Did you see a Sleep Doc?

REM · Post by **REM** » Thu Jun 30, 2005 10:30 am

Hello,

I am interested in how many of you actually consulted with a sleep doc about your apnea. It seems there are some people who go to the sleep lab and never see a sleep doc, and then suddenly get a call from the DME stating they have a prescription for your CPAP.

There are others who are fully in the know about their apnea condition. One goes to the sleep doc for consultation and then has the study done. A day or so later you get a call stating it is time to get a CPAP. You expected the call because the doc told you that if your were diagnosed with OSA CPAP would be ordered.

Has anyone received a CPAP without going through a sleep study?

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu Jun 30, 2005 4:18 pm

I've never seen the sleep doc.
After my first sleep study, I got a call from GP stating that I have OSA.
They were wondering how my CPAP was working. I'd not had the second sleep study yet. I'd not been informed of the results

I spent the month of May getting the two sleep studies done.
The month of June getting the prescription and the study results.
Just last weekend I got the equipment. Sent me a petite mask. I'm not petite. It's blow to my my male ego to think I'm petite.

I've not been successful getting the GP and the sleep Dr. to talk to me.
The sleep study was done the friday before Memorial Day. Sleep Dr. went on a two week vacation. Called their office and they said my results had been sent to the DME. After three weeks of trying they finally sent me a copy of the prescription. Dated the day they faxed it to me and not three weeks earlier as stated earlier by them. Then I find out that the DME they sent the info to isn't on my insurance. Once I gave the correct DME the information, I had my equipment in 5 days, including the weekend.

BTW - OSA is not in the SpellCheck dictionary.

rested gal · Post by **rested gal** » Thu Jun 30, 2005 4:28 pm

Has anyone received a CPAP without going through a sleep study?

Yes. But the way I chose to go about it is somewhat unusual:

Jan 25, 2005 Subject: not diagnosed yet, many ? brand new here

I still have never seen a sleep doctor or had a sleep study. I use my machine for every sleeping moment, including naps.

The message boards are lifesavers, imho.

IWannaSleep · Post by **IWannaSleep** » Thu Jun 30, 2005 7:00 pm

I consulted with 2 sleep doctors and worked with a couple technicians. I never met with a DME.

Ron

bigheadr · Post by **bigheadr** » Thu Jun 30, 2005 7:55 pm

I have never seen a sleep doctor, only a nurse practicener that is trained in sleep. I went through the initial sleep study and the following titration study at the sleep clinic.

RED SOX · Post by **RED SOX** » Fri Jul 01, 2005 1:30 am

I first saw my primary care doctor, he set up a sleep study at a place here in Massachusetts (sleep health centers) that specialize in sleep disorders.
I had to do two sleep studys with them (initial then titration w/cpap)
those two beautys cost my insurance 2k each !

Then I had to meet with the sleep doc and she explained the sleep study
results and set me up with an appt. with the resp. therapist.
the resp. therapist set me up with the cpap, (no dme's) after one week
I had to go back to the sleep center to show I was actually using the machine, then after one month back to the resp. therapist to show
I was still using the machine, Then to the sleep doc for a feel good session.
more appt's and more appt's (and i'm not having any problems)

I'm not complaining about the sleep center though, they were all good people, the sleep study rooms are probably the best you could ask for.

One thing that did bother me though was when I asked the resp. therpist
why they didn't issue me a cpap with smartcard technology she stated
"we don't use those types of machine here".

well then isn't that kind of like giving someone blood pressure medication
and never taking thier blood pressure ever again ?

So to take a page out of rested gal's book, I decided to pick up a cpap
with smartcard from the used market, got a really great machine for a
really great price. I learned on the net how to adjust the pressure to my exact need and soon I will be downloading my own information on events
I may still be having.

The machine I got at the sleep center is brand new and works great, But like so many here have learned you have to be very proactive with your sleep apnea treatment because they will give you what they want to give
you, And tell you what they want you to know.

rested gal · Post by **rested gal** » Fri Jul 01, 2005 7:20 am

WTG, REDSOX!

One thing that did bother me though was when I asked the resp. therpist why they didn't issue me a cpap with smartcard technology she stated "we don't use those types of machine here".

Reminds me of what I heard a therapist say:

Feb 19, 2005 subject: "Sleep Doctor" doesn't like autopaps

4Katie · Post by **4Katie** » Fri Jul 01, 2005 8:25 am

My experience is similar to RED SOX's - My GP ordered the sleep study; I went; he called with the diagnosis of OSA; I did another sleep study for titration; I went to the DME for the equipment.

No sleep doctor, no mention of follow-up. I had to ask just to get the results of the sleep studies.

Quite frankly, I'm okay with all of it. I'm getting the information I need here, so I figure I can look out for myself. If I need help, then I'll call my GP or DME.

tlc95066 · Post by **tlc95066** » Fri Jul 01, 2005 11:01 am

I have seen my sleep doc several times and will continue to on an as needed basis. He has been a very helpful, my last visit i asked him about the pillar procedure. He said that he has not seen anything that indicates that this is a cure for apnea, but he was going to a medical conferance and would see what other information he could find.

I also have full access to the respitory therapist at his office, she calls herself my "coach" and she has apnea also. I have never met with a DME and hope that I will not need to.

Good luck!
TLC

bikernc · Post by **bikernc** » Fri Jul 01, 2005 11:32 am

I have seen the sleep doc several times since being evaluated. (His primary interest was originally neurology). I have had to push a little with the techies for things but overall the Doc hass been great. Do not use a DME all is in house at the Sleep center.
I have had one sleep study to date.

RED SOX · Post by **RED SOX** » Fri Jul 01, 2005 1:08 pm

Rested gal : That is a great post, Maybe some of these folks just should say, " well you see our profit margin just wasn't high enough on the smartcard technology so we didn't go that route" and If we give you a machine that allows you to see events we would have a hard time billing your insurance company for 2 grand every six months for an uneeded
sleep study"

ballast949 · Post by **ballast949** » Fri Jul 01, 2005 1:38 pm

[quote="4Katie"]My experience is similar to RED SOX's - My GP ordered the sleep study; I went; he called with the diagnosis of OSA; I did another sleep study for titration; I went to the DME for the equipment.

No sleep doctor, no mention of follow-up. I had to ask just to get the results of the sleep studies.

Quite frankly, I'm okay with all of it. I'm getting the information I need here, so I figure I can look out for myself. If I need help, then I'll call my GP or DME.

ehusen · Post by **ehusen** » Fri Jul 01, 2005 1:40 pm

Sleep Doc? What's that? Seriously I just had a sleep study as a result of a referral from my GP. The report from that went back to my doctor who wrote the prescription and off I went to pick up my machine.

Heck, I don't even know what DME stands for but I assume that is where I got my machine from.I went in, they put a mask on me, tested the APAP, and sent me home.

I seem to be wearing the thing okay. Didn't really need any extra help with it.

snowdog · Post by **snowdog** » Fri Jul 01, 2005 6:57 pm

I don't know if you'd call her a sleep doc but I had to visit a neurologist before I was ok'd for my first sleep study. She spent about 45 minutes poking and proding and asking questions. At the end she thought I should be checked for Apnea. Well, duh, that's what I told her when I first walked in the darn door.

A couple of weeks after the study I got a call from her office telling me some of the numbers, tested for eight hours, slept for five of those hours, 119 events, 30 minutes of R.E.M. sleep, etc. We set up my second test. A couple weeks after that one her office called again telling me basically to expect a call from the DME.

I haven't seen the doc since the initial consultation but she's supposed to be the one that read the results from the studies.

ahujudybear · Post by **ahujudybear** » Fri Jul 01, 2005 7:17 pm

Mine is a confused mess!

My Polio Dr. ordered the first sleep study done. There was no follow-up until i saw him 4 months later and he set up an appointment with the sleep doc.

In the mean time, my new GP got copies of the sleep study & asked how the supplemental O2 was working (<<LOL> I wasn't getting any O2) and ordered a PFT when I asked for blood pressure Rx. The PFT was done with a different medical HCP. This pulmonologist obtained copies of the sleep study, asked how the supplemental O2 was working (<ROFL>> still no O2 therapy )did a follow up PFT and ordered the BiPAP. The BiPAP was delivered (actually three different ones for me to try), settings adjusted and monitored by an RT who works for the DME provider.

When I finally got to see the sleep doc, he was surprised to learn that I was now using a BiPAP that had been ordered by a different HCP, but he ordered a sleep study that would test for blood gasses. This never happened because the company doing the sleep studies did not have a phlebotomist on their staff, so it became a titration study, followed by an MSLT the next day. After a follow-up visit to the sleep doc he again ordered the ABG study, but it would be done in the Pulmonary lab (I found out later).

The ABG study was muffed and I have been calling the sleep doc and finally was told to contact this HCP's pulmonologist about it.

In the mean time, my DME has provided me with a very fine BiPAP, three masks (one free!) and basically anything I need for this to be a success.

Now the second pulmonologist has ordered a sleep study with CO2 monitoring, to be done with my own BiPAP, on the chance that the settings can be further refined.

So I have seen my polio Doc, Sleep Doc (& a neurologist), visited the sleep lab and now a second pulmonologist at Froedtert;
a GP, pulmonologist, an RT and the PFT labs at Aurora;
the RT for a DME connected with Aurora;
and now an RT with Covenant for my upcoming surgery.

Whew!

- JB

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CPAPopedia Keywords Contained In This Post (Click For Definition): bipap, Titration, DME

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CPAPopedia Keywords Contained In This Post (Click For Definition): bipap, Titration, DME