Communicating Well With Your Health Care Providers 
When you are diagnosed with sleep apnea, it can feel overwhelming. You will likely have many questions and the answers may not always be clear at first. It is important to talk to your healthcare provider about your treatment options and get answers to all of your questions.
Build a good relationship with your family and sleep doctors, sleep apnea health professional/educator, and CPAP company. (Note: The sleep apnea professional/educator may be an employee at the CPAP company). They are there to help you manage your sleep apnea, help you adjust to your sleep apnea treatment and follow up with any questions or concerns you may have.
Build Your Sleep Apnea Team
Learning how to manage sleep apnea is the first step to maintaining your health and regaining your quality of life. This is much easier with a team. Consider family, friends and healthcare professionals such as:
- Your sleep doctor
- Your family doctor
- Your sleep apnea health professional/educator
- Your pharmacist
Those who become your informal caregivers (family and friends) will play a very important role in your life. Caregivers will likely help you with managing your sleep apnea. It is important to keep them informed about any changes or needs you might have.
A Word To Your Partner Or Caregiver
Sleep doctors, family doctors, sleep apnea health professionals, and CPAP companies work as a team to help people use their CPAP equipment successfully and properly. Partners, spouses, and caregivers play a very important role as well.
The following are ways to help:
- Learn all you can about sleep apnea.
- Learn about the equipment and help your partner with problem-solving.
- Encourage your partner to continue with the treatment.
- Reassure your partner that using CPAP does not affect how you feel about him/her.
- Support your partner’s efforts to improve their health by for example encouraging weight management, healthy eating, and regular exercise.
Download a list of questions to ask your CPAP company along with a list of Saskatchewan companies that provide sleep apnea services.