OR ON APNEABOARD.COM SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED AS MEDICAL ADVICE. ALWAYS SEEK THE ADVICE OF A PHYSICIAN BEFORE SEEKING TREATMENT FOR MEDICAL CONDITIONS, INCLUDING SLEEP APNEA. INFORMATION POSTED ON THE APNEA BOARD WEB SITE AND FORUMS ARE PERSONAL OPINION ONLY AND NOT NECESSARILY A STATEMENT OF FACT.
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#19
RE: Operations and Sleep Apnea?
I spoke to the surgeon this morning. Unfortunately it was really early this morning and its sort of gone in one ear and out the other but he really wasn't sure IF sleep apnea had anything to do with it. I remember him saying something about carbon monoxide. Sorry, I honestly can't remember now.....I ended up speaking to several people and they all tell you different things and i was really tired but no, he didnt really seem to focus on that as the issue


In any event, 12 hours in the hospital did him a world of good and perhaps it was best in the long run that they kept him overnight for he is back to himself completely today and on a renewed mission to lose some weight.
It was a wake up call for him but I wish his surgeon could have identified the cause 100% and/or determined if it were Sleep Apnea or not but as of now he will be using the machine anyway so at least that is some good that came out of it.

me50:

Its too late. It was really too late from day one, once I had picked up the machine the first time. Well, technically I suppose I could have found someone else, had i really understood what this all was but I didn't. I wouldn't have known where to start and so on. And its already paid for, this much I do know. Insurance paid for mine last week but even before that I was only allowed 30 days with it and my sleep studys had been paid for so had i wanted to do anything else, I would have had to pay out of pocket.

HAD I KNOWN any of this before I was diagnosed, then yes, fine, I could have gone out and got myself an auto set if not by just going to different doctors and letting them know that I was going to put my business with the one doctor that would prescribe the machine.
But I didn't. It was all unknown to me.

Anyhow, for now I am really not THAT concerned. My doctor said that my sleep apnea was just due to the weight I had put on in the past 3 years. That also contributes to my sleeping on my back as it was much more comfortable on one side when I was thinner........if i lose the weight, I may very well lose the sleep apnea.
IF that happens, unfortunately my machine won't tell me this but I will deal with it at the time. For now I am just interested in getting this going and seeing how I feel after a few months.
One step at a time. If I feel I need an auto set in a few months, I can look at picking one up second hand, or through a dealer, etc but for today its not a concern.

Quote:ShelaghDB, please don't take the comments about the Elite the wrong way

Its actually the Escape, that is worse than the Elite. I am not taking the comments the wrong way but i just want to get past talking about my crappy machine compared to the Auto-set and look forward towards a few months from now and seeing if I feel any differently, and so on.. .... thats all ;-)
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#20
RE: Operations and Sleep Apnea?
(03-07-2014, 01:05 PM)PsychoMike Wrote:
(03-04-2014, 07:43 PM)ShelaghDB Wrote: I might suggest that its not really a good idea for everyone to keep mentioning how much they hate the S9 Escape machine. I don't have this machine because i asked for it but because it was forced upon me and i have no way of getting the S9 Autoset

ShelaghDB, please don't take the comments about the Elite the wrong way. It does what it is supposed to do in terms of providing therapy....there is no problem with it in that regards at all.

The reason for the negative comments / attitude toward the Elite version is related to how much it can be used to improve treatment, rather than just providing treatment. When combined with some medical professional's attitudes and/or ignorance toward OSA, there are numerous people here who want/need the extra information to be more proactive in their treatment (which, of course, leads to a bit more passionate responses and opinions).

I'm sorry your husband had such a poor surgery experience and I hope he heals up quickly. We probably won't be able to say whether the OSA played any role in his difficulties, but it is good that he's looking at getting healthier.

you mean escape and not elite right?
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