Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Why Sleep Apnea Patients Rely on a CPAP Machine Hacker

motherboard.vice.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

181–190 of 261 posts

Re: Why Sleep Apnea Patients Rely on a CPAP Machine Hacker

#181

Post by PhantomGremlin »

tptacek wrote: post #170
PhantomGremlin wrote: post #168

Earlier quoted context omitted.

there is just no way I'm doing a sleep study As others have already explained, you can now do an in-home study. Not nearly as good as when you're all wired up in the sleep center. But still good enough to get a general indication of how you are doing. Okay, you still resist that, so ... How about going to bed, for one night, with a small, inexpensive, device on your finger? Viz. a pulse oximeter. Surely you can handl…

Could I take results from a pulse ox to a random urgent care clinic doctor and get an RX for an APAP? I would totally do that. I'm actually totally fine with paying out of pocket. (I'm not really that resistant to doing an in-home sleep study, for what it's worth.)

Could I take results from a pulse ox to a random urgent care clinic doctor and get an RX for an APAP?

That I don't know. My guess is, probably not.

I do know that, when I had my in-clinic sleep study, the technician showed me how my blood oxygen levels were rising and falling. Rhythmically, corresponding to every breath I took.

If you see the oxygen desaturation for yourself, maybe that's what will convince you to at least do an in-home study.

I will never do another in-clinic study again. I fucking hated it, tons of straps and wires all over. I had a lot of trouble getting to sleep and staying asleep. So, as Bill Clinton might say: "I feel your pain". And they did give me a sleeping pill in the middle of the night to calm me down (another issue of yours). But that was over 10 years ago, I don't think that in-home studies were popular at that time.

Re: Why Sleep Apnea Patients Rely on a CPAP Machine Hacker

#182

Post by outworlder »

ars wrote: post #6
Aloha wrote: post #3

I think the risk of death is probably overstated, as these people have often gone decades without a CPAP, and lived just fine.

That's not entirely true. If you mess up you can end up rebreathing your own air in the tube. It has small holes that are supposed to allow fresh air to mix in even if the machine is not providing any. But they are small. If you are a normal sleeper you would normally wake up and remove the mask if you feel suffocated. (For example a power outage.) If you are with someone who uses such a machine you can test it - unp…

> It has small holes that are supposed to allow fresh air to mix in even if the machine is not providing any. But they are small.

Oh for god's sake.

You are not going to die if the machine switches off, even with a full face mask. It is not hermetically sealed.

If you don't use a full face mask, but instead a nasal mask or pillows, this is what you'll do: you'll open your mouth and start breathing that way. Simple.

Re: Why Sleep Apnea Patients Rely on a CPAP Machine Hacker

#183

Post by elcinr »

armatav wrote: post #72
bcassedy wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sounds like your wife isn't well read on the topic. CPAP is life saving treatment for some. Sleep apnea surgeries have poor success rates https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3480570/

"oral surgeon"

"poster on HN"

Re: Why Sleep Apnea Patients Rely on a CPAP Machine Hacker

#184

Post by dpeck »

tptacek wrote: post #119
jazzychad wrote: post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Curious why you won't do a sleep study? I recently went through this whole process, and it was pretty fascinating to see the data they collected from all the sensors (also confirming that I have mild OSA).

I have a _very_ delicately balanced sleep routine and a sort of mortal terror both of insomnia and of hypnotic drugs. If it were safe and easy I'd probably just buy the APAP and see if it made me feel better. I don't feel much urgency; I get about 6 hours a night on the regular and don't as a rule feel tired or cloudy during the day (but it's possible that with an APAP I would, relative to my current condition, feel…

just fyi the current at home test is basically a wristwatch with a light finger oxygen sensor, https://www.itamar-medical.com/watchpat-home-sleep-testing-m....

It seems that the APAPs should be able to be bought without a prescription, and besides inertia I'm not sure why it is.

Re: Why Sleep Apnea Patients Rely on a CPAP Machine Hacker

#185

Post by zw123456 »

Why do people need CPAP machines, why can't you simply sleep on your side? Most primates instinctively know how to sleep in the best positions (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1119282/) humans insist on sleeping on their backs which other primates instinctively know is dangerous.

Re: Why Sleep Apnea Patients Rely on a CPAP Machine Hacker

#186

Post by outworlder »

werdnapk wrote: post #26

My wife (oral surgeon) says the only real solution to sleep apnea is surgery. CPAP machines to her and bunk. I believe she moves the jaw forward to help open up the airway. Whatever works I guess.

> My wife (oral surgeon) says the only real solution to sleep apnea is surgery. CPAP machines to her and bunk

And this is why she is an oral surgeon and not a sleep specialist.

Re: Why Sleep Apnea Patients Rely on a CPAP Machine Hacker

#187

Post by outworlder »

armatav wrote: post #72
bcassedy wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sounds like your wife isn't well read on the topic. CPAP is life saving treatment for some. Sleep apnea surgeries have poor success rates https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3480570/

"oral surgeon"

Doctors specialize for a reason.

Re: Why Sleep Apnea Patients Rely on a CPAP Machine Hacker

#188

Post by outworlder »

zw123456 wrote: post #185

Why do people need CPAP machines, why can't you simply sleep on your side? Most primates instinctively know how to sleep in the best positions ( https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1119282/ ) humans insist on sleeping on their backs which other primates instinctively know is dangerous.

> Why do people need CPAP machines, why can't you simply sleep on your side?

Because they have issues which require CPAP machines.

If I sleep on my side, the apnea situation improves slightly, but it does not go away at all. Do you think that people would prefer to deal with a bulky and unconfortable machine, as well as doctor appointments, if they could simply sleep on their sides?

Re: Why Sleep Apnea Patients Rely on a CPAP Machine Hacker

#189

Post by dpeck »

bigbluedots wrote: post #178
tptacek wrote: post #119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have a _very_ delicately balanced sleep routine and a sort of mortal terror both of insomnia and of hypnotic drugs. If it were safe and easy I'd probably just buy the APAP and see if it made me feel better. I don't feel much urgency; I get about 6 hours a night on the regular and don't as a rule feel tired or cloudy during the day (but it's possible that with an APAP I would, relative to my current condition, feel…

Given that you get 6 hours of sleep and are not tired/foggy during the day I'd say it's unlikely you have sleep apnea.

Theres some level of being always tired and just being attuned to it. Not putting that diagnosis on parent, but I'd put myself in that bucket, and I'd wager its easy for old hackers like me who spent a lot of nights exploring/working/studying to the point of exhaustion during their teens and twenties.

Re: Why Sleep Apnea Patients Rely on a CPAP Machine Hacker

#190

Post by tptacek »

outworlder wrote: post #173
tptacek wrote: post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Central apnea is the scary story people tell on the forums about why not to just get an APAP and skip the sleep study. (I'm sort of suspicious that I have some kind of apnea since my wife says she thinks I do, but there is just no way I'm doing a sleep study, so this is a topic of some minor fascination for me).

> but there is just no way I'm doing a sleep study Dude. If you even have the suspicion of having sleep apnea, please get yourself tested. I do not care what your reasons are. There is no way your reasons are more important than the increased risk of stroke and heart attack, among other chronic conditions. If you do have sleep apnea, your brain (and in fact, the whole body) is getting chronically deprived of oxygen,…

When you start using a PAP machine, only then you figure out, as the brain fog is suddenly lifted and you realize how much you have been handicapped.*

See, again, I am sold on the "you will be an atomic superman" argument! Give me the damn machine! :)

Post reply on HN