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Service dog for sleep apnea


luckybecky
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Today on John Heald's blog, someone asked a question about bringing her Maltese on board. She said he is a service dog for her sleep apnea.

 

I'm not trying to start a fire here, but I'm genuinely curious. I have been a respiratory therapist for 30 years and have worked with hundreds of people who have sleep apnea. I've never heard of a service dog for this and wonder how one could possibly be useful for this condition. Anyone out there with sleep apnea who could offer some insight on this?

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Today on John Heald's blog, someone asked a question about bringing her Maltese on board. She said he is a service dog for her sleep apnea.

 

I'm not trying to start a fire here, but I'm genuinely curious. I have been a respiratory therapist for 30 years and have worked with hundreds of people who have sleep apnea. I've never heard of a service dog for this and wonder how one could possibly be useful for this condition. Anyone out there with sleep apnea who could offer some insight on this?

 

I read that also. I have never heard of this either and I know several people with sleep apnea. I found it amusing that she wanted to take her dog to the dining room. I was wondering if she was planning on sleeping at dinner.

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Today on John Heald's blog, someone asked a question about bringing her Maltese on board. She said he is a service dog for her sleep apnea.

 

I'm not trying to start a fire here, but I'm genuinely curious. I have been a respiratory therapist for 30 years and have worked with hundreds of people who have sleep apnea. I've never heard of a service dog for this and wonder how one could possibly be useful for this condition. Anyone out there with sleep apnea who could offer some insight on this?

 

I would assume that the service dog could tell when the person has stopped breathing and would bark to wake them. Just my thought. I would much rather use my APAP. I was curious as to why the dog needed to be in the MDR....

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I read that also. I have never heard of this either and I know several people with sleep apnea. I found it amusing that she wanted to take her dog to the dining room. I was wondering if she was planning on sleeping at dinner.

 

LOL!!

 

I would assume that the service dog could tell when the person has stopped breathing and would bark to wake them. Just my thought. I would much rather use my APAP. I was curious as to why the dog needed to be in the MDR....

 

I thought about that also, but the nature of sleep apnea is that the person stops breathing continually, sometimes dozens of times per hour -- more than once a minute. The dog would be barking all night long! In that case, I sure hope I won't be in the cabin next to her. :eek:

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Somebody brought a service dog onboard the Transatlantic sailing on the Carnival Magic for sleep apnea and requested to bring it to the dining room (edit: and did bring it to the dining room every night.) It looked more like a house pet than a service dog.

Edited by Disconnections
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I have sleep apnea and have never heard of a service dog for it. I have heard of service dogs for seizures though. Some how they can sense when a person is about to have a seizure and warn them to get in a safe position. So I'm sure you could train them to sense changes in breathing. My problem is as soon as I start to have trouble breathing I wake up and I wake up 40x per hour so never get into a deep enough sleep for it to be fatal. I can't get used to a CPAP so I'm just chronically severely sleep deprived. They have computer technology though that can sense when you stop breathing and wake you up. Not sure why you would need a dog. You don't have to feed and clean up after a computer.

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I am not knocking the validity of the need for a service dog, but a service is just that. It should go in a crate during dinner. If this woman feels the need to have her service dog with her at dinner, then she's has detachment issues and it's a pet.

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I read that also. I have never heard of this either and I know several people with sleep apnea. I found it amusing that she wanted to take her dog to the dining room. I was wondering if she was planning on sleeping at dinner.

 

I was wondering the same thing! Unless she is planning on sleeping at dinner, I can't see the need for a service dog there for sleep apnea.

 

Years ago, friends of mine had a daughter born premature and when she finally came home from the hospital, she had to be hooked up to a monitor at all times due to breathing problems/stopping breathing. They had a german police dog at the time and even if the dog was upstairs, it would start barking before the monitor went off and it would run to where the baby was and kept on barking until the baby started breathing again/woke up before anybody else could get there. Dogs have amazing hearing, and although this dog had never been trained as a service dog, it instinctively knew when the baby needed help.

 

I do think if I were in the cabin next door to this woman, and then heard a dog barking in the middle of the night,it would very much be a sound I would not be used to on a ship.

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This thread caught my eye instantly... also not trying to flame, but .. um.. I'm a fraud investigator for health insurance and I assure you someone trying to submit a claim for an animal for a diagnosis of sleep apnea would surely throw up some red flags as least from an insurance standpoint... as for the MDR.. hmmm.. perhaps the person also suffers from narcolepsy?? :p

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I have sleep apnea and have never heard of a service dog for it. I have heard of service dogs for seizures though. Some how they can sense when a person is about to have a seizure and warn them to get in a safe position. So I'm sure you could train them to sense changes in breathing. My problem is as soon as I start to have trouble breathing I wake up and I wake up 40x per hour so never get into a deep enough sleep for it to be fatal. I can't get used to a CPAP so I'm just chronically severely sleep deprived. They have computer technology though that can sense when you stop breathing and wake you up. Not sure why you would need a dog. You don't have to feed and clean up after a computer.

 

Not to lecture you but over time sleep apnea can cause serious health issues including heart attacks. When you constantly stop breathing, even for just a few seconds, over time it begins to affect your cardiovascular system. My hubby initially struggled to get used to the mask but now he wont go without it. I would continue to try to use the cpap, eventually you will adjust.

 

I thought I had read that service animals were not allowed to be left in the room unattended? Maybe that's why she is asking about the mdr?

Edited by BeachChik
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:rolleyes: She wants to cart that dog all over the ship, including the MDR? I know very little if anything about what constitutes a "service dog" but for sleep apnea, umm, your not sleeping all over the ship, especially the MDR, I would not want to be in the cabin next door being woken up by barking all night. What about the people on the ship that are allergic to dogs? I know of someone that is severely allergic to dogs :( and if that dog is walking all over the ship, just sayin...

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Somebody brought a service dog onboard the Transatlantic sailing on the Carnival Magic for sleep apnea and requested to bring it to the dining room (edit: and did bring it to the dining room every night.) It looked more like a house pet than a service dog.

 

Just wondering, what did she do with the animal during dinner? Did it sit on the floor, in her lap, or what? Did it behave well?

 

When we went to Europe, we went to a few restaurants where the owners had cats or dogs. They lived in the restaurants and in every instance we found them to be exceptionally well trained. They did not beg for food, jump on people or on tables, etc. One large labrador walked right by our table and didn't even bat an eye or sniff at the food. I was startled once on our first night in Europe by a cat rubbing against my leg, but wasn't bothered by it.

 

I would hope that if this lady brings her dog to dinner, it will be equally well trained. I would be bothered by an animal sniffing at the table, barking, nipping, or being fed from the table.

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We were on the Imagination with a lady who had a service dog that she brought to the buffet and picked him up so he could see the deserts and then stuck her finger in the icing for him to taste. I went to the Purser's desk to complain about this behavior and was told it was a service dog, so I guess if she wants to bring him to the MDR she just may be allowed.

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Just wondering, what did she do with the animal during dinner? Did it sit on the floor, in her lap, or what? Did it behave well?

 

When we went to Europe, we went to a few restaurants where the owners had cats or dogs. They lived in the restaurants and in every instance we found them to be exceptionally well trained. They did not beg for food, jump on people or on tables, etc. One large labrador walked right by our table and didn't even bat an eye or sniff at the food. I was startled once on our first night in Europe by a cat rubbing against my leg, but wasn't bothered by it.

 

I would hope that if this lady brings her dog to dinner, it will be equally well trained. I would be bothered by an animal sniffing at the table, barking, nipping, or being fed from the table.

 

Most service dogs I've ever seen lay down under the table or chair and are very well behaved.

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We were on the Imagination with a lady who had a service dog that she brought to the buffet and picked him up so he could see the deserts and then stuck her finger in the icing for him to taste. I went to the Purser's desk to complain about this behavior and was told it was a service dog, so I guess if she wants to bring him to the MDR she just may be allowed.

 

People are unbelievable!!!! :eek:

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Just wondering, what did she do with the animal during dinner? Did it sit on the floor, in her lap, or what? Did it behave well?

 

When we went to Europe, we went to a few restaurants where the owners had cats or dogs. They lived in the restaurants and in every instance we found them to be exceptionally well trained. They did not beg for food, jump on people or on tables, etc. One large labrador walked right by our table and didn't even bat an eye or sniff at the food. I was startled once on our first night in Europe by a cat rubbing against my leg, but wasn't bothered by it.

 

I would hope that if this lady brings her dog to dinner, it will be equally well trained. I would be bothered by an animal sniffing at the table, barking, nipping, or being fed from the table.

 

I can't answer that as we were in the other dining room, but I did see the dog leave the dining room multiple times after dinner. Someone said they fed the dog food from their plates, but that is hearsay as someone told them. It probably happened judging from the way they interacted with the dog and walked around with the dog around the ship.

Edited by Disconnections
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Not to lecture you but over time sleep apnea can cause serious health issues including heart attacks. When you constantly stop breathing, even for just a few seconds, over time it begins to affect your cardiovascular system. My hubby initially struggled to get used to the mask but now he wont go without it. I would continue to try to use the cpap, eventually you will adjust.

 

Yes, I'm aware of the consequences. I was diagnosed at Stanford University and they were never able to successfully optimize my CPAP settings. My case is complicated by other issues including a brain tumor, asthma (the CPAP makes my lungs burn constantly from the forced air) and a spinal fusion (can't sleep on my back making it difficult to keep a good seal with the mask). Sometimes, there is no good answer. There's a very strong connection between asthma and sleep apnea and they say I won't be able to get the sleep apnea under control until I get the asthma under control. My best treatment would probably be to move to some place with much better air quality because I live in an area with the worst air quality in the country.

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I would imagine the dog doesn't bark to alert her, at least not as a first resort. It probably nudges or paws enough to get her to take a breath. Perhaps she has severe claustrophobia or can't use a CPAP for some reason?

 

I agree with others' confusion as to why the dog would be allowed in the MDR, a seizure sensing dog, sure, but if she's awake what service does this particular dog perform?

 

Curious to hear more of this...

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i have sleep apnea. I also have two Labrador Retrievers. Neither of whom are service dogs.

 

As one person pointed out - you stop breathing multiple times during your sleep which could create a health risk. This is why they have designed the machine - to force your airway to stay open and help you breath.

 

No way does a dog do that for you. I have no idea how they managed to get that one to fly - unless they had a medical note that was false?

 

So the dog was supposed to bark everytime they stopped breathing? Maybe the dog would bark when the light went on the machine?

 

I personally stop 15 times or more in an hour, but I am not severe - even saying that how would they allow a dog to bark that many times?

 

And yes - doesn't the dog sleep?

 

Where does the dog do its business on a ship? How is that not a health violation? What about the people with pet allergies?

 

The list goes on doesn't it?

I hate when people try to abuse the system...grrr:mad:

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