Some will remember that I have posted a few times about my trouble with sleeping, especially withdrawing from Amitriptyline when that wasn’t helping the sleep any more.
Well, it appears that I have moderate sleep apnoea. My sleep is disturbed over 19 times per hour! This has led to me having to get up to pee at least 3or4 times a night. No wonder I am tired! My GP refused to refer me to a sleep clinic a few months ago as he said it was just for people with sleep apnoea!! I resorted to paying for my own sleep study to find out that this is what I have.
It has come as a bit of a shock and I am disappointed in my GP who I used to have faith in pre- pandemic but now will only do telephone appointments and, I think, without the visual cues, forgets who I am and my health history. He is certainly not showing any interest in my various issues any more. I had been complaining about my sleep for many months.
Wish me luck as I start using my new CPAP machine on Monday and, hopefully, begin to feel better!
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suzy1959
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Hope it gives you more sleep!....Think maybe a change of GP, if not next time he obliges you with a phone call tell him the result....methinks it`s probably about expense!......
If it were me, I would send him a copy of the bill and ask for remibursement!! Not expecting anything of course but to make my point, I would also say I was considering making an official complaint and seeking advice.
There are increasing signs that private medicine is making inroads here BUT there is the massive difference that a) it is tax deductible the following year and b) top-up private cover isn't extortionate and even if you pay yourself you can mix it unlike in the UK, I think there is even a reimbursement of 70 euros towards the private consultation fee if you were faced with a long wait.
But that GP's attitude is not acceptable. You had sleep problems, you needed the test to diagnose sleep apnoea
I don't really have a problem with it - the NHS model does need some tweaking for it to last/recover. The German system is a decent enough option - here isn't quite as good. Those who can afford it can choose to pay where appropriate - GP services are free at point of delivery and so is inpatient care. In Germany everyone under a certain income threshold is covered by the employer like the NHS, above that threshold you select a private insurance approved by the state at the level you want to pay for: third class where everything is "NHS" standard, second class, double rooms and itemised billing, first class single rooms and meet the consultant every morning. First and second class cover some extra treatments, But if you have 3rd class automatically or a limit per event you can buy top-up insurance for reasonable charges. You can mix and match - unlike the UK where your NHS cover plays no role in private. I had fancy diagnostics where the capital cost had been paid for by private funding - but the NHS-level patients got to use it "out of hours". If I had paid private charges I wouldn't have been taken half-asleep to use it at 11pm!
Well done for taking the initiative. I really hope that it leads to more refreshing sleep and you feel better all round.. My surgery sounds very similar to yours. It was formerly excellent, now they behave like they are under siege. Let us know how you get on.
My sister's partner has suffered from what he now knows is sleep apnoea for past 12yrs! It was finally diagnosed a year ago and he now wears a CPAP device during the night.
He sleeps for much longer periods and quality of sleep has significantly improved.
It's been a great success for him so hopefully you'll have the same positive outcome.
Sleep apnea is not a trivial problem...it has serious conditions associated with it. GPs are very slow to check whether someone has it. I don't know how it is checked in the UK but here in Israel you do it at home with a monitor. If your GP doesn't ask for it, you can still hire the monitor privately for about 50 quid. For anyone who suspects they have the problem it is worth checking. Someone I know with a CPAP said it transformed their life (for the better).
That’s very encouraging- I can’t wait to be able to sleep better! CPAP machine coming on Monday. Mind you, I also have trouble getting off to sleep which this may not help with at all.
On January 20 of 2021 my husband found me in bed unresponsive. I was barely breathing and my CO2 was very high. I spent the next 5 days in ICU unaware of what was going on. I vomited into my bipap and developed aspiration pneumonia too. Anyway it was determined that I had undiagnosed sleep apnea. I had no idea that this condition could kill. I think your doctor was irresponsible at best and neglected to not pursue a sleep study was dangerous. I'm glad you went thru with it anyway. I think it's time you find a doctor that listens to you.
They sent all the equipment with instructions and I used it for 2 nights and then a courier delivered it back to the clinic. Much nicer than being in a hospital I would imagine!
Right to die. To our horror the option of "medically assistance in dying" or MAID is now occasionally being offered as a possibility to people who haven't even enquired about it. An easier option for the medical system than expensive treatments. One relatively young woman who had severe debilitating lymphoedema as a result of cancer surgery, recently spent C$80,000 to get needed surgery in Japan because there is no NS specialist, and the PQ specialist who told her she needed surgery has a waiting list of more than 2 years. NS refuses to pay because she needs a referral from a Nova Scotian specialist. There is no NS specialist. It is people like that, young people with families, who are sometimes told they could choose MAID to be put out of their misery. I cannot even describe how sickening I find this. I'm all for someone being able to access MAID, but not for it to become an alternative to expensive or difficult to access treatment. The patient in question, by the way, is feeling much better and noticing ongoing improvement in her condition since she received the surgery she needed but not many can afford to do this, and I think it was very difficult for her to finance it.
I don't think there is any way that private medical care can be cheaper or reliably good quality than publically funded, because - profit. What we need is less penny pinching by politicians and better business practices by administrators. Public health care in canada is always rated top of the thingss Canadians value, so it is puzzling why it isn't properly funded. More citizens want health care than pipelines.
The kit you get does not involve EEG. Really not necessary when you are looking for apnea. The kit has an oximeter, a band round the chest and a nasal thingee (what do you call it? something people have when they are breathing oxygen) The data is collected continuously recorded.
I was dx with sleep apnea about 6 years ago I think and have used a CPAP machine every since. Funny enough it was my rheumatologist sho suggested the apnea might be part of the insomnia problem that I was blaming on Pred. I use it every night but it does't help the insomnia and I'm still tired all the time, but if I don't use it I wake up more so it must help a bit. How are you getting on with it?
Apparenty, the 2 things go together but need different treatment.
In treating my apnoea, my insomnia spiralled out of control, so I stopped the CPAP about 6 weeks ago to focus on the insomnia. Once I was doing well, I tried the CPAP a few days ago and it has disrupted the progress I had made, so have stopped it again for a couple of weeks to consolidate my better sleep.
Hi There,I just came across your post and wondered how u were getting on with the CPAP therapy? My background is similar to yours in that my gp has not been willing to refer me to sleep clinic despite me having all of the classic symptoms of sleep apnea for at least 2 years now. Finally on my last appointment I have been referred so I'm just waiting for an appointment now. Did cpap give u some relief from the daily fatigue? I suffer greatly from this issue, altho I do also suffer from post concussion syndrome following a head injury 2 years ago so that also causes fatigue. I believe the (suspected) sleep apnea was caused by the concussion in the first place actually as I never previously had such issues. Anyway,i hope the cpap is working well for u. I'm hoping for a resolution soon, fingers crossed. Best wishes, Bb.
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