Rachel joined Dr. Kandula on The Morning Blend to share her story and how she put her fatigue and frustration to bed for good.
Tiffany:
It's our continuing series Sleep Well, Breathe Well with ADVENT. Well, the thought of dozing off at a stoplight is super scary, but that was normal for our next guest, Rachel, who has sleep apnea. Sadly, there are thousands of people just like her living life in a daily fog of frustration. Does it sound like you Rachel joins us now, along with ADVENT CEO, it's Dr. Madan Kandula. She's going to share her story about how she had fatigue and frustration, and now she can go to bed and sleep well. Good morning to all of you.
Dr. Kandula:
Good morning.
Rachel:
Good morning.
Tiffany:
Thank you for joining me, Rachel, we were kind of sharing a little bit about your story before the break, where we were talking about driving and just falling asleep at a red traffic light or something like that, the movies, not being able to watch a full movie. Tell us a little bit about your story and when you knew that this was a problem.
Rachel:
Yeah, so I have snored most of my adult life and I'd always known that I'd snored. And I knew that it was starting to get louder as I got older. People were telling me that, my husband specifically, and I didn't really realize that it was a problem though, until I was backpacking through India with a friend of mine. She would wake me up in the middle of the night terrified because I was gasping for air and she was afraid that I wasn't breathing. And it happened multiple times on that trip. So when I got home, I knew that I had to do something about it. And so I started to look into some sleep studies and clinics at that time.
Tiffany:
Well, and I'm excited for you to tell that story in a second, but Dr. Madan Kandula, I want to know a little bit... if this is something you hear a lot, because I love the part of Rachel story where she says, you know, her husband always told her, but it almost took an outsider to then bring it to her knowledge again.
Dr. Kandula:
Yeah. I mean sleep apnea happens when somebody is asleep. So it sounds kind of silly, but it's serious. And a lot of times- most of the time it takes an outside observer to bring it to somebody's attention. And then, really, if you're hearing this from a couple of folks that it may, like Rachel, cause you to take some action.
Tiffany:
It's crazy. Yeah. Like falling asleep at the movies or while driving wasn't enough, Rachel, but you did go to a sleep study first, right?
Rachel:
Yes. so I originally went to a sleep center and we did a sleep study and my results came back that I had severe sleep apnea. They said, "Okay, so what you need now is you need a C-PAP." And I took it home and I put it on. I tried to go to sleep and I was coughing and choking and really struggling to fall asleep with it on. And so I'd go back to the sleep clinic and they'd say, "Okay, we're going to make some adjustments. It'll be okay, we'll get there. You need to figure out your life now because this is a part of your life." I wasn't okay with that. I like to travel to other countries. I like to go camping, you know, things like that, all of these different things. I like to travel with a small suitcase and it takes up a lot of space in there. So I started a search for some alternative treatment options which is how I found ADVENT. And it was intriguing. I live in Madison, so I was like, well, you know, this is something that we're going to start talking about for the rest of my life. Yeah, I'm willing to drive 80 miles for that. I didn't want to fight that battle with the C-PAP forever. I wanted to find a pathway forward without it.
Tiffany:
I feel like so many people relate to what you're saying. It's so difficult for them once they try the C-PAP, but the C-PAP can be life-saving. So there's this sort of balance that... How do I do this? And that's why I want to know, how was your experience different at ADVENT? Because we know from Dr. Kandula, it's a lot about finding the root cause.
Rachel:
Yeah. that's, that's exactly what it was. So I went to ADVENT and they really listened to me and what my goals were for longterm options. So together, we were able to create a pathway to start to talk about how we may get there. They were the first ones to really look at my anatomy to determine the medical reasons behind why I was snoring and why I had sleep apnea. So we developed our plan during the treatment path. I had a few insurance hurdles, ADVENT assigned a liaison, so that person could really help me navigate that path. And that's something that I've never experienced before in healthcare. Usually it's like, "Hey, good luck!" Or your insurance doesn't cover this. So it was super helpful.
Tiffany:
Absolutely. I can imagine, because it's confusing. Dr. Kandula, there are three different kinds of treatments. Right? What did you use for Rachel, and what else is available for people? So they know there's options.
Dr. Kandula:
Yeah. There are many options. First is just understanding what's going on with somebody. If somebody has sleep apnea, there are really three options to consider. One is a C-PAP machine. Two is an oral appliance, which is like retainer that you wear when you're sleeping at night, it just holds the back of your throat open, and three or procedures in the back of the throat to open up the airway. Now all of those three pathways require-mandatory-you have to have a nose that's working. So if your nose doesn't work properly, none of those pathways can work. And so, unfortunately, Rachel's story is every man and every woman's story in a typical kind of broken healthcare system where it's identify a problem, slap a band-aid on it, and then really, kind of, critique the patient that- boy, something's not right with you, that you can't tolerate this treatment. So all the treatments can work if you have an effective and efficient game plan to make it happen.
Tiffany:
I bet that's why you see people traveling all over like Madison or from anywhere to come see you.
Dr. Kandula:
Yeah. And we're trying to get closer to everybody. we've been expanding here recently and the expansion is purposeful. People are suffering with these issues and they're traveling to come to see us, which on one hand is great, on the other hand, it sure would be nice if we had something closer to home for all these people that have these such common issues.
Tiffany:
Absolutely. We're out of time, but Rachel, can you watch a movie now? And can you go camping and do all the things you love?
Rachel:
Yes. I'm happy to say that. I can do those things.
Tiffany:
Oh, that's awesome. Thank you so much for joining us. Both of you. I appreciate you sharing your story too, Rachel.
Rachel:
Thank you.
Tiffany:
Absolutely. Good to see you, doctor, as well. Now you can do this. So you can go to ADVENTknows.com to schedule online. It's just 60 seconds. Most insurances are accepted. There's no referral required. ADVENT has locations in Wauwatosa, Mequon, Oconomowoc, Oak Creek and Pleasant Prairie.