My mother, 87, was diagnosed with sleep apnea years ago (but, now that I think about it, never did a sleep study). She was prescribed a CPAP machine and either refused to use it or tore it off during the night. My father, on the other hand, took to it easily. She got a different mask with similar results. Now she is in a nursing home and after her last illness has been prescribed permanent 24 hour oxygen through a cannula in her nostrils. She doesn’t like it, but doesn’t fight it. Her yearly appointment with her neurologist is coming up at which time he will again prescribe a CPAP.
I am loathe to try to push another treatment on her when she doesn’t handle well the other indignities of aging.
We are learning that my parents had way, way too many doctors’ appointments when we were taking care of them at home. They had excellent health insurance in addition to Medicare, which made it easy for the doctors to say, “come back for a follow up”, or “I need to see him again in 4 months”.
I honestly don’t know why these doctors would even prescribe it ( I understand for sleep apnea but geez, @ 87?
There are different types of "Sleep Studies". Some of the most accurate are those that are performed by a "Sleep Study Department" and the patient "sleeps" in a bed while being monitored and has electrodes attached to their head to monitor sleep rhymes and tubes in their nostrils to monitor air flow. I have heard of "Sleep Studies" where the patient uses a CPAP that has a microchip and the patient rents the CPAP, uses the CPAP while they sleep in their own bed at home and then, afterwards, a technician "reads" the microchip from the CPAP. I don't think that those are very accurate except to maybe determine the amount of pressure from the CPAP that you need while sleeping.
Without a sleep study, a doctor is guessing as to the cause of the sleep apnea. There ARE several different causes. My Mom, my brother and I all use CPAPs but the root cause of our sleep apnea is different. My Mom can go without the CPAP and have little trouble with breathing, but I HAVE to use the CPAP whenever I am lying down, even in the recliner.
If your Mom has lived this long without using the CPAP every night, then she probably doesn't have a major or severe form of sleep apnea and can go without the CPAP.
Rejoice that she is accepting of the cannula.