SAA NEWS Official Newsletter of ... - sleepapnea-act.org.au€¦ · If you have a CPAP machine or...
Transcript of SAA NEWS Official Newsletter of ... - sleepapnea-act.org.au€¦ · If you have a CPAP machine or...
ACT Reg: A2042
ABN: 62 545 256 140
ACNC Registered Charity
Affiliate member of Healthcare Consumers’
Association Inc (HCCA Inc)
& SHOUT Inc
PO BOX 1461
Tuggeranong ACT 2901
Phone (02) 6230 7800 (HCCA)
Phone (02) 6290 0198 (SHOUT)
Web: www.sleepapnea-act.org.au
Email: [email protected]
SAA NEWS
Official Newsletter of the Sleep Apnoea
Association Inc (ACT)
JUNE 2019
Volume 26
Issue No.3
Next General Meeting
& Event Dates 2019:
All Meeting are held on
Saturday as shown
below, at the Canberra
Southern Cross Club
Woden (Community
Room) 2.00pm.
Saturday 15 June 2019
Guest Speakers:
Blooms The Chemist &
Pharmacy Karabar
Queanbeyan
Principal Pharmacist’s
Shaheed and Taz.
Saturday 17 Aug 2019
Guest Speaker:
ACT Lung Life –
Ms Lyn Morley.
Saturday 19 Oct 2019
SAA AGM -Committee
and Financial Reports
to Members.
Saturday 16 Nov 2019
Guest speaker -
Ms Carol Flavel
Tobin Brothers
Funeral Directors
Next Year 2020 Saturday 15 February;
18 April; 20 June;
15 August; 17 October
and 21 November 2020.
Latest News from the a/g Secretary Our lead article in this issue –
Four in ten Australians have a $26 billion-a year problem, and
it’s also killing us. The Morrison government’s Sleep Health Awareness Inquiry called for the
issue to be made a national priority and sleep recognised as the “third pillar”
of a healthy lifestyle alongside diet and exercise, demanding extra funding for
research and treatment to help sufferers. (See article on Pages 5&6.)
Our upcoming Saturday 15 June 2019 General Meeting guest
speakers are Shaheed Sahu Khan and Tafzil Hasan (Taz) -
Owner/Partners Blooms The Chemist and Pharmacy Karabar
Shopping Mall Queanbeyan. Blooms The Chemist Karabar owners Shaheed and Taz were 2018 finalists in
the Small Business Excellence Awards. Blooms The Chemist Karabar is
Queanbeyan’s major CPAP equipment and services provider. Shaheed and
Taz will inform us of their Blooms The Chemist services including Sleep
Apnoea treatment advice, CPAP equipment, masks and spare parts. They also
provide Sleep Apnoea Home Sleep Testing (HST) and report for $99.
See Blooms The Chemist & Pharmacy Advert on page 7.
Membership Renewal for 2019-20 is due on 1 July 2019. Dear members please arrange to renew you membership on 1 July 2019. If
you wish to make your membership renewal payment earlier please follow
the payment details on Page 2. You can also renew at our next General
Meeting date on Saturday 15 June 2019.
Resmed celebrates 30 Years of Innovation. Our friends at CPAP Australia are celebrating Resmed’s 30 years of
Innovation with a special 30th
Birthday Great Giveaway. Visit their shop front
at the Equinox Building 2, Unit 23, 70 Kent St Deakin ACT.
See their Advert on page 4 for more information.
Have you ever wondered where body fat really goes when you
lose weight? Does it fall away under the sofa or lounge chair, or does it roll down the hill
to be never seen again? Turns out 98% of all ‘Experts’ who were asked this
same question got it WRONG. See Answer on Page 14.
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SAA Membership Renewal 2019-20 SAA Membership renewal is due on 1 July 2019. The Membership form is on our website.
General Member $25 (incl GST); Concessional $15 (Pensioner; Seniors Card etc)
Pro-rata add-on new membership applies from 1 March each year.
Please mail payment and your details (Name; Address; Phone/Mob; Email) to:
The Secretary, Sleep Apnoea Association Inc, PO Box 1461, Tuggeranong ACT 2901
OR
Direct Bank Deposit to:
Sleep Apnoea Association Inc
Beyond Bank BSB: 325-185 Account No: 03413207
(Members please include an Email advice in your bank payment details
or New Member Email me with your payment details to [email protected]
The ACT Govt Domiciliary Oxygen and Respiratory Support
Scheme (DORSS) - Are You Eligible? The ACT Government’s Domiciliary Oxygen and Respiratory Support Scheme (DORSS),
supplies oxygen and respiratory equipment to eligible clients in the ACT. These are clients
with a medical condition that meets the criteria of DORSS and who have been referred by an
approved medical practitioner or sleep specialist. To be eligible as an Obstructive Sleep
Apnoea (OSA) client you must be an ACT resident and have a Centrelink pension or
concession card. You also need to have completed sleep studies at a recognised sleep study
clinic within the last 12 months and have successfully trialled the recommended CPAP/APAP
unit for a minimum of 1 month.
Your GP can refer you to a private sleep specialist or to the Canberra Hospital Respiratory
Clinic for assessment and treatment. Medical fees apply for private treatment and most are
covered by private health insurance Extra’s coverage. No assessment and treatment fees apply
at The Canberra Hospital which is covered by your Medicare membership, however the time
to be seen by the hospital Respiratory Clinic doctors can be substantial (12 months or more)
depending upon your sleep disorder severity and health concerns.
As an eligible DORSS client you will be provided with a new or reconditioned automatic
positive airway pressure (APAP) machine and a new breathing mask to suit your needs. There
is no fee but the machine is on permanent issue to you for as long as you need it. Any machine
maintenance or repairs are also covered free within the issue period. However, you are
responsible for your own future breathing mask replacement or parts when you need them.
DORSS also undertakes an annual client review to assess your continuing CPAP treatment
and machine use.
To end of April 2019, the DORSS has assisted 1,232 ACT Respiratory Scheme (CPAP)
clients and 356 Oxygen Scheme clients. A total of 1,588 clients have been assisted in the
DORSS Scheme. For more information contact DORSS on Tel: (02) 6205 2622 or Email:
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CPAP Machines & Equipment FOR SALE, SWAP,WANTED or RENT.
CPAP Machines for Sale – No CPAP machines for sale this month. If you have a CPAP machine or equipment for sale, you can advertise in our next newsletter for free. Give
Angelo a call on (02) 62316001 or Email your name, item and contact details to [email protected]
Swap/Buy/Sell – Surplus nasal masks and cushions wanted to swap, buy or sell. Do you have any spare
unused/unwanted (small, medium, large) nasal cushions on hand? If you want to swap, sell or buy or
donate, then bring them along to the next General Meeting to find a matching offer.
For Rent - SAA have one Resmed S9 Autoset variable pressure CPAP machine with humidifier and
heated tube available for rental to members only, who need a temporary
machine while their own machine is under repair or are considering trialling a
machine before buying their own new or replacement machine in future.
We also have a Transcend portable mini travel fixed pressure CPAP unit
available for member use only.
Member rental fee $10 per week and $50 deposit refundable on return.
Ph: Angelo (02) 62316001 or Mob: 0437442372
For Sale – Phillips Dreamware Under the Nose nasal mask Fitpack with SM soft frame headset.
Taken out of the packet once, otherwise brand new! Comes with S, M, MW and L nasal cushions and User
Guide. Fits all CPAP makes (Resmed, Phillips, F&P, DeVilbiss, Transcend etc). New price $289, however
will sell for $100. Call Janet on 0437 771559.
For SALE – CPAP Hose Holder imported from USA. $60 incl Postage in Australia.
Members can buy at our SAA General Meetings $50. Call Angelo to buy.
No more sleepless nights and tangled hose
waking you up. This compact segmented
light steel tubing and stretch cord unit, easy
to assemble and folds up for easy storage and
portability and comes with its own storage
pouch and is ideal for home and travel usage.
The base fits under your mattress and the
swing arm holds the breathing tube above
your head and out of arms way.
SAA Committee and Contact Numbers (AGM appointed October 2018)
General Enquires to: Health Care Consumers’ Association Inc (Ph: 02-62307800)
OR SHOUT Inc (Ph: 02-6290 0198). SAA Contact – Mr Angelo Barich: Mob: 0437442372
(please leave message if no answer) or SAA Inc Email: [email protected] Executive Committee:
- President: Mr Richard Bell: Ph. (02) 6286 2601
- Vice-President: Ms Kaye Powell - Mob: 0439938454
- Secretary: Position Vacant
- Treasurer & acting Secretary: Mr Angelo Barich: Ph: (02) 62316001 or Mob: 0437442372
- Committee Members: Mrs. Marjorie Cooper; Mrs. Els Bax; Ms Kathleen Pascoe.
Page 4 of 14
Page 5 of 14
Four in ten Australians have a $26 billion-a-year
problem, and it's also killing us (source: The Sydney Morning Herald, April 11, 2019 – Reporter, Dana McCauley)
Four in ten Australians are not getting enough sleep and a new government report has put the financial cost of
this nation-wide exhaustion at $26.2 billion a year.
The Morrison government's sleep health awareness inquiry called for the issue to be made a national priority
and sleep recognised as the "third pillar" of a healthy lifestyle alongside diet and exercise, demanding extra
funding for research and treatment to
help sufferers.
The report said Australians were risking
their health - and even their lives - by
failing to get the recommended nightly
seven-to-nine hours of "good-quality
sleep", warning that just five bad nights
could disrupt hormones and put the body
into a pre-diabetic state.
Estimates suggest that more than one in
five Australians live with a sleep
disorder, the report said, with sleep
apnoea - which often went undiagnosed -
and insomnia the most common.
And the results could be deadly, with inadequate sleep a factor in more than 3000 deaths in 2016-17 - more
than 77 per cent of which were "related to the effects of inadequate sleep on heart conditions, particularly
among those people experiencing obstructive sleep apnoea".
About 10 per cent were due to fatigue-related car accidents.
Melbourne's Braun Mennusko suffered unexplained fatigue and weight gain but did not realise he had sleep
apnoea until he went on a family holiday and his sister noticed his snoring.
"I took the sleep test and it showed that I would stop breathing 101 times an hour," said Mr Mennusko, who
now breathes easy thanks to surgery and a sleep apnoea mask.
"It got to the point where I was falling
asleep all the time, I thought I was just
exhausted from looking after mum ... It
destroys your social life, but you don't
realise because it happens gradually.
It's like sleeping with Freddy Krueger
every night."
Now the hairdresser wants to spread
awareness of the condition.
"I've had clients who've lost husbands,
they just haven't woken up," he said.
Page 6 of 14
Medical specialist Darren Mansfield said many Australians did not understand the long-term health impacts of
poor sleep, including cardiovascular problems, depression and anxiety.
Dr Mansfield said that while digital gadgets, long working hours and a culture of getting by on little sleep
were partly to blame, the millions of Australians doing shift work in industries like hospitality, mining, health
services and transport were particularly at risk.
He joined unions in backing the report's recommendation that the federal government develop a "nationally
consistent approach to working hours".
The report also says the government should consider sleep health screenings for shift workers - a measure the
ACTU opposes, saying regulators should instead focus on making employer practices safer.
Dr Mansfield, who treats patients with sleep disorders at the Epworth Sleep Centre in Melbourne, said
working more than three night shifts a week was associated with problems, despite some workers embracing
one week on, one week off rosters. He said workers who did not get enough sleep had more accidents and
decreased work performance.
Transport Workers Union national secretary Michael Kaine said truck drivers knew "better than anyone the
deadly effects of missing sleep," facing "unrealistic deadlines" to deliver goods, forcing them into "a
precarious balance between sleeping enough to prevent a fatal crash, and staying on the road as [long] as
possible".
The union is campaigning for the return of the road safety tribunal to set pay rates for truck drivers.
For those working nine-to-five, Dr Mansfield warned that poor habits among young "night owls" glued to
their devices could lead to long-term problems like insomnia.
Sleep Health Foundation chair Dorothy Bruck said Australians needed to realise that "making do without
enough sleep is not a badge of honour or a sign of 'toughness'".
A Deloitte study considered by the inquiry estimated that inadequate sleep cost the Australian economy $66.3
billion in 2016-17, including a "loss of wellbeing" worth $40.1 billion.
The report called for the government's Medicare Benefits Schedule review, which is examining 5700 item
numbers across the health system, to consider sleep health services - many of which have no rebate.
A spokeswoman for Health Minister Greg Hunt said the government recognised the "significant burden" of
inadequate sleep and would consider the recommendations.
Shadow Assistant Health Minister Tony Zappia said the report "highlights an important issue that affects
millions of Australians, which to date has largely been ignored".
"If Labor is elected we will consider each of them in detail," he said.
[For full details of the Federal Government’s Sleep Health Awareness Enquiry Report titled “Bedtime
Reading” - goto the website below:]
https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/House/Health_Aged_Care_and_Sport/SleepHea
lthAwareness - Select Report link and open as pdf or Word document.
Page 7 of 14
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Wanted CPAP Machines & Parts for Donation. Wanted new or used any model CPAP machines, humidifiers, breathing masks and spare parts for
donation. The SAA will try to repair, refurbish and donate free or for small cost, used machines and
equipment to Obstructive Sleep Apnoea sufferers that do not have the financial means, or are ineligible
for assistance under various ACT or NSW Government Respiratory Support Schemes. We also get lots
of CPAP assistance requests from the Canberra Hospital Respiratory Unit. Any funds generated will be
used to repair and/or repurpose used CPAP equipment for distribution to those in need.
Please call Angelo Ph: (02) 62316001; Mob: 0437442372) for local pickup.
https://www.humanservices.gov.au/individuals/services/centrelink/essential-medical-equipment-
payment
Department of Human Services – Essential
Medical Equipment Payment. You can now claim $157 payable annually to you
under the DHS/Centrelink Essential Medical
Equipment Payment Scheme if you use essential
medical equipment such as CPAP and Oxygen
Respirators etc.
To be eligible you must have a Government Health
Concession card (Pensioner, Senior Health etc). You
will also need proof of CPAP usage such as a sleep
specialist medical certificate. You will need to
complete the appropriate Centrelink application form
and medical certificate pro-forma. All necessary forms
are available on-line from MyGov Centrelink or visit
your local Centrelink Office. Goto web link below>>
ANAESTHESIA AND SLEEP
APNOEA
Some thoughts for people with Sleep Apnoea
who are being prepared for Surgery.
This information is available on the Internet at
http://www.sleephealthfoundation.org.au and
select the Fact Sheets list for Anaesthesia, Sleep
and Sleep Apnea
OR If you do not have access to the Internet, send a
stamped self addressed envelope to the
SAA Inc, PO Box 1461, Tuggeranong ACT 2901,
requesting a copy to be mailed out to you.
Electricity Rebate Reminder. If you are using a CPAP machine at home, don’t forget you can apply for an electricity rebate as a user
of life support medical equipment. This also gives you priority of reinstatement after a power failure as
well as a rebate in the cost of your electricity. To those new to the use of CPAP, to obtain this rebate all
you need is a letter from your Sleep specialist or GP and to contact your electricity supplier.
Did You Know?
Most Health funds provide a medical equipment rebate. That’s right, if you have private medical insurance with Essentials coverage for such things
as dental services, physiotherapy etc, you may be eligible for a rebate on the cost of your
nasal Continuous Positive Airway Pressure breathing device (nCPAP). Most funds provide a
rebate every five years up to $500 or sometimes more depending upon your level of cover.
You will need to provide proof of treatment such as a sleep test report and a medical
certificate acknowledging your need for nCPAP medical device.
Check with your medical provider before you buy your equipment.
Page 9 of 14
Dr Grant Willson and his staff at the Sleep and Lifestyle Clinic are your specialist sleep clinicians for the diagnosis, treatment and management for Obstructive Sleep Apnoea including Home Sleep Testing (HST). New Resmed and Fisher & Paykel machines and parts are available. Also a Resmed DVA approved supplier, providing CPAP equipment for eligible DVA clients.
Page 10 of 14
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Is it tiredness or are you suffering from sleep apnoea?
Source: YourLifeChoices Magazine – May 2019
Sleep apnoea is a common disorder. However, because its symptoms occur while you sleep, it can be easily
overlooked, or mistaken for straight-up tiredness. So how do you know if you have it?
We talk to sleep physician Dr Kirk Kee, from the Royal Melbourne Hospital and Baker Specialist Clinics, to
learn why sleep apnoea needs to be on your health knowledge radar, how the condition differs between men
and women and how it's linked to chronic diseases.
What is sleep apnoea and what causes it?
There are several types of sleep apnoea, but the most common type is called obstructive sleep apnoea (also
known as OSA). When you sleep, the muscles in your body relax or even become paralysed, to ensure you
don't move around when you are asleep. This is a good thing – except when it's your airway muscles.
“In obstructive sleep apnoea, your upper airway – the area behind your mouth – narrows or even completely
blocks off because the muscles holding it relax and become floppy," says Dr Kee.
The narrowing, or blocking of your airways, which can happen up to several hundred times a night, causes
some follow-on effects.
First, you are unable to breathe, your oxygen levels fall, which creates a stress response in the body. Your
heart rate and blood pressure rise and you release the hormone adrenaline.
"Your body thinks it is being suffocated," says Dr Kee.
"Eventually, your brain partially 'wakes you up', which activates the muscles in your throat and tongue and
opens up your airway again. You then fall back asleep.
"But this can happen over and over throughout the night."
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How do you know if you have sleep apnoea? This is the tricky part. Not only do the main symptoms of OSA occur while you're asleep and unaware, but the
signs and symptoms, especially in women, can be subtle.
Turn to the medical textbooks and you'll find the typical sleep apnoea patient described as an overweight,
middle-aged male who snores loudly and falls asleep a lot during the day.
"This is not surprising because the original descriptions were all taken from studies of men," says Dr Kee.
Unfortunately, this has meant that the condition may be overlooked or missed in women.
"Women can, of course, present in the same way men do, however, we find this is less common," says Dr
Kee. "What we are increasingly learning from studies looking specifically at women is that [typical male
presentation] is not how many women with sleep apnoea present.
"Instead, women will describe a tiredness, fatigue or a lack of energy. Often, they will say they don't have
time to nap. They might also describe a lowered mood, or headaches or perhaps waking up frequently
overnight."
Being so broad in nature, these symptoms can be misinterpreted at the doctor's office and women are instead
often treated for other conditions such as insomnia or depression. Sleep apnoea might not even be considered.
"While men are twice as likely to have sleep apnoea than women, they are eight times more likely to be
diagnosed with it – suggesting that many women with sleep apnoea are being missed," says Dr Kee.
Other signs of possible sleep apnoea include:
high blood pressure (especially if it is not controlled by medications)
needing to go to the toilet frequently in the night
waking up thirsty, or with a dry throat.
What do hormones have to do with it? Research reveals that menopause greatly increases the risk of sleep apnoea. But why is this the case?
Page 13 of 14
"[The hormones] oestrogens and progesterone help make the muscles in your upper airway stay open during
sleep," says Dr Kee. "In menopause, the levels of these hormones reduce and the percentage of women with
sleep apnoea gradually increases."
What's the link between sleep apnoea and serious health issues? Large research studies suggest that having severe sleep apnoea results in increased rates of heart disease and
dementia in both men and women.
As Dr Kee explains, these types of studies are called ‘epidemiological studies’, whereby researchers study a
group of people with a disease (in this case, sleep apnoea) and compare them to people without the disease.
"When they have done studies like these, they have been able to show that patients with sleep apnoea are more
likely to have heart attacks or strokes, be diagnosed with cognitive impairment (dementia), or develop other
diseases like diabetes, high blood pressure or depression," says Dr Kee.
"Other studies have shown that people with sleep apnoea are more likely to have car accidents or miss days at
work."
What to do if you suspect sleep apnoea If you suspect you might have sleep apnoea, but don't have a bed partner – or someone who will notice you
snoring or stopping breathing – then you could consider recording a night of sleep to pick up on these clues.
"There are lots of apps for your smartphone which will do that," says Dr Kee.
However, if you have significant symptoms, then Dr Kee doesn't recommend relying on a recording, or a
partner's eyewitness account. "I have seen many patients who were 100 per cent certain they didn't snore or
stop breathing, who actually had very severe sleep apnoea," he says.
When to see a doctor If you suspect you have sleep apnoea, or you have any related symptoms – even if you aren't sure you snore –
Dr Kee says a discussion with your doctor for a referral for further investigation is a good idea.
"This is especially the case if other diagnoses and treatments have been tried and been unsuccessful," he says.
For those with significant symptoms, Dr Kee suggests talking to your doctor about seeing a sleep specialist.
"Some doctors might suggest going directly for a sleep study without seeing a specialist and in some cases,
this might be appropriate," he says.
"However, it is important to remember that if your sleep study test is 'normal' it doesn't mean your symptoms
are. Significant symptoms should prompt referral to a specialist."
"Even if sleep apnoea is not the cause [of your symptoms], being seen by a sleep specialist might reveal an
alternative diagnosis such as restless leg syndrome, circadian rhythm disorder or other issues with your sleep."
Are you concerned your tiredness might actually be sleep apnoea? Have you sought medical help before? Did
you have success in treating the condition?
"We aren't meant to go through life exhausted or sleeping poorly, so if you have concerns, talk to your
doctor!"
Page 14 of 14
Where Does Fat Go When You Lose Weight? Nutritionist // Lisa Donaldson, APD, M.Nutr&Diet, B.Edu
As an Accredited Practising Dietitian I was pretty excited to get a phone call from ‘The Surfing Scientist’
Ruben Meerman who was doing some research. He wanted to pick my brain about weight loss. Little did I
know he was calling up 150 other ‘experts’ for the same reason.
He asked me straight out and on the spot, ‘When we lose fat, where does it go?’ Immediately and
confidently I said, “It’s converted to energy and used”.
He recorded my response, said thanks… and that was it…
Turns out 98% of all ‘experts’ who were asked this same question were WRONG.
When I found out my response was incorrect, not only did I feel embarrassed, I also felt an incredible desire to
actually find out where fat goes when it’s no longer a measurable digit on the scales.
Where Fat Really Goes
So here it is… when we lose fat, it’s converted to carbon dioxide and water.
Yep, you read that right… CO2 & H2O.
We literally EXHALE the carbon dioxide and lose the water via sweat and other bodily processes. It took me
a while to process that… How could it be, that we breathe out fat? Right away I am thinking we all need to
take up meditation and yoga to simply breathe more deeply! Unfortunately, it’s not as simple as that.
The only way you can consciously increase the amount of carbon dioxide your body is producing is by
moving more. The research out of the University of New South Wales explained that by simply going for a
walk (or doing active household tasks like vacuuming and sweeping) triples your metabolic rate and as a
result, you exhale out more carbon dioxide.
So, consuming a diet that supplies less fuel than you burn (via huffing and puffing), will get that fat loss
happening… but what about those pesky fat cells?
Fat cells
When we lose fat, we are not losing fat cells. As you lose weight, the fat cells lose weight too… BUT, the fat
cells themselves never leave your body.
The only way to rid the body of fat cells is surgical removal (think liposuction… eeek!). Fat cells
unfortunately lay dormant in your body, just waiting to refill the next time you eat MORE and move LESS.
That is why people who go on drastic diets to lose weight fast, often regain the weight quickly. Especially if
they have not changed the way they approach food and exercise long term.
Take home message?
When we lose fat, it’s expelled via the body as carbon dioxide and water. But keep in mind, those fat cells
haven’t vanished. They’ve simply lost weight…just like you.
Maintaining a healthy relationship with food and moving regularly is (and always has been) the best way to
manage your weight and your health, for life.