Dual Tests

[chunkyfrog]

We all do what we have to in order to live better by sleeping better.
Sleep is worth a lot; and the folks selling it know that full well.
Many investors look to the big sleep tech companies for their fortunes.
Their numbers are going up. Capitalism. Competition. It is what it is.
--better to light a candle than curse.
I keep coming here; the light is sooo pretty. . .

[montana user]

very true slinky! I do feel bad when I wake people up at 630 am. My last pt. was very upset and asked why she couldnt sleep till 10. I very professionally explained that I get to work at 6pm to prepare the wires, do paperwork, make sure the room is ready, etc. and after the pt. leaves I have another hour of work to clean and organize, and finish typing morning questionnaires. I see both sides, but not many look at our schedule. Not to mention any one who works nights, how hard it is to sleep during the day with all the traffic, and day noise. But I wouldnt change it for the world!

[LoQ]

WHY didn't you go in until 11PM if you COULD have gone in earlier??

I do NOT see the sleep lab to blame here, nor do I see this sleep lab deserving of the comments as if they were just gold diggers trying to make an extra buck.

That's a fair point.

On the other side of the coin, the sleep lab that did my studies COULD be accused of being at fault. I was there by 7 PM for the first study and by 6 PM for the titration study. For the titration study, the tech did not get there until 8 PM. Then he spend over 2 hours setting up his other patient. By the time he got to me, it was well after 10 PM, and once he finished wiring me up, he told me that "you need to hurry up and go to sleep because we are running out of time."

Sometimes sleep labs are irresponsible, too.

[Redsfan35]

Well now, you were going for a sleep study. I would anticipate this to mean that you expected to sleep and were expected to sleep. Since the intention was to evaluate your sleep and determine if you needed CPAP and if you did to find what pressure you needed just how much time did you anticipate you would need to sleep?? WHY didn't you go in until 11PM if you COULD have gone in earlier??

.

They asked me prior to the study what time I generally went to bed. I told them around midnight so they told me to come in by 11:00. Had I known a certain amount of time was needed to do the split/dual study then I would have come in as early as need be. They could have at least gave me this information before the fact as opposed to after the fact.

[kteague]

Hey, if they were unable to get what they needed the 1st visit, the 2nd still should be covered by your insurance. Not sure what your copay is. I know it happens, but I wouldn't jump straight to it being a racket to get your money. You needed to meet certain criteria, it didn't happen, you need to go back. Unless it's gonna cost you a fortune, I'd just go with it - willingly. Don't want to go back and not be able to sleep for steaming about being there. Here's my two cents, I'm not convinced split night studies are in the best interest of the patient. Hopefully a full night will give them oodles of data and time to dial your treatment in to near perfection. Home studies are ok. Even titrating oneself can be done if necessary. But if I had the choice, I want everything available to be had, and that's in the lab. Let us know how this pans out.

Kathy (another Reds fan)

[LoQ]

the 2nd still should be covered by your insurance. Not sure what your copay is.

In fairness to redsfan35, I don't think he ever complained about them trying to get his money, just the insurance money. I applaud his efforts to be careful with the cost to the insurance company. One of the reasons insurance is so costly today is that too many people aren't paying much out of pocket and thus don't care.


I felt like the sleep lab I was dealing with was ripping me off. I'm sure their general way of doing business supposes that most patients don't care, but in my case, my deductible is $2500 and my copay is 30%, so I absolutely DO care. Most of their patients probably are not paying that much. I have an individual policy. When I had insurance at work, I never paid very much for anything. That is what the majority of their patients are like, so patients are not going to complain.

I like it that redsfan35 is scrutinizing.