Doctor referral

[tarzan]

I'm just wondering how many people are having the same frustrations as I am with regard to exactly who to consult and who to deal with regarding my CPAP issues. This whole thing started about a year and a half ago when I consulted my general practitioner about possible cures for snoring, and wanting to find out if I had sleep apnea. He then set the wheels in motion for me to have a sleep study done, which was then sent back to him for his approval of CPAP for me.

During my entire CPAP experience, NOT ONCE have I ever met or spoken with an actual CPAP or sleep specialist DOCTOR. Everything is done through my PCP, who doesn't know JACK SQUAT about sleep apnea. So in trying to address my CPAP issues, I've been going through a combination of:
1...talking to all of you here on this message board,
2...talking to people at Advanced Respiratory Therapy, who often don't have the answers,
3...talking to an ENT, who performed a septoplasty on me, which still didn't solve my CPAP problem (bloated eyes) and most recently,
4...setting up an appointment with an ophthalmologist to talk about another possible procedure that some here have suggested, of "sealing the tear duct" or something like that.

Between the PCP, ENT, and OPT, NONE of those guys are experts in Sleep apnea or CPAP, but what else can I do if I can't see a sleep doctor who IS an expert on it? Why the hell does this have to be so complicated? Why can't I just see a sleep specialist and get all my answers from him/her?

[Slinky]

You have encountered one of the main problems w/in the sleep profession. These doggone prima donna "sleep professinals" who cant' be "bothered" lowering themselves to conversing w/the "lowly" patient.

Personally, I refuse to utilize a sleep lab wherein I do not see or have access to the sleep DOCTOR.

On the other hand, if you educate yourself well in this forum, it can be handy to have a PCP who doesn't understand sleep therapy IF you have a good relationship w/him or her and he/she has some confidence that you've done your homework and can produce some solid evidence to support what you want.

AND, unfortunately, ANY MD or DO can become a "sleep specialist" w/not a whole lot of training. With more public and medical profession awareness of sleep apnea it is fast becoming a "cash cow" for some. Especially when they can just sit back and dictate a report of the results of the sleep study or titration results and make some recommendations to the referring doctor.

How about the evaluation report for a 5'4", 64 year old woman weighing 112 lbs stating she should lose weight? Obviously, THAT sleep "doctor" didn't even bother to read the patient's history!!

If you are lucky there is an A.W.A.K.E. or local apnea support group w/in reasonable distance. Word of mouth is probably your best chance of finding a decent sleep specialist.

[mch441]

i will only talk to my ent specialist dr Hammer ,when i scheduled my sleep study they tried to make me see the sleep doctor and i refused to see him beings it was the same guy that i had been to almost 10 years ago and i felt that he had treated me like a piece of garbage back then and i was pretty sure that it would be the same now .dr hammer is great he did my uppp surgery 5 years ago ,hes cleared up chronic ear infections that ive had since i was a baby,my alergies finally seem to be under control and my wife is actually able to sleep in the same bed as me without earplugs