Men and women who suspect they have sleep apnea may hope to buy a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) device over the counter at a drugstore. However, this equipment is only available with a prescription in Canada. After a person has been diagnosed with the disorder, a doctor can write a prescription for this type of sleep apnea treatment in Surrey.
Symptoms
Men and women tend to realize they have a problem when they become chronically sleepy during the day. They might doze off at work or even behind the wheel of a car. In other cases, the person’s partner becomes troubled by the loud snoring and evidence of breathing cessation. The individual finally decides to discover whether sleep apnea treatment in Surrey would be advisable.
Sleep Apnea Diagnosis
Being diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea requires participating in a sleep study. Technicians monitor the patient’s quality of sleep and discover whether the definitive symptoms occur. Those symptoms include the person’s breathing stopping multiple times, leading to waking up just enough to begin breathing again. This can happen hundreds of times over eight hours.
Reasons a Prescription Is Required
Canada requires its residents to have prescriptions for this equipment for specific reasons. For instance, the doctor may realize that a bilevel positive airway pressure machine would be much better for this patient than a CPAP model. In other cases, the patient may not have obstructive sleep apnea but a different disorder causing breathing issues.
