Therapy Tips:

We are so excited about our move to a larger, more patient-friendly location!  Therefore, in lieu of our therapy tip this month we would like to announce that we have added some new services to help you get the most out of your therapy:

• We will begin holding store hours on Saturdays!  The actual hours of operation on Saturdays is still undecided, but we will be sure to let you know once that decision has been made.

• We will be holding small group workshops led by our respiratory therapist on one Saturday per month.  These workshops will address various topics relating to sleep apnea and its treatment and provide an open forum for answering any and all questions you may have.  Please feel free to bring a friend or loved-one!  The workshop schedule and topics will be posted on our website under the "Retail Store" tab.

• We will be offering home nocturnal oxygen level testing and home sleep apnea testing soon!  More information will be available in next month's newsletter, so stay tuned!

   

   

Articles of Interest

 Travel CPAPs Getting Smaller
 The newest travel-size CPAP machine has been developed by Somnetics, LLC and will be available direct to consumers on January 21. If you haven't already seen it, the CPAP machine weighs only 1 pound and sits on top of the user's head!  This unique device is called Transcend.  The Transcend is FDA-approved and even includes a patent-pending heat moisture exchange technology to deliver humidity. For more information regarding this new product, click here.  You can also go directly to the Somnetics website here.

 Sleep-Disordered Breathing is Costly
 Danish researchers at the University of Copenhagen and the Danish Institute for Health Services conducted a study to examine the socio-economic burden of 3 sleep disorders:  snoring, sleep apnea and obesity-related respiratory difficulties. 
 

So what did they find?  Sleep apnea and obesity-related respiratory patients are likely to have medical costs 2-3 times higher and an unemployment rate 30% higher than healthy control subjects.  The study results include direct costs such as doctor visits, hospital visits and medication use, while indirect costs are reflected in work time lost, lower income and higher unemployment. The study further shows that these socio-economic consequences are appearing up to 8 years before patients are actually diagnosed.    
 
 How has sleep-disordered breathing affected your life?  If you or someone you know is struggling with sleep and/or obesity-related breathing problems, make an appointment with a pulmonologist or sleep specialist as soon as possible.

To read the entire article published by ScienceDaily.com, click here.