Why CPAPs Need to Be Available
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@Nic said:
True, but you do have to make sure you know the number that you're supposed to be at, and have a mask that fits properly. Again, easy for us, not so easy for the huddled masses
Do either of those matter though? I can use a higher number or a different mask pretty easily.
But more importantly, neither of those services were provided to me the last time that I got a CPAP. So if those are reasons, they've already failed.
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The number matters because if it is too low then you still have apneas, and if it is too high then you can swallow air or cause central apnea.
The mask fitting matters because if you have leaks then you don't get good pressure and have apneas, often without realizing it.
It's too bad you didn't get either services, so it sounds like you got the disadvantages of a regulated and unregulated system combined. Reminds me of my favorite quote about long distance relationships - they combine all the disadvantages of being in a relationship with all the disadvantages of being single
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@Nic said:
The number matters because if it is too low then you still have apneas, and if it is too high then you can swallow air or cause central apnea.
I got central apnea from not having one. Swallowing air doesn't kill you. I'd weight those as inconsequential risks.
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@Nic said:
The mask fitting matters because if you have leaks then you don't get good pressure and have apneas, often without realizing it.
It's trivially easy to fit, though. Is air going all over instead of in your nose? It doesn't fit.
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@scottalanmiller well if you can also get central apnea from the pressure being too high, then I'd say the risks are equal, barring any other data on the frequency. Plus if you'd gotten a machine that wasn't setup right and wasn't fixing your sleep apnea, then you still be at risk.
Still I mostly agree with you, that the process for getting a CPAP is overly cumbersome.
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@thanksajdotcom said:
@Nic said:
Usually it isn't immediate life or death. Yes over the long term it will shorten your life and make you die of a heart attack, but usually you've been living with it for a while before you even get diagnosed.
There are some possible negative side effects, such as having the pressure too high and causing central apnea.
The thing you have to remember is that you and I, Scott, are 3+ standard deviations above the mean intelligence, so we're perfectly capable of purchasing and setting up our own system. The other 99.9% of people aren't that smart
I'd be curious where I fell...
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@Nic said:
@scottalanmiller well if you can also get central apnea from the pressure being too high, then I'd say the risks are equal, barring any other data on the frequency. Plus if you'd gotten a machine that wasn't setup right and wasn't fixing your sleep apnea, then you still be at risk.
The risks are "equal" in the total risk, yes. But the risk of one is the fault of healthcare. The fault of the other is the fault of the person hurting themselves. Therefore I see one risk as major, the other as unimportant. Never sacrifice the guilty to protect the innocent.
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True - in an ideal world people could acquire one themselves and then opt for help getting it configured if they need it.
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Letting people put themselves at risk is not the fault of doctors or the government. Barring them from healthcare, is. They are very, very different things.
What if it was something like food? Because some people (me, actually) might overeat the government decides to withhold food and only certified medical offices can sign for you to own food. The "purpose" is to control quantity, but they don't enforce quantity, only create a situation where you have to pay someone in order to get access to food and sometimes, by happenstance, someone might end up without legal access to food for a period longer than they will survive.
Sounds crazy when you think of it in those terms. But it is the same logic - let random people starve (very rare but a risk) in order to "decide" what is best for others who are harming themselves.
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@PSX_Defector said:
@thanksajdotcom said:
@Nic said:
Usually it isn't immediate life or death. Yes over the long term it will shorten your life and make you die of a heart attack, but usually you've been living with it for a while before you even get diagnosed.
There are some possible negative side effects, such as having the pressure too high and causing central apnea.
The thing you have to remember is that you and I, Scott, are 3+ standard deviations above the mean intelligence, so we're perfectly capable of purchasing and setting up our own system. The other 99.9% of people aren't that smart
I'd be curious where I fell...
reminds me of a favorite insult that people on the receiving end won't get: "you're at the top of the bell curve!"
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What is mind blowing, is that cigarettes are legal and CPAPs are controlled. How many people have killed themselves with CPAPs compared to cigarettes. I don't think there is any reasonable argument that CPAPs are controlled with the intent of protecting anyone. That's just not something the FDA does.
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Here is a question from the ApneaBoard. No one answered...
I'm still waiting for ONE verifiable, real case of ANYONE, ANYWHERE who died where the cause of death was "improper CPAP pressure" or "too high of CPAP pressure"....
Nothing? Okay, how about ONE verifiable, real case of ANYONE, ANYWHERE who died where a contributing factor of the death was "improper CPAP pressure" or "too high of CPAP pressure".....
Anyone have a verifiable case of this EVER happening in real life? If so, do you have a link to any story... anywhere... that claims such a thing happened to anyone (other than some Internet jockey who's story can't be verified or cross-checked?)
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I did some searching, could not find any mention of a case of anything bad having happened from a CPAP.
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@PSX_Defector said:
@thanksajdotcom said:
@Nic said:
Usually it isn't immediate life or death. Yes over the long term it will shorten your life and make you die of a heart attack, but usually you've been living with it for a while before you even get diagnosed.
There are some possible negative side effects, such as having the pressure too high and causing central apnea.
The thing you have to remember is that you and I, Scott, are 3+ standard deviations above the mean intelligence, so we're perfectly capable of purchasing and setting up our own system. The other 99.9% of people aren't that smart
I'd be curious where I fell...
Thank you.
