Newbie with basic questions

Hello guys,

I am new to this forum I have a few questions please help
1. Is there a special doctor to treat snoring? I am 25 yr guy and I snore very loudly.
I wake up with dry mouth and am thirsty all night. I recorded few of my sleep sessions
On my cellphone and I am scary loud.
2. My general physician said Its normal to snore and advised me to lose weight. I am 160lbs.
I doubt if thats the cause.
3.how much does it cost to get our sleep study done.
4.any advise or question you have to confirm If I have sleep apnea or not?
5.I used nasal stripes, mouth pieces but nothing worked.

Thanks a lot guys,
Sammy

Welcome to the forum!!

First, you are in charge of your health and your doctor is your paid assistant! Thinking of it this way, If he is unwilling to address your snoring issues, you may try being more assertive about it to him. You may need to try another doctor.

Everyone may snore now and then, but I do not consider what you describe as normal.

Overnight sleep studies are expensive if you do not have insurance. My provider billed a retail price of around $4000.00 for my most recent one! You did not say whether or not you have insurance. There are at home sleep studies available at a lower cost, but for a first diagnosis I think a doctor would want an overnight from a sleep lab.

Tom

Thanks Tom.

So the doctor who can address snoring issues is an ENT specialist?
I do have insurance.

Yes, an ENT would be the one... however, if you do have apnea, that needs checking into. Can you Google something called the Eppworth Sleepiness Scale and see if you fit into the results? It's pretty basic and not everyone with or without apnea will have all the answers, but it's somewhere to start.

Make sure your doc also checks other issues that may be causing excessive thirst and frequent urination, like diabetes. I am very fortunate to have medical care through the Veterans Administration, and had a sleep study kit issued to me and did the overnight at home. When diagnosed with "Severe Obstructive Sleep Apnea" I had a CPAP machine within two weeks and a sleep doctor's visit within a month. If you are eligible, take advantage of the VA benefits. Don

Thanks Julie and Obevet,

I will search for ent-specialist docs that are in-network with UHC.
Thanks for your help.

Hi Sammy, welcome. The first step in treating snoring is to rule out sleep apnea. That means getting an overnight sleep study. Your insurance company can tell you how much the sleep study will cost you under your current health plan.

You shouldn't need to see an ENT or any other specialist just to get a referral for a sleep study. Your primary care (general) doctor should be able to give you the referral. You can tell your general practice doctor that you understand s/he thinks your snoring is normal but that you want a sleep study to rule out sleep apnea. You need to be direct with your request. With your symptoms, the doctor would be taking a huge chance to deny you the referral. And frankly if that happened I would be looking for another GP doc.

Good luck -- I hope you'll keep us posted.

Thank you, I will do that. Thats a great advice.

I looked at the Eppworth Sleepiness Scale, I never feel sleepy during the day. So I guess, I dont have sleep apnea, but this is not the only symptom I guess.

Snoringkid wrote:I looked at the Eppworth Sleepiness Scale, I never feel sleepy during the day. So I guess, I dont have sleep apnea, but this is not the only symptom I guess.

Correct -- some people who are diagnosed with sleep apnea do not have the daytime-sleepy symptoms. I scored low on the Epworth but was diagnosed with moderate-severe sleep apnea. You can't assume that you do not have SA, and with your symptoms you really need to make sure that you don't have it.

Snoringkid wrote:Thank you, I will do that. Thats a great advice.

I looked at the Eppworth Sleepiness Scale, I never feel sleepy during the day. So I guess, I dont have sleep apnea, but this is not the only symptom I guess.

I was not sleepy during the day, just not energetic. I knew I snored loudly. One person described it as scary. My doctor never once asked how I sleep, if a snore, etc even though I had very high blood pressure that was not improving well enough with medication.

When I told her I had sleep apnea, she asked a few questions, and referred to me for a sleep study and a followup with a neurologist who specializes in sleep. I received a phone call a couple days later from the sleep lab to set up my sleep study. They sent the data to the sleep doctor, who did the followup with me. He also sent the summary back to the original doctor.

I had an ahi of 79 which means I had breathing problems (that lasted at least 10 seconds) 79 times an hour. And I never even made it to REM sleep where people tend to be worse. Severe is anything over 30.

Do not assume you don't have it simply because your body is still managing to compensate.

You shouldn't need to see any speciality doctor like an ENT to get a sleep study. Your primary care doctor can do this for you so save your money. Even if you have insurance, the copay is higher to see a specialist.

His regular doctor does not seem inclined to refer him and may be in denial that OSA exists.

Update:
I went to a ENT specialist, he asked few questions and used a pipe to look inside my nose...
He said I might not be have sleep apnea. Its basically deviated septum.

He prescribed me " fluticasone propionate ", I need to use this for a month and give him an update.
I tried 2 times, no improvement yet.
Wow, $800 for a visit. These guys are expensive!!!

Hi Sammy,
I snore LOUD too and I'm a girl
I didn't think I had sleep apnea, but my dentist encouraged me to get a sleep study. I have mild sleep apnea. I did another sleep over study and the results show that the cpap does help me. I'm new to this too and still trying to get used to sleeping with all of this on my face, but I'm hopeful! Husband says I'm not snoring, so that's progress. Good luck to you.

Snoringkid wrote:Update:
I went to a ENT specialist, he asked few questions and used a pipe to look inside my nose...
He said I might not be have sleep apnea. Its basically deviated septum.

He prescribed me " fluticasone propionate ", I need to use this for a month and give him an update.
I tried 2 times, no improvement yet.
Wow, $800 for a visit. These guys are expensive!!!

I use that medication for my asthma, so I am puzzled why that would be given for a deviated septum. I have noticed that I do breathe better through my nose than before, and that surprised me. I don't know about yours, but I inhale it through my mouth, to go into my lungs. I have no idea why it would help my nasal passages. But it does seem to.