J

Juicegoose

Well Known Member
Guys I recently went in for a sleep apnea test. I didn't snore but just never felt like I got a restfull nights sleep. Long story short they did an overnight test as well as a daytime test and I didn't have any sort of sleep apnea but i was just diagnosed with being genetically sleepy or a very mild case of daytime sleepiness. The one word that stuck in my mind was when the doc mentioned very very very mild narcolepsy but she said she didn't feel comfortable calling it that.

From talking with the peps at AOPA they basically said goodbye medical.

I'm right in the middle of my Instrument HELLLPPP!!!!!

has anyone been diagnosed with this before and what route did you have to take.

THanks guys.
 
My cure for sleepiness after working midnite shift for 12 years... COFFEE, COFFEE AND MORE COFFEE :D
 
Could be the side effect of any prescription drugs being taken. They all have about 10 pages of possible side effects.....
 
thanks for the ideas guys.
Yes the diagnosis was written like Wiki stats it. Although mycase is very very mild.

I workout between 5-6 days a week at lunch for about 20 minutes and maintain a pretty low carb clean diet. Right now I'm at summer weight so about 12-15% body fat.

No prescription drugs either.
 
bkthomps said:
how much cardio exercise do you get? do you have a bad diet (cokes, sugars, carbs, etc)
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Great response! Its amazing how much this does affects you!

Sleep Apnea test results are always the same....you either at one side or the other.. Of all my friends taking the test, they all failed and got the dreaded breathing mask....now they all have marital problems and more time to fly!
 
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Your thyroid blood levels should be checked. There are 3 to look at: TSH, T3 and T4. IMHO, ask that all be checked, not just the usual TSH test.

It is a very easy problem to fix, yet requires a bit of cooperation between how the patient feels (including sleepiness) and what the lab tests say.

Everyone in my family has dealt with this for many years, and while I'm not a doctor, I have much experience dealing with it. Ask your doctor and don't let him blow you off on the basis of one test.
 
2 full rounds of blood work were performed prior to th test. Both test for all thyroid levels, testosterone levels and anything else they could think of.
 
I'm just saying to not let a "normal" test(s) fool you into thinking that you might not benefit from a small addition of thyroid hormone to your daily routine. The "normal" range of the tests can be misleading.

My wife had exactly your symptoms for as long as I've known her. About 6 months ago she talked her GP into prescribing a low dose of Synthroid and she has been a different person ever since.

For those who aren't familiar, thyroid hormones are your body's pacemaker. Too little and everything slows down, too much and everything speeds up. And I do mean everything, including sleep, appetite, sex drive, your general state of energy, ... everything!
 
...too much and everything speeds up. And I do mean everything, including sleep, appetite, sex drive, your general state of energy, ... everything!
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Wow, where can I get me some of them thyroid hormone thingies?!?!?! :D
 
Food allergies?

JG - -

I think that the thyroid angle (hypothyroidism, but with normalish TSH blood levels.) is a possibility, and potentially worth pursuing farther.

Also, you might want to consider food allergies, such as milk, wheat, and/or garlic/onion allergies.

There is online info for the milk and wheat allergies, the onion allergy is a bit more rare and info might take some inline digging.

Caution, I'm not a doc, so these are just some things to consider.

Good luck isolating (and fixing) the cause of the sleepiness.


.
 
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Seek a second opinion from someone who specializes in sleep disorders and have the studies repeated.

Sleep apnea evaluations and sleep studies often fall to Pulmonogists (why I do not know) some are good and some ain't. The training they recieve is for the recogonition and treatment of sleep apnea not necessarily sleep disorders. If your initial eval was done by a real sleep disorder specialist then a second opinion is still in order and will go a long way in your eventual acceptance of the problem.

As a Cardiologist I wouldn't even begin to suggest what is wrong with you and how it should be treated but my radar goes up when I hear things like>.

"mild case of" "could be narcolepsy but....."

Explain to the new Dr the consequences to your hobby of what he writes in the medical record. Go back to the original Dr. and explain to them the consequences of what they have written and see if they will edit or rewrite their reports so as to be more pilot friendly.


The wording of these documents especially with the coming of electronic medical records can impact you for the rest of your life especially in matters of occupation, licensing, and insurance.

If indeeed you truly have narcolepsy or an incurable propensity to "microsleep" you really need to ground yourself and until you get this resolved you shouldn't fly without a safety pilot.

I cannot stress enough to any pilot seeing a Dr. for any reason that they up front explain to the physician that you are a pilot and that what and how the physician writes in a chart can have significant negative impact for years to come. Most physicians will be more than happy to carefully choose their words so as to be accurate and truthful while causing no harm.
 
Milt
Thanks for the info. I'm going to have a chat with the doctor today and explain the implications of their wording in my records.
 
And speaking of electronic medical records---------this site is public, and what has already been written in this thread is pretty much carved in stone.

Having your MD re-write your own personal records is a good thought, but what is said on the net stays in the net.
 
Be careful!

Mike S said:
And speaking of electronic medical records---------this site is public, and what has already been written in this thread is pretty much carved in stone.
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Mike speaks the truth. Besides being "cast in stone" most anything posted on the web is easily located via Google or any good search engine. In this example, Google something like "Juicegoose excessive" and see what comes up. As I said, use caution, it is a public forum.

John Clark ATP, CFI
FAAST Team Representative
EAA Flight Advisor
RV8 N18U "Sunshine"
KSBA
 
Juicegoose said:
Guys I recently went in for a sleep apnea test. I didn't snore but just never felt like I got a restfull nights sleep. Long story short they did an overnight test as well as a daytime test and I didn't have any sort of sleep apnea but i was just diagnosed with being genetically sleepy or a very mild case of daytime sleepiness. The one word that stuck in my mind was when the doc mentioned very very very mild narcolepsy but she said she didn't feel comfortable calling it that.

From talking with the peps at AOPA they basically said goodbye medical.

I'm right in the middle of my Instrument HELLLPPP!!!!!

has anyone been diagnosed with this before and what route did you have to take.

THanks guys.
Click to expand...

I was diagnosed with severe Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) in 2004. I am now under CPAP therapy and feel GREAT! The best part is that it has not made a dent in my flying.

It took a some paperwork from my doctor to the flight surgeon (AME) then to the FAA. Since then I do some paperwork once a year and my medical stays current. I even had a 1st class medical issued in 2008.

Talk to your AME and he will guide you to what needs to be done. Good luck, it's not a big deal.

:cool:
 
What happens on the net

the doctor that performs his medical and the FAA in OK City will only be concerned with what is in the official medical records and on thier forms. They won't, and should not, concern themseves with web chat. It could be that Juicegoose misunderstood what was said or the doctor failed to carefully consider his words. asing for him to reconsider how he describes this condition is well within the rules.
that said, I whole heartedly agree with N395V; if you knowingly have a problem, you should ground yourself.
 
Sleep Apnea

I was diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea several years ago and I've had it treated with CPAP. I keep a conditional medical, and have to get it recertified or whatever every year. Last year, as I changed AMEs, I went through a Maintenance of Wakefulness test, which involved sitting quietly in a dark room for 40 minutes without falling asleep. It was repeated four times over an 8 hour period. As I passed it, the next step was receiving my medical. Not easy, but doable. The doctor told me that if I lost weight the OSA would likely go away (along with high blood pressure and a host of other co-morbidities) so I'm losing weight and doing cardio and strength training daily. Again, flying makes it worthwhile.

Sleep apnea is not simply an embarassment...it can kill you so if you think you have a sleep disorder you should see a doctor for it.

Again, only my $0.02 worth, but I learned to take it seriously.
 
You need a CPAP MACHINE.

Juice,

If you have been diagnosed w/apnea; I'm shocked the doc didn't prescribe/mention a CPAP (constant present air pressure). You have to wear a mask; but you will not have to nap during the day. Must have a prescription to purchase one. A racket IMHO. I could hire a kid w/a bicycle pump to do the same thing. It just blows air in your lungs.

I digress. Check out www.cpap.com for info. I started using one on1-6-2006 & would not be without one now. Has many health benes. Ask your doctor abou them.

Cheers & regards,
______________________
Deal Fair
RV-4 (N34CB)
George West, TX. (8T6)
 
Ooops!

Sorry Fellows, just saw the next page about cpaps. DUH!! :p

__________________________
Deal Fair
RV-4 (N34CB)
George West, TX (8T6)
 
The results of the daytime test (multiple sleep latency test) can be very dependant upon how the test is given. If you are put in a quiet, dark room and told to try and take a nap, probably 50% of us would "fail" the test, I know I would. If those were the instructions you were given you need to see another specialist and have the test repeated. You should be told to try and stay awake for the duration of the test. I you are unable to stay awake, the diagnosis may have merit. However, if you are able to stay awake, the second specialist should be able to provide you with their opinion that the initial diagnosis was in error and use the repeated test as proof. Even better would be to take the new testing results to the doc who originally diagnosed EDS and have her write a statement that the original diagnosis was in error due to an incorrectly performed test. Medicine is not a perfect science, so what is initially put in your medical record is not written in stone. That should satisfy the FAA.

Steve
 
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