Sleep Apnea Support Group
Sleep apnea is a common sleep disorder characterized by brief interruptions of breathing during sleep. People with sleep apnea partially awaken as they struggle to breathe, but in the morning they may not be aware of sleep disturbances.
I was just diagnosed with mild sleep apnea (5.3 episodes an hour). At this point my apnea does not really wake me up in the night (only twice during my study) and therefore I'm not tired during the day. I don't have high blood pressure and it is really not affecting my life negatively at all at this point.
Initially, I was told that because it is so mild, I qualify for an oral appliance and that my health insurance would likely pay for it IF I was proven to be "CPAP intolerant".
Then I was told that because my study was done at an "accredited" sleep center my Oral Appliance would be covered without even having to try the CPAP.
THEN today for some reason they told me that the Oral Appliance would not be covered at all whatsoever by either dental or health insurance even if I proved to be "CPAP intolerant".
I have a consultation appointment on the 19th where we will discuss my treatment options and my results, etc. They assured me that there are other options besides CPAP and the Oral Appliance that nobody wants to pay for.
I guess I am worried that my sleep WILL be interrupted and I will have general insomnia if I have to use any kind of mask. At this point my sleep is FINE!, and I don't want to change that.
What are my options? I could try losing weight, but keeping my weight down low enough for the rest of my life to not have sleep apnea seems almost impossible.
This whole thing is very irritating.
Initially, I was told that because it is so mild, I qualify for an oral appliance and that my health insurance would likely pay for it IF I was proven to be "CPAP intolerant".
Then I was told that because my study was done at an "accredited" sleep center my Oral Appliance would be covered without even having to try the CPAP.
THEN today for some reason they told me that the Oral Appliance would not be covered at all whatsoever by either dental or health insurance even if I proved to be "CPAP intolerant".
I have a consultation appointment on the 19th where we will discuss my treatment options and my results, etc. They assured me that there are other options besides CPAP and the Oral Appliance that nobody wants to pay for.
I guess I am worried that my sleep WILL be interrupted and I will have general insomnia if I have to use any kind of mask. At this point my sleep is FINE!, and I don't want to change that.
What are my options? I could try losing weight, but keeping my weight down low enough for the rest of my life to not have sleep apnea seems almost impossible.
This whole thing is very irritating.
-
My 6mo twin DD's are EBF and just started rice cereal on the first. Everything has been going fine except this morning one of them had a diaper rash (lots of redness around her anus). I read this as one of the signs of an allergy. BUT I did just buy a different brand diaper yesterday (which they have used randomly before w/no issues). Do you think its the cereal or the diaper? Im ready to start...
I thought for sure that I would have problems sleeping with the mask, that's why I joined this group before getting the device. However, I may be one of the few that was able to sleep fine with it on night 1.
I am always fighting to lose weight. I am sure that after starting cpap I have more energy and it is easier to lose. I have slowly lost 35 pounds (could lose another 30 to be a "hunk"). My goal is to lose weight to be healthy, not sure if it will affect my apnea or not. I don't mind if I need to strap that silly mask on every night for the rest of my life.
I hope you can find something that works for you.
rkc
I really would like a second opinion, but that would probably send me to another sleep study, and I already have to pay $650 from the first one, that I was told was 100% covered, or else I wouldn't have done it in the first place.
I think I'm just going to tell them on the 19th (if I even go to the appointment), that I'm going to take this information and put it in my back pocket. If I do have the potential to have more serious sleep apnea someday, and I do start to notice the symptoms, then I will seek treatment at that time. But until then...I'll live with my "mild" sleep apnea as I have been for who knows how many years now.
Went to my consultation appointment today and spoke to the sleep doctor. Well, the nurse practitioner that supposedly works for the sleep doctor. I'm not convinced the sleep doctor really exists because I've never actually seen him. I've only gotten bills from him. He's kind of like the wizard of oz.
Anyway. The nurse practitioner reviewed my sleep test with me and said that because my numbers are so low, that I don't really need to pursue any treatment at this time. She said the oral appliance would be a good option for me, but it might make my TMJ worse.
So anyway. She said that as long as I maintain my weight, or even lose some, I should be fine.
Turns out my airway is very narrow. Which must be what my dentist saw, leading me to this point. Not anything I can really do about that. That's just the way I was made.
I could have more severe apnea later on when I get older or if I gain some weight, but until then she said I'm good to go.
Whewwwww!