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Depending on what apparatus they have to wear how are they going to remember that they need to wear/ keep it on for the test?

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It’s hard to know the answer – here, for the first half don’t they don’t wear very much, but if they have your sleep apnea they try CPAP for the second half. (It’s in a monitored lab so certainly staff will to be there to help put it on/keep it on)

Bigger question is *after* the study. Is your mom going to be able to wear the equipment at home at night, if a CPAP is recommended? You’ll probably know best whether this is something she could put up with.

Also, depending on the severity of her dementia, the benefits of fixing sleep apnea (lowering blood pressure, less daytime sleepiness) might or might not be worth the potential battle over the CPAP.
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Reply to Rumbletown
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These are EXCELLENT questions for the ordering MD. Quite honestly I cannot imagine a good answer to the problems you immediately caught.
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Reply to AlvaDeer
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You can have it done in your home. But I would not expect a Dementia person to follow directions. Either would I expect them to wear a Cpap.
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Reply to JoAnn29
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Possibly can undergo the sleep study, but will LO be able to learn to use a cpap machine and/or actually leave it on all night to reap the benefits? If not, there is no need to put LO thru the overnight sleep study.
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Reply to Melhawk07
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As an evening shift RT. Placing about 10 people on their cpap an hour, the dementia ones would pull them off within 10 mibutes because their cognitive skills were not there. The machines usually do not have alarms. Would you be willing to respond at all hours of the night?
Also insurance records usage for 2 months. If not compliant for a minimum of 4 or more hours a night, then everything gets taken away
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Reply to MACinCT
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Don’t do it. I was a sleep tech for a number of years. Most people young and cognitively fine don’t end up using their cpap regularly. They are notoriously difficult to acclimate to.

There is no way that an elder with dementia will keep it on. It’s an absolutely pointless long and uncomfortable medical procedure and will accomplish nothing in the long run.

At 87 and with moderate dementia this will be pure torture on a nightly basis for your poor mom.
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Reply to ZippyZee
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Southernwaver Sep 10, 2024
I agree. It’s pointless
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Did a doctor seriously suggest that an 87 yo with moderate dementia would ever leave a CPap on ?
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Reply to waytomisery
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ZippyZee Sep 10, 2024
Our office got constant referrals for elderly dementia patients. It never worked out. Chances are good the OP’s mom has had sleep apnea for decades without being diagnosed.
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Reply to sp196902
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I am beginning to think most doctors have no clue what dementia is. You have doctors like this one wanting to do a sleep study, others pushing colonoscopies, mammograms and other preventative treatments, dialysis, cancer treatments and the list goes on. Maybe doctors should all be required to do a residency at a memory care unit for 3 months as part of their training.
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Reply to sp196902
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JoAnn29 Sep 11, 2024
And that is why families need to be Advocates for the elderly. I am lucky, my daughter is an RN.
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I have to ask WHY on earth would a doctor think this is a good idea?
Let's say you actually got a sleep study done with enough data to confirm.. yes this person has sleep apnea. Now how are you going to get them to wear a mask every night?
Insanity!
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Reply to Grandma1954
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