What is with these doctors? Is breathng important or not?

[noSLEEPforYOU]

I have been fortunate not to have to deal with doctors too much in my life. I am getting really pissed off at this whole situation. My first sleep study was on December 1. I was told results would be ready in two weeks. That seemed ridiculous at the time but I figured that was just to give them plenty of time. I received the results after two weeks and was told that I have severe sleep apnea and that I needed to have another test. The earliest appointment was December 30th they were not able to treat me so another appointment on Jan 7th.
They were finally able to treat me, the doctor sent the prescription out to a medical supply place and now I have to wait until next week to make an appointment for them to bring machine out and show me how to use it.
I am sure glad breathing or sleeping isn't important, I can't imagine how long it would take if I had a real problem.
Somehow I figured that if you have a problem they would bring a machine out that day and worry about fine tuning after that.

[cowlypso]

It's definitely frustrating, but your timeline is pretty much typical. First sleep study, then 2-3 weeks to get the results. Then schedule the next sleep study, but the earliest appointment is 3-4 weeks out. Another 2-3 weeks to get the results and the prescription. Then another week or so to get an appointment with the DME.

I guess on the one hand OSA is serious and could kill you, but on the other hand it's a very slow death. For most people, going another month after diagnosis without treatment is not going to kill them (compared to a person diagnosed with type I diabetes, who is often immediately hospitalized for treatment because their condition is immediately life-threatening).

[MaxDarkside]

Heh... I hear ya.

Sept 8, 2011: Sleep study prescribed
Sept 29: Sleep study done (3 weeks wait)
Oct 25: Sleep study reviewed with Dr. (about a month delay)
Nov 14: S9 Autoset received (about another month delay)

It took me months to get treatment from asking for a sleep study to getting a machine. In the meantime I was going downhill fast, having "brain farts" where I didn't know who I was, where I was, or why I was there.

[MaxDarkside]

I guess on the one hand OSA is serious and could kill you, but on the other hand it's a very slow death.

Unless you are on the end of that slowness... I died. Luckily I self revived. I've gone up and looked to the "other side", but all you can see is whiteness. Poop. I wanted to know what's next. I can tell you that you are wrapped in the infinite warmth and loving embrace of God. It's rather nice, no, it's MOST EXCELLENT.

[billbolton]

I am sure glad breathing or sleeping isn't important....

Severe sleep apnea doesn't just happen overnight... you must have been suffering from it for quite a while. How long did it take you to get to the point of initiating whatever eventually caused you to have a sleep study

[MaxDarkside]

How long did it take you to get to the point of initiating whatever eventually caused you to have a sleep study

LOL! You have a good point! It took me, personally, oh, I don't know, maybe a decade or two. Better yet, I had to die first, then go ask for a study LOL

[RocketGirl]

From initial consult to bringing my machine home took 11 weeks for me. The biggest time chunk was waiting for the initial sleep study. From the titration to getting my machine was under two weeks. I'd have liked it to be faster because I lost a lot of work in that time, but it sounds like my experience was fairly usual.

Max, it absolutely boggles my mind that they took that much time to get you your machine, considering what had just happened to you. There really, really ought to be a way to speed the process up in urgent cases (and I do think that dying even temporarily definitely constitutes an urgent case)!

Why oh why isn't it a standard best practice to issue immediate loaner machines once the study results are in, when there are obvious urgent circumstances?

[noSLEEPforYOU]

I am sure glad breathing or sleeping isn't important....

Severe sleep apnea doesn't just happen overnight... you must have been suffering from it for quite a while. How long did it take you to get to the point of initiating whatever eventually caused you to have a sleep study

I feel like all I do is rant. I just want to get back to living. For the last 5 years I complained to the doctor that I feel like doo doo. He said that I was getting older. I was racing in biathlons at the time. I told him that I would sleep for twelve hours and be able to go back to sleep, he said that I was overdoing it and need to slow down. I went from yearly physicals for my CDL license to being a hypochondriac that frequents the doctors office. I complained about every sleep apnea symptom and the last problem that really pissed me off was my memory. I was so pissed off at his responses that I started to do my own research. That was not a good thing as I actually convinced myself that I must have Alzheimer's I couldn't think or concentrate. I told the doctor who said it's not that uncommon and there wasn't anything they could do. I never thought about sleep apnea as I am not overweight. Then I started to fill in the blanks and told the doctor to order a sleep study. He actually told me that it was a waste of time, because I couldn't have it.
I haven't been back to that doctor, I am looking for a new one.

[RocketGirl]

I feel like all I do is rant. I just want to get back to living. For the last 5 years I complained to the doctor that I feel like doo doo. He said that I was getting older...

From reading here I think a lot of us had somewhat similar stories. I know I certainly did, for close to two decades, and got pretty much the same answers that you got. I had to really lean hard on my doctor to finally get a referral for a sleep study.

I am strongly considering changing PCPs too. I really like my doctor, but this is not the only thing he's missed so I'm thinking I need to move on. It's a pity that finding a good doctor is so drattedly difficult.

[MaxDarkside]

Max, it absolutely boggles my mind that they took that much time to get you your machine, considering what had just happened to you. There really, really ought to be a way to speed the process up in urgent cases (and I do think that dying even temporarily definitely constitutes an urgent case)!

Well, the internal med Dr. that ordered the study was oblivious to what was going on and the Neurologist / Sleep study Dr. was making a lot of faces and was upset that I didn't get in to get my machine right away. I sense he probably chewed someone out. It all worked out in the end, tho still feeling flutters from time to time each day. I might ask for a holter monitor to make sure they are relatively benign atrial fibrillations.

[Drowsy Dancer]

I self-diagnosed on 12/26/2010 and put my first machine by my bedside on 2/17/2011 (after a "split study"), but I am extremely aggressive about this sort of thing. And I think I was lucky.

[Kitatonic]

My experience was completely different than this, thanks to a doctor (& the doctor's spouse) who both had OSA. My husband had the machine within two weeks of his initial study and I had mine the next day as my OSA was so severe with CPAP started during the evaluation study.
We're insured by a HMO, so they, like Kaiser, recognize that aggressively treating OSA saves them money. Perhaps, more likely any doctor who actually has the disease has a more patient-oriented practice.

[ems]

I got lucky also. A 40 something year old doctor suggested I have a sleep study -- not the older doctor I saw before her or the one before that. I think the younger doctors are more apt to pick it up. She also ordered the machine I'm using. I wouldn't have known one from another at the time. Also, I got the results of the sleep study and my machine in around a week. It's all who you know. Only joking... I didn't know anyone, just got lucky I guess.

[ems]

I have been fortunate not to have to deal with doctors too much in my life. I am getting really pissed off at this whole situation. My first sleep study was on December 1. I was told results would be ready in two weeks. That seemed ridiculous at the time but I figured that was just to give them plenty of time. I received the results after two weeks and was told that I have severe sleep apnea and that I needed to have another test. The earliest appointment was December 30th they were not able to treat me so another appointment on Jan 7th.
They were finally able to treat me, the doctor sent the prescription out to a medical supply place and now I have to wait until next week to make an appointment for them to bring machine out and show me how to use it.
I am sure glad breathing or sleeping isn't important, I can't imagine how long it would take if I had a real problem.
Somehow I figured that if you have a problem they would bring a machine out that day and worry about fine tuning after that.

I would call them on Monday (maybe even tomorrow - many are open on Saturday) morning, early! Tell them either you get a machine within 24 hours or you are calling another DME. Did you get a copy of the script? Do you know what machine you are getting? Did you do a search here so that you won't end up with a brick??

[cindjo717]

I will be 50 in July and have snored since as far back as I can remember. I am pretty certain that I have had this condition for at least 2 decades ( probably longer). They really did not know much about this years ago and if it wasn't for my husband really getting on my case about my snoring I don't know if I would be using a cpap today. I think that due to Menopause my apnea condition has gotten much worse, I never felt so awful as I had been before cpap, for at least one year. It got really bad, I was having a very hard time functioning, my memory was so bad, I thought I had ADD.