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Ever been bitten by a "Sleep Test" ?

Sleep Apnea,,,,,,,,The disease de jour. :) I remember it wasn't so long ago when everyone was running around wearing wrist braces for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. Even cartoonists were putting their characters in them! With 28 years on the job in LE in a major metropolitan city that investigated all deaths that occurred outside of a hospital, not once did anyone I know of die from sleep apnea. Not saying it does not happen, but none during my 28 years. They were all a result of another form of medical condition. We had one infant SID death and one auto accident where an older gentleman died while driving his car due to a heart attack. I figure the odds of something like this killing me to be pretty remote. Sleep study testing/treatment is very expensive and profitable for the medical profession and if insurance did not cover it, the medical profession would move on to something else. There are alternate solutions to those that DO suffer from a legitimate SA diagnosis instead of the CPAP machine and that is a specially designed mouth appliance you wear at night. My building/aviation buddy is a retired dentist who had the training and equipment necessary to treat SA with an appliance he would make for the patient, very similar to a nighttime bite guard. A local sleep clinic would refer patients to him who would not, or could not, bear wearing the CPAP contraption at night. He had good success with most his patients.
 
It's like I always like to say... It's not the OSAS that gets ya; it's the pulmonary and secondary hypertension, nocturnal cardiac dysrhythmias, MI, and ischemic stroke!

I jest...sort of.

I'll agree the system needs to be changed. It discourages reporting, always has. It's even worse in the military. But we aren't entitled to our own facts because they don't fit in with our passion(s). Go find a primary care you trust, and hopefully we will all fly on forever.
 
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Sleep apnea is a tough problem.

It does cause health problems other than being more tired after a regular sleep cycle.

Additionally the way health insurance, life insurance, disability insurance, FAA medical examiners, occupational health examiners, etc view the problem is troublesome.

The best solutions are related to non-CPAP machine solutions. Reason being is most people don't wear or can't wear the device.

The dentist prescribing and making mouth appliances is a good example as are weight loss, avoiding alcohol, etc.

In summary it's a problem and everyone needs to improve the issue and that includes taking responsibility for personal solutions whcih can improve or eradicate the problem. Having said that I do understand pilots aversion to "going medical." Kind of like the comedian who said "Never go full retard."

"Never go full medical" is probably good advice most of the time the problem is it can kill you if you are unable to figure out when the proper time is to go "full medical."

Long read, I apologize if you had the tenacity to read it all.
 
CPAP fan

I've been using a CPAP for 7-1/2 years - haven't missed a night. Life beforehand was day after day of waking feeling as if I'd run a marathon and fighting to stay awake during the day. All of these are classic sleep apnea symptoms. The CPAP has made a huge difference for me in many different aspects of my health. I didn't start flight training until after this and it's been disclosed for all of my medicals - AME didn't even bat an eye. I can't imagine trusting myself to fly (and stay awake) without the CPAP.

I would hope that being treated successfully for a sleep disorder would be looked upon in a much better light than having it not be diagnosed and affecting every flight. Obviously I can't speak for anything other than my own experience and that is also in Canada
 
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