Undiagnosed sleep apnea

Found this interesting article today about sleep apnea that claims 80% of people that have sleep apnea don't know it. It is probably true as getting a diagnosis is not all that easy. I am in the same province as the lady that is the subject of this article, and like her I got a "free" sleep apnea test with a take home diagnosis machine. The free part ends after diagnosis when they then sell you a CPAP machine for $2400. However, as my wife had been diagnosed earlier and to help her I had been following an on line forum, I knew that machines were available on line for much less. Both my wife and later myself got an on line ResMed top of the line CPAP machine for around $800 instead of $2400. Once you get your diagnosis from the "free" apnea test all you need is a copy of that which you can get from your doctor, to purchase your machine on line. This is all kind of too bad as many people not having insurance do not get the treatment they need due to the cost.

https://www.cbc.ca/radio/the-dose/sleep-apnea-canada-challenges-diagnosis-cpap-machine-1.7108832

Wow, that's eye-opening! It's concerning how many people might be living with undiagnosed sleep apnea.

The process you described for getting a diagnosis and then finding more affordable CPAP options online is both enlightening and disheartening. It's unfortunate that cost can be a barrier to treatment for so many :(

Hopefully, with more awareness people can get treated and diagnosed properly