Any aviation career concerns for having a sleep study done?  

I may not have the best sleep but I sleep fine overall... VA wants to have me do a sleep study for something that's only slightly related.  I don't think I need it, though.

Thoughts?

The FAA will use it against you. If you have plans to begin flying or continue flying in civilian aviation, even a slightly adverse sleep study will cost you.

 must report it and the results on your next flight physical.  Good luck with whatever you put on the form, or whatever comes of it.

Sleep studies are reasonable but far from scientific with regards aviation.  Good reason why to to put your neck in the noose.  If you're not sleeping well look at your diet, exercise, and total amount of sleep per night.  

If you fly HAA or night cargo God be with you.

The Cpap arena has become a huge profit center for the Medical Community.  Most people don't sleep well and the older you get the worse it is but as it is with everything, Cpap now cures or helps you avoid everything from being stupid to erectile dysfunction in your goldfish.  I use a machine on doctors orders, after a sleep study.  I have found that if you do not follow the doc's dictate the insurance companies tend to be a bit reluctant to provide certain kinds of coverage.  I personally have not seen an improvement overall in my health.  The only detriment is having a stiff neck all the time and the hassle of machine maintenance (cleaning).  I do not have too maintain a medical anymore so I am not that conflicted.  I do feel for you younger guys.  This Brave new world you are being dragged into, (I hope kicking and screaming) is going to have a lot of changes and IMHO not for the better.  My advice is: Don't be a frog in the boiling pot but if that's where the flies are sometimes you don't have a choice.  

 in to the Inspire system.  

Neck ache?  Too cold or need a cervical roll and a scarf around ur neck - the roll and scarf work wonders for me.  I won't do a CPAP - would rather be cranky for a reason.

Skip it.  I had one before the CPAP craze and it actually gave me good info - an obvious time zone adjustment issue that was a easy fix without the nose nozzle.  Now everyone I know that has had one is told they have OSA and need a face sucker and an SI.  It took me years to find a doc at the VA that realizes I'm trying to be healthy and keep my medical, not get more comp & pen money.  

Its not worth it imho.  Just take care of your health and don't be fat.

Can you expound on the "time zone issue" and the easy fix? You quit the overseas job or what?

Frequent overseas rotation work.  Saw a sleep psychiatrist to learn how to help my body adopt the changes.

I did look in to the VA and have hearing aids from them (no longer fly, retired) but didn't do more than that with them simply because I didn't like the vibe.  Initially thought it was just my perception but after a few visits my impression there is quite some, for lack of a better word, stereotyping of vets going at the facility I visited.  

At one point had a lady Chinese doctor who was phished she had to come to work outside her preferred schedule.  She was a VA employed doc.  What a trip she was.  Never saw her twice, my choice.

Have heard goood stories about the VA as well but for me it isn't much fun at all so hearing aids will have to be it.

Get a new test and use Afrin nose spray and take 1 claritan and a couple of sudafed and your trouble should clear up. The FAA will be happy after about 6 months grounding to do the paperwork but the VA will still pay you cash for a CPAP which alone puts you over 50% disability. Note, don't have the VA do the sleep study use private insurance and pay yourself if needed.

Did you complain to the doc that you were tired? If so, then that may be the basis of the request.

You should know that if you snore enough to rattle the windows at night and wake up with a sore throat sometimes you might have sleep apnea.

Sleep apnea ain’t no joke. My O2 saturation dropped from 97% to 54% when I did my first sleep study. That led to a diagnosis of sleep apnea. My insurance company set me up with a BiPAP device. After a couple of weeks, I went back and did another sleep study. This time I went to sleep normally without a BiPAP machine. After that test they woke me up and I used the BiPAP machine I was issued. The second test was run, and it showed a marked improvement of my O2 saturation that was acceptable to FAA standards. They forwarded the results to my medical examiner, and he approved my class one physical with the caveat that I use the BiPAP machine every time I went to sleep.

Bottom line I started feeling a lot better after I started using the BiPAP machine.

Uncontrolled sleep apnea could be severe enough to cause a major heart attack or a stroke. They are doing you a ‘favor’ that could save your life and it may not cost you your career.

I guess the real question you must ask yourself is should I do something about this situation, or just ignore it?

If you ignore it and the worst happens, would it be worth a couple more years of your career?

Your call.

The above poster is 100% correct.  Your first priority is your health and sleep apnea can cause all sorts of health issues down the road that can jeopardize your medical.  Tiredness was not my symptom, but I was having a series of unrelated other issues that caused a Dr. to recommend the sleep study.  I am glad I did.  The sleep study lasted 3 visits (the VA may give you a do it at home kit) and after going on CPAP therapy, all my helath issues cleared up...not to mention I sleep more soundly.  I think the chances of something unusual coming out of the sleep study are slim and when you weigh this against the risks of not doing something, I would say go for it.  The FAA wants to make sure you get at least 6 hours of sleep per night on average.  The additional paperwork is a little hassle, but start your medical process early and it should not be an issue.  I have a 30% disability rating from the VA which does not include sleep apnea since the VA did not recognize sleep apnea when my sleep study was done.  Even a 10% rating added to whatever else you may have adds up over time.  In addition, if you have over 20-30%, it provides certain benefits in homeloans or Federal Job preference/protection.  If you are married, this will add even more to your disability...tax free

Stoner Metal Fan Who Showed up for Sleep Study Disappointed but Cooperative (thehardtimes.net)