3 ms·

Considering how terrible sleep apnea is for the health, you would think that all healthcare systems and insurance companies would take it seriously. The costs o

Considering how terrible sleep apnea is for the health, you would think that all healthcare systems and insurance companies would take it seriously. The costs of treating heart problems and stroke are much worse. But in practice it seems like no healthcare system puts in more effort than begrudgingly ordering a sleep test and then maybe a basic cpap after much hesitation. There are stories of people literally begging their doctors to give them a cpap.

jimnotgym 4y ago
I have cpap on the NHS. I got a quality machine, quality advice and quality follow up. It took a very long time to get it but the care itself was very good.
- GordonS 4y ago
  I had a CPAP machine on the NHS a few years back. The machine was OK, a low-mid range model. But they supplied everyone with a "medium" size of mask, so I had to buy a bigger mask myself. I'd say the quality of care I got was... shit. A very bored and uncaring nurse gave me some brief instructions, and got almost angry with me when my mask didn't fit and air hissed out the sides. I figured it out myself, and had zero follow ups for the 2 years I used the machine. They even made it difficult to give the machine back!
Levitz 4y ago
Well, just to offer some pushback in the thread, I can imagine one reason why. My father has sleep apnea, he is overweight, a heavy smoker and I reckon his daily intake of coffee could kill a small rodent. We are Spanish and public healthcare has blessed us with a CPAP machine... That he just won't use. He refuses to, complains that he feels too uncomfortable with it. I can't recall the last time he slept 8 hours in one go. And I wonder how common that is. The machine is noisy, does look like pulled out of a teenage horror movie and takes accustoming to. There is heavy friction for its use and that might be a serious problem to consider.

jimnotgym 4y ago

I have cpap on the NHS. I got a quality machine, quality advice and quality follow up. It took a very long time to get it but the care itself was very good.

GordonS 4y ago
I had a CPAP machine on the NHS a few years back. The machine was OK, a low-mid range model. But they supplied everyone with a "medium" size of mask, so I had to buy a bigger mask myself. I'd say the quality of care I got was... shit. A very bored and uncaring nurse gave me some brief instructions, and got almost angry with me when my mask didn't fit and air hissed out the sides. I figured it out myself, and had zero follow ups for the 2 years I used the machine. They even made it difficult to give the machine back!

Levitz 4y ago

Well, just to offer some pushback in the thread, I can imagine one reason why. My father has sleep apnea, he is overweight, a heavy smoker and I reckon his daily intake of coffee could kill a small rodent. We are Spanish and public healthcare has blessed us with a CPAP machine... That he just won't use. He refuses to, complains that he feels too uncomfortable with it. I can't recall the last time he slept 8 hours in one go. And I wonder how common that is. The machine is noisy, does look like pulled out of a teenage horror movie and takes accustoming to. There is heavy friction for its use and that might be a serious problem to consider.