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DLA and Sleep Aponea

I've applied for DLA three times before and been knocked back every time. I suffer from Obstructive Sleep Aponea which also brings with it a range of problems, but it's almost like the DLA assessors don't really see it as a problem.

Just wondering if anyone else is in a similar situation and has received DLA for Sleep Aponea ?
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Comments

  • jetcat
    jetcat Posts: 746 Forumite
    hi,

    i too have sleep apnea, and while i do claim dla, it is for other problems mainly. I remember at one of my many appeal tribunals, the medical member of the tribunal said that my apnea shouldnt cause any night time needs, as once i use my cpap machine, it is well controlled. He was right tbh, but eventually we got it included, under mental health descriptors - need prompting to use it.

    If you have a cpap machine, do you have the periodic checks where they monitor you through the night, to check you breathing levels etc? If so, maybe you could obtain a copy, and include that with your dla application?

    I know that sleep apnea causes other problems as well, maybe have a chat with your sleep clinic, to see if they have any experience with other patients claiming?

    sorry i cant be more help!
  • calleyw
    calleyw Posts: 9,822
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    Don't forget it is not about the condition itself you have but the care/mobility needs that arise from it.

    So you say it causes problems but what problems.

    The forms are pigs to fill in, I know I have to help my husband. But if you word it right and explain in detail what the problems that really helps.

    I have been moaned at before by saying it is hard to get. So I will say you can get it as long as you fill it in correctly you will get it. If you are struggling then get help be it from some in a professional capacity.

    All the best.

    Yours


    Calley
    Hope for everything and expect nothing!!!

    Good enough is almost always good enough -Prof Barry Schwartz

    If it scares you, it might be a good thing to try -Seth Godin
  • Conor_3
    Conor_3 Posts: 6,944 Forumite
    There is nothing in Sleep Apnoea which affects your mobility or requires you needing care to the point where you qualify for DLA which is why you've been refused. For example, you can still dress yourself, still feed yourself, still wash yourself and you're capable of walking unaided and without supervision.
  • jasonwatkins
    jasonwatkins Posts: 2,420
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    jetcat wrote: »
    as once i use my cpap machine, it is well controlled. He was right tbh, but eventually we got it included, under mental health descriptors - need prompting to use it.

    That's an interesting point because I just can't use my CPAP machine. Can't cope with it at all and whenever I do remember to wear it, it really doesn't affect me in any aspect. I live on my own, but I guess if someone was with me then they'd certainly have to make sure I wore it.

    (Not that it would do any good mind :))
    jetcat wrote: »
    sorry i cant be more help!

    You've been very helpful. Thanks :)
    Conor wrote: »
    There is nothing in Sleep Apnoea which affects your mobility or requires you needing care to the point where you qualify for DLA which is why you've been refused. For example, you can still dress yourself, still feed yourself, still wash yourself and you're capable of walking unaided and without supervision.

    While I'd agree there's nothing that overly affects your mobility, there are other factors that do sometimes need a bit of a nudge in the right direction.

    My mum does come over a few times a week just to help keep the place clean and tidy because more often than not, i'm just too tired to bother. She also does some shopping for me for "real" food because I usually tend to just get quick and convenient stuff because I can never be bothered to cook anything.

    It also does cause frequent bouts of depression which vary in severity, so again she has to trapse all the way over from Gravesend in Kent to Essex by public transport to give me the appropriate kick up the backside and drag me out of the flat.

    So there is a degree of needing help there, but i'm just not sure if it would apply to DLA.
  • KimYeovil
    KimYeovil Posts: 6,156
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    My mum does come over a few times a week just to help keep the place clean and tidy because more often than not, i'm just too tired to bother. She also does some shopping for me for "real" food because I usually tend to just get quick and convenient stuff because I can never be bothered to cook anything.

    I do think being a bloke may be a disability but it hardly warrants extra allowances.
    It also does cause frequent bouts of depression which vary in severity, so again she has to trapse all the way over from Gravesend in Kent to Essex by public transport to give me the appropriate kick up the backside and drag me out of the flat.

    If it just takes a kick up the backside then it is not depression. Please do not cheapen this savagely debilitating condition by using it lightly.
  • Sherrie
    Sherrie Posts: 72 Forumite
    Jason,

    You really need to start using your cpap. My partner has sleep apnoea, before he was diagnosed he was practically hallucinating, he would fall asleep in mid conversation, it was too lethal for him to even drive. When he was taken into hospital for checks, they discovered his sats level (oxygen) was virtually non existant and they were suprised and shocked he was still standing. They put him on a cpap machine and for the first time in months he had an amazing nights sleep, and so did I when he came home a few nights later because he couldn't snore!!

    What I'm trying to say is that it would improve your life immensly if you were to use your cpap every night

    good luck
  • SuziQ
    SuziQ Posts: 3,042 Forumite
    Sherrie wrote: »
    Jason,

    You really need to start using your cpap. My partner has sleep apnoea, before he was diagnosed he was practically hallucinating, he would fall asleep in mid conversation, it was too lethal for him to even drive. When he was taken into hospital for checks, they discovered his sats level (oxygen) was virtually non existant and they were suprised and shocked he was still standing. They put him on a cpap machine and for the first time in months he had an amazing nights sleep, and so did I when he came home a few nights later because he couldn't snore!!

    What I'm trying to say is that it would improve your life immensly if you were to use your cpap every night

    good luck

    Sherries' advice is spot on. Are you aware that sleep apnoea puts an enormous strain on your heart if not corrected? The treatment is given for very important reasons. If you 'can't get on with it' you need to go back to your specialist and discuss why/what adaptions they can advise,otherwise you are taking an unnecessary risk with your health.
    Tomorrow is always fresh, with no mistakes in it!
  • jetcat
    jetcat Posts: 746 Forumite
    i too would echo sherrie and susiq's advice. If you really cant manage the cpap, then you need help with finding a device you can use. I know there are different mask fittings available, as well as machines with built in humidifiers which can make it a little easier to use. Have you (op) had the cpap long? They do take some getting used to!! I know even when i have a blocked nose due to a cold, and cant use cpap for one or two nights, it is really hard adjusting to it even after a 2 night break!

    But, I def understand what you are saying about the apnea causing day time problems, as during those one or two days, i am soooo tired! However, i think that maybe it is a case of going back to your sleep clinic and chasing up the right machine, as then you should feel loads better, and won't need to chase the dla.


    Just to clarify, in my first post i said that i eventually got 'some' consideration of my sleep apnea in my dla form, as i needed prompting to use the cpap. I would like to point out that it is not a case of "remembering" to use it, more so when my depression is bad, i just cant see the point of living, and as pointed out by another poster, not to use cpap is a serious risk to health, so I figure if anything happened during the night..(breathing wise)... would i be that bothered!
  • jasonwatkins
    jasonwatkins Posts: 2,420
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    KimYeovil wrote: »
    I do think being a bloke may be a disability but it hardly warrants extra allowances.

    Sweeping generalisation noted ... I assume "all" men are b*stards as well huh? :rolleyes:
    KimYeovil wrote: »
    If it just takes a kick up the backside then it is not depression. Please do not cheapen this savagely debilitating condition by using it lightly

    If my comments have offended or upset you then I do sincerely apologise. I do know what depression is as I have been diagnosed with it in the past and have been on anti-depressants many times.
    Sherrie wrote: »
    You really need to start using your cpap.

    I have honestly tried. Many years ago, I had one of the original models that was very noisy, and I perservered with it for a month - wore it every single night, and I felt more tired through wearing it than when I didn't. I was concentrating so hard on trying to sleep, sleeping was the last thing I ended up doing.

    The new model I have is much quieter, so it's slightly easier to drop off, but then since i'm such a restless sleeper and a major fidget, I end up with the pipe wrapped round my neck or another favourite is when I turn in bed, it knocks the mask loose, so i get a blast of oxygen in my face which wakes me up.

    So invariably, I end up taking it off.
    SuziQ wrote: »
    If you 'can't get on with it' you need to go back to your specialist and discuss why/what adaptions they can advise

    I do attend the clinic at the royal brompton hospital in london regularly, and i'm due to have a follow up in about 8 weeks.
    jetcat wrote: »
    If you really cant manage the cpap, then you need help with finding a device you can use.

    I'd be quite open to a different device if there was such a thing - i can't use the nasal mask due to not being able to breathe through my nose all that well.

    I've had the mouth splint thing as well, and that just didn't do anything for me either - i wore that for 6 weeks straight and did't notice any major effect on my overall daytime tiredness.
    jetcat wrote: »
    Just to clarify, in my first post i said that i eventually got 'some' consideration of my sleep apnea in my dla form, as i needed prompting to use the cpap. I would like to point out that it is not a case of "remembering" to use it, more so when my depression is bad, i just cant see the point of living, and as pointed out by another poster, not to use cpap is a serious risk to health, so I figure if anything happened during the night..(breathing wise)... would i be that bothered!

    Ahhh ok. Thanks for that :)
  • Sherrie
    Sherrie Posts: 72 Forumite
    Jason

    I can completely understand where you're coming from relating noise etc, when my partner first brought his cpap home I was really annoyed that I would have to sleep next to him with this noise blaring out but soon got used to it, and i'm an incredibly light sleeper. so I can't begin to imagine what it must be like for the user to have to wear it. Although like you say the newer ones are whisper quiet. If you find it difficult lying on your back to sleep with it on, try lying on your side facing the cpap that way you can't get tangled in it.

    You don't say how old you are. I'm sure you've been told all the health risks, and I know its far easier said than done, but you will get your life back if you can persevere with the cpap and you won't need to claim DLA, you will feel like a new person!
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