awp101 wrote:I've always heard of those machines and as I understand it, they are to help with breathing at night correct? What I don't understand is how they do it or what problem they are correcting.
A few quick notes:
1. Often the ONLY symptom will be fatigue or higher blood pressure than expected, which makes everyone 'suspect' they have sleep apnea, yet of course most people with
only those symptoms
don't have it. Since the harm of un-treated sleep apnea is so great, it isn't silly to get tested if there is any doubt.
2. Testing is WAY overpriced and insurance often weasles out of covering it (typical socialized medicine), but there are 'pre-testing' screening procedures that are less expensive or occasionally free; they can sometimes be used to 'qualify' you for the real test.
3. Testing at HOME is the best way (your normal environment) but often not available.
4. Many type masks and devices exist, so if a person has problems, they shouldn't give up; have the respiratory therapist find something for you that works better.
5. Being 'just a bit overweight' is like driving 'just a bit drunk' - it will leave you 'just a bit dead' if you don't deal with it, and obesity is the most common cause of sleep apnea.
6. The very characteristics which make gun owners so interesting and independent (unwillingness to abide by no-smoking rules, tendency not to go to doctors for every little thing, skepticism of arbitrary 'authority', skepticism of 'academics' who lack real life experience) are those which shorten many of their lives due to their hesitation to take doctors' recommendations seriously. Get a THOROUGH physical every year, and don't just pretend you can someday have good cholesterol and weight and so on by being 'tough', or that it doesn't matter. I've posted
somewhere on this forum what I think preventative care should entail (and of course no other doctors have
different opinions...
![Wink :wink:](./images/smilies/icon_wink.gif)
), so I won't belabor the point.
BOTTOM LINE - treat your body like a prized motorcycle or automobile - learn about what different experts recommend, and find a GOOD 'mechanic' who will keep it in perfect condition. Don't just pick whatever doctor and regimen lets you off the hook and seems 'easiest' (or least likely to get your prostate checked); most doctors are plenty busy with easy patients and won't bother to 'push' you to get the best care if you don't ask for it or seem interested, but instead will just go on to the next patient. As for wives - there are TWO kinds of wives when it comes to this stuff - the ones who nag, nag, nag their husbands about getting a checkup, taking their medicine, eating right, turning off the television, etc. - and the ones who just keep quiet and buy life insurance on their husbands.
![Surprised :o](./images/smilies/icon_surprised.gif)
(Mine is really smart - she does BOTH.)