Is this one of the descriptors for ESA?

outtawork

i am recently diagnosed with sleep apnoea & have been given a CPAP machine but I can't actually sleep with it on. The hospital want me to try using it in the afternoons when I nap to get used to it. I find it very claustraphobic.Any advice?

jasonwatkins

outtawork wrote: »

i am recently diagnosed with sleep apnoea & have been given a CPAP machine but I can't actually sleep with it on. The hospital want me to try using it in the afternoons when I nap to get used to it. I find it very claustraphobic.Any advice?

Probably not want you want to hear really because I found if you can't sleep with it on then you'll never sleep with it on, especially if it's a full face mask. Although, to be fair, I can sleep with my current machine more often than not - although only usually for a few hours a night before I have to take it off.

If I wake up during the night after having slept with it on, I just can't get back to sleep with it so I have to take it off and then I can usually drop off again.

I have the ResMed S9, which is here

http://www.resmed.com/uk/products/s9_series/s9-series.html?nc=dealers

although mine doesn't have that larger dongle add-on thing at the side. That's probably the best one to have as it's certainly the quietest of all of them that i've had.

If you do have a full face mask, try and get the mouth-only mask. I found that it's a lot easier to sleep with that than the other ones - if you get any irritation under the full face masks - itchy nose even - then you have to pull it off and have the full force of the oxygen blasting in your face while you scratch your nose !

rogerblack

GlasweJen wrote: »

I had bother convincing them that absence epilepsy was altered conciousness, mind you this was years ago for a client.

Good luck with your tribunal, if you have a statement from ESA saying that they consider your fatigue to be altered conciousness then make sure they have that bit highlighted.

I don't.
Specifically, I'm referring to a case in April this year, a decision of the upper tribunal, that the old test for IB no longer applies to ESA.

'CE/497/2010 [2011] UKUT 158 (AAC) states that the test for altered consciousness as outlined in R(IB)2/07 (when he or she is no longer properly aware of his surroundings or his condition so as to be incapable of any deliberate act) cannot be applied to the ESA descriptor. This is because the revised ESA wording - "resulting in significantly disrupted awareness or concentration" - applies a different test.'
There is as yet no caselaw on what that test is.

So, arguing on the simple english meaning of the words, as well as what would logically be a measure of disrupted awareness or concentration - the ESA mental function descriptors.
During an episode of fatigue (which occurs regrettably more frequently than twice a week), my score goes from 0 on the mental function descriptors to well over 50.

(this is basically an argument prepared for the tribunal, if it gets that far, for my ESA claim. I'd hope that the decisionmaker decides on several other grounds I am eligible first).
I need to reread the DLA regs, and look for caselaw and the DWP guidance on epilepsy, and see if a similar argument might be possible for my DLA claim, amongst the other arguments.

outtawork

I have the full face mask but the machine is the same name. I will suggest the mouth only mask next time. I have to keep trying as I am having a gastric band fitted next year and it has something to do with that.At present I keep my neighbours awake so I go to bed after them.

GlasweJen

I'm sure the DLA definition is closer to being at risk of danger due to altered conciousness. In my case I lose it without warning so I can't bath (or I'd drown), carry a pot to the sink to be drained or pour tea (or I get burned), stuff like that. The idea is that someone who has episodes like that more than once a week needs constantly supervised when awake so qualifies for middle care. The lack of warning is critical to the award though, people with epilepsy who get any sort of warning that they're going to have an episode don't qualify at all.

amus

jasonwatkins wrote: »

I lose consciousness at least twice a day due to my sleep apnea but i've just got my letter from the DWP regarding my failed ESA assessment and they've completely ignored it.

Scored zero points on the whole thing.

Sleep apnoea is the cessation of breathing during sleep. How does this cause you to loose conciousness in the day? Or do you have another condition?

ETA You would not qualify for any points for sleep apnoea because it occurs whilst sleeping. 'Loss of consciousness' refers to this only during the day, same with continence.

jasonwatkins

amus wrote: »

Sleep apnoea is the cessation of breathing during sleep.

I'm aware of this ...

amus wrote: »

How does this cause you to loose conciousness in the day?

Excessive daytime sleepiness is a known symptom of OSA.

These nocturnal events result in excessive daytime sleepiness, and changes in mood and cognition. Chronic excessive sleepiness during the day is a common symptom of sleep-related breathing disorders, which is assessed in sleep clinics both subjectively (questionnaire) and objectively (sleep latency tests). Mood changes are often reported by patients, including irritability, fatigue, depression, and anxiety. A wide range of cognitive deficits have been identified in untreated OSA patients, from attentional and vigilance, to memory and executive functions, and more complex tasks such as simulated driving. These changes are reflected in patient reports of difficulty in concentrating, increased forgetfulness, an inability to make decisions, and falling asleep at the wheel of a motor vehicle. These cognitive changes can also have significant downstream effects on daily functioning. Moderate to severe cases of the disorder are at a higher risk of having a motor vehicle accident, and may also have difficulties at work or school.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21531244

I've lost count of the number of times I've missed my stop on the bus because i've fallen asleep on the way home. I also regularly lose most of the the afternoon due to being unable to stay awake.

Yes, the apnea is, by definition, a sleep disorder. But that does not mean it doesn't have directly related consequences during the day.

Zziggi

How does excessive sleepiness equate to loss of consciousness? Even if you do fall asleep due to OSA, you are asleep NOT unconscious. So I don't see how you could ever use the loss of consciousness criteria for daytime sleepiness due to OSA.

PS. My OH has quite severe OSA but he is asleep not unconscious during the day. He can always be roused from his sleep.

jasonwatkins

To be honest, it's splitting hairs over the definition of what constitutes sleeping and whether or not it equates to a loss of consciousness.

If you look at the dictionary definition of sleep it's this ..

A natural periodic state of rest for the mind and body, in which the eyes usually close and consciousness is completely or partially lost, so that there is a decrease in bodily movement and responsiveness to external stimuli. During sleep the brain in humans and other mammals undergoes a characteristic cycle of brain-wave activity that includes intervals of dreaming.

"consciousness is completely or partianlly lost"

As I said, splitting hairs.

Zziggi

Perhaps so Jason. However I would not equate my child's epilepsy with my OH's OSA.