Sleep doctor trying to kill me? LOL

[EricinNC]

That title got your attention huh? LOL

Today I get a call from a sleep lab and find out my "sleep doc" ordered a split night sleep study. But I found out what a "split night" study is after talking to the RT. My sleep doc wants to have me sleep two hours OFF my machine, according to the RT to "re-document my OSA for insurance reasons." LOL

Does that sound like bs or what?

This is after a long, long history of OSA going all the way back to 2000. And my weight has not changed and I have increased my klonopin dose since my last sleep study in early 2009. This guy wants me to sleep without my gear for two hours...I could not believe it. I told the RT...she is a very nice girl btw that "there is no way I am comfortable doing that" and want to sleep the whole night on gear. She was totally cool about it and said she would tell my sleep doc that. She actually sounded relieved to be honest.

So I call his office and leave a message on one of his assistants voice mails saying "I aint playing these insurance games anymore. And that my OSA is already well documented at multiple places going all the way back to 2000." And that I am not comfortable AT ALL sleeping two hours off my gear. Im already in enough discomfort as it is lately. The last sleep doc I saw wanted my pressure increased.

Does this doctor sound dangerous? Is this standard for split night studies? When I heard the RT today tell me what he wanted to do, I about double blinked and was like "HUH?!?" LOL

Eric

[Wulfman]

That title got your attention huh? LOL

Today I get a call from a sleep lab and find out my "sleep doc" ordered a split night sleep study. But I found out what a "split night" study is after talking to the RT. My sleep doc wants to have me sleep two hours OFF my machine, according to the RT to "re-document my OSA for insurance reasons." LOL

Does that sound like bs or what?

This is after a long, long history of OSA going all the way back to 2000. And my weight has not changed and I have increased my klonopin dose since my last sleep study in early 2009. This guy wants me to sleep without my gear for two hours...I could not believe it. I told the RT...she is a very nice girl btw that "there is no way I am comfortable doing that" and want to sleep the whole night on gear. She was totally cool about it and said she would tell my sleep doc that. She actually sounded relieved to be honest.

So I call his office and leave a message on one of his assistants voice mails saying "I aint playing these insurance games anymore. And that my OSA is already well documented at multiple places going all the way back to 2000." And that I am not comfortable AT ALL sleeping two hours off my gear. Im already in enough discomfort as it is lately. The last sleep doc I saw wanted my pressure increased.

Does this doctor sound dangerous? Is this standard for split night studies? When I heard the RT today tell me what he wanted to do, I about double blinked and was like "HUH?!?" LOL

Eric

Maybe you need to fill in the blanks here.
Let's see if I have this straight.......
You've been using XPAP since 2000?
You had your last sleep study in 2009?
You have a ResMed S9 APAP?
You have the ResScan software to monitor your therapy?

And, now they want you to do another sleep study?



The night they diagnosed me, I had a "split study". In my opinion, it's cheaper and easier than dragging it out over two nights. But, in your situation.......if all of those previously listed items are true.......why would you need another sleep study.......other than to put money in somebody else's pockets?


Den

[Slinky]

When I went in for a sleep study w/the idea of the possible/likely need for a bi-level as I was "failing" CPAP therapy, the order was for me to start the night on room air (I have COPD and was on 02 supplementation w/my CPAP), 02 supplementation was to be added if indicated and then PAP added as warranted. And that was NOT what I was led to understand would be the procedure. A couple of phone calls by the tech to the sleep lab manager and the sleep doctor were necessary as I made it clear I was NOT agreeable and would leave.

It is ASININE to have ANY expectation of getting a decent titration w/that many disturbances IF I was even able to sleep at all! Of course, the tech wouldn't have to wake me to add the 02 supplementation .... as much problem as I was having w/titrations no way in h*ll had I agreed to, nor was I agreeing to, a split-night study.

[chunkyfrog]

My husband and I are creating a 'paper trail' to document our effective pressures, events, etc.
Any data we bring in to the sleep doc gets put in the file.
If there is any way to avoid an unnecessary sleep study, the doc will have it.
The best we can do is cover all we can and hope for the best.
Of course the insurance companies pay good money for 'experts' to think of new ways to be stupid.

[EricinNC]

That title got your attention huh? LOL

Today I get a call from a sleep lab and find out my "sleep doc" ordered a split night sleep study. But I found out what a "split night" study is after talking to the RT. My sleep doc wants to have me sleep two hours OFF my machine, according to the RT to "re-document my OSA for insurance reasons." LOL

Does that sound like bs or what?

This is after a long, long history of OSA going all the way back to 2000. And my weight has not changed and I have increased my klonopin dose since my last sleep study in early 2009. This guy wants me to sleep without my gear for two hours...I could not believe it. I told the RT...she is a very nice girl btw that "there is no way I am comfortable doing that" and want to sleep the whole night on gear. She was totally cool about it and said she would tell my sleep doc that. She actually sounded relieved to be honest.

So I call his office and leave a message on one of his assistants voice mails saying "I aint playing these insurance games anymore. And that my OSA is already well documented at multiple places going all the way back to 2000." And that I am not comfortable AT ALL sleeping two hours off my gear. Im already in enough discomfort as it is lately. The last sleep doc I saw wanted my pressure increased.

Does this doctor sound dangerous? Is this standard for split night studies? When I heard the RT today tell me what he wanted to do, I about double blinked and was like "HUH?!?" LOL

Eric

Maybe you need to fill in the blanks here.
Let's see if I have this straight.......
You've been using XPAP since 2000?
You had your last sleep study in 2009?
You have a ResMed S9 APAP?
You have the ResScan software to monitor your therapy?

And, now they want you to do another sleep study?



The night they diagnosed me, I had a "split study". In my opinion, it's cheaper and easier than dragging it out over two nights. But, in your situation.......if all of those previously listed items are true.......why would you need another sleep study.......other than to put money in somebody else's pockets?


Den

I was diagnosed with OSA in 2000. But not put on CPAP until 2007. I went seven years (at least) totally untreated because of insurance refusal to pay for titration study and CPAP gear. I am in NC you need to remember and things here are not as "up to par" as many other areas of the country.

yeah last study was in real early 2009

And yeah I have the Resmed S9 APAP and it does not work like my old S8 APAP. I have fallen apart since switching to the S9 and that is WHY I am having another sleep study. I want the sleep study. What blew me away today was when I found out my sleep doc wanted me to sleep two full hours OFF my gear, that just shocked the hell out of me. I mean, that is freaking dangerous to begin with, painful at the minimum. I feel awful if I dont use my gear.

I have the Resscan software but the sleep doc I am using, he is not up on that and does not put any stock in the software, particularly if a patient is using it. His attitude is I am not a formally trained RT or sleep medicine professional, hence my "knowledge" means squat to him. He only puts stock in a sleep study and what the RTs tell him.

Needless to say I am not going two hours off my gear like he wanted, I dont know what he wanted me to do that for. The RT said it was for "redocumentation of OSA." LOL I was like "WTF?"

Eric

[EricinNC]

When I went in for a sleep study w/the idea of the possible/likely need for a bi-level as I was "failing" CPAP therapy, the order was for me to start the night on room air (I have COPD and was on 02 supplementation w/my CPAP), 02 supplementation was to be added if indicated and then PAP added as warranted. And that was NOT what I was led to understand would be the procedure. A couple of phone calls by the tech to the sleep lab manager and the sleep doctor were necessary as I made it clear I was NOT agreeable and would leave.

It is ASININE to have ANY expectation of getting a decent titration w/that many disturbances IF I was even able to sleep at all! Of course, the tech wouldn't have to wake me to add the 02 supplementation .... as much problem as I was having w/titrations no way in h*ll had I agreed to, nor was I agreeing to, a split-night study.

yeah, the sleep tech I talked to today is a nice girl and she told me she would tell my doc I dont want to do that and put a note in my records with them that its gonna be a regular titration all night long. But...if I get there and they dont want me to use my gear for two hours, Im leaving.

Eric

[EricinNC]

My husband and I are creating a 'paper trail' to document our effective pressures, events, etc.
Any data we bring in to the sleep doc gets put in the file.
If there is any way to avoid an unnecessary sleep study, the doc will have it.
The best we can do is cover all we can and hope for the best.
Of course the insurance companies pay good money for 'experts' to think of new ways to be stupid.

Ive got copies of all my sleep studies, all my home oxygen studies, Resscan downloads are saved on my PC. Its documented back to 2000 that I have OSA and no doctor is gonna get me "redocumented as having OSA for insurance reasons" by sleeping two hours off my gear. I have dealt with this sort of crap since the beginning with sleep apnea and its why I have the attitude about it that I have...just endless bs. I finally decided to start paying for stuff out of pocket because I figured out a lot of the CRAP was coming from my managed care health insurance plans I have had and have now. Seems like the insurance just micromanages everything and they dont wanna pay for anything. Remember I am in NC and its an extremely conservative state here, its not like the North or the West Coast or other places where you have some consumer protection. Here you is ON YOUR OWN BUDDY, its old school. Dog eat dog and nobody gives a crap.

Eric

[EricinNC]

Im wondering if that sleep doc realizes if by a small chance I had a stroke or heart attack in my sleep during that two hours off my gear, he'd be responsible for my death? Because I never sleep without my gear since I got it.

I know the odds of that happening are very low, but considering I have no lost a lot of weight and have doubled my klonopin (muscle relaxant) dosage since my last sleep study, I dont think he has any precedent to ask me to sleep two hours off my gear.



LOL

Eric

[nobodyelse]

Do you have your cpap prescription?

[roster]

Remember I am in NC and its an extremely conservative state here, its not like the North or the West Coast or other places where you have some consumer protection. Here you is ON YOUR OWN BUDDY, its old school. Dog eat dog and nobody gives a crap.

Eric

Eric,

From your posts you sound like a big boy fully capable of being in charge of your own health care. Now are you whining about needing a nanny government and a bunch of government bureaucrats to take care of you???

Those bureaucrats in the FDA and in Raleigh are the ones who have already screwed up you and your doctor. The practice of medicine, pharmaceuticals, medical equipment, medical insurance, and DMEs are already the most onerously regulated businesses in the country.

If you ever decide to educate yourself on the effect of regulation on that industry you will find out what the problem is. You might want to start with looking at how Raleigh is in bed with a few big insurance companies - cronies protecting each other, keeping premiums high, options low, and competition out.

Then you could look into how a CPAP machine is regulated so that it can only be sold by prescription by a licensed DME using licensed employees. You might be able to understand how regulation drives up consumer costs, and drives down consumer choice, innovation, and quality.

You could also ask your doctor - if he has any brains he can tell you how regulation is stifling his ability to practice medicine.

Read some posts here for a few weeks. You will see the bad effects of goverment intervention in the market in every State in the Union along with Europe, Australia, Canada, and South Africa.

If you don't believe it, there are trains, boats, planes, buses, moving vans, and limos with open seats and one-way tickets leaving NC to a myriad of places every day.

You can get a cheap ticket because all of those vehicles have mostly in-bound passengers "escaping" the Northeast, the Rust Belt, and the Left Coast.

Happy traveling and good luck with your nanny friends at the DMV when you get a new driver's license in your State of choice.

[qdemn7]

It doesn't sound like BS at all. The same thing just happened to me. And it IS your insurance company not your doctor. I just had another sleep study after 10 years constant use of CPAP. Because my pressure setting is too low, and I'm getting headaches.

My insurer (Cigna) demanded I test without the machine for 2 hours, then the rest of the night on CPAP. I was so nervous, I barely got the required 2 hours off. And I didn't get the required time on CPAP. So....I had to go take ANOTHER sleep study 2 weeks later. Luckily all I had to pay was the co-pay both times. But it still sucked I had to sleep without the machine.

[EricinNC]

Do you have your cpap prescription?

yeah, its around here somewhere

[EricinNC]

Remember I am in NC and its an extremely conservative state here, its not like the North or the West Coast or other places where you have some consumer protection. Here you is ON YOUR OWN BUDDY, its old school. Dog eat dog and nobody gives a crap.

Eric

Eric,

From your posts you sound like a big boy fully capable of being in charge of your own health care. Now are you whining about needing a nanny government and a bunch of government bureaucrats to take care of you???

Those bureaucrats in the FDA and in Raleigh are the ones who have already screwed up you and your doctor. The practice of medicine, pharmaceuticals, medical equipment, medical insurance, and DMEs are already the most onerously regulated businesses in the country.

If you ever decide to educate yourself on the effect of regulation on that industry you will find out what the problem is. You might want to start with looking at how Raleigh is in bed with a few big insurance companies - cronies protecting each other, keeping premiums high, options low, and competition out.

Then you could look into how a CPAP machine is regulated so that it can only be sold by prescription by a licensed DME using licensed employees. You might be able to understand how regulation drives up consumer costs, and drives down consumer choice, innovation, and quality.

You could also ask your doctor - if he has any brains he can tell you how regulation is stifling his ability to practice medicine.

Read some posts here for a few weeks. You will see the bad effects of goverment intervention in the market in every State in the Union along with Europe, Australia, Canada, and South Africa.

If you don't believe it, there are trains, boats, planes, buses, moving vans, and limos with open seats and one-way tickets leaving NC to a myriad of places every day.

You can get a cheap ticket because all of those vehicles have mostly in-bound passengers "escaping" the Northeast, the Rust Belt, and the Left Coast.

Happy traveling and good luck with your nanny friends at the DMV when you get a new driver's license in your State of choice.

Hey man, this is down in your area of Charlotte. I am hardly for a "nanny state" to take care of me. I live on a tobacco farm and was raised far more conservatively than you. Oh if you only knew what my political beliefs really are, I cant print them here. They'd probably make you look like a little girl though.

Look man, its bs and bureaucratic bullshit when your doctor and health insurance want you to go two hours off your gear in a split night to "redocument OSA." After its been documented for years at several sleep labs...several in Charlotte, one at Duke. I am simply refusing to do that.

I will be honest here, I am suspicious of it. I am suspicious my doctor will use that time off my gear to order the RT to say I dont have OSA anymore. And get it "redocumented" I dont have OSA anymore. Things like that happen in medicine and health insurance would be happy if that happened, I am sure. As then they would not have to pay for my gear anymore.

Eric

[EricinNC]

It doesn't sound like BS at all. The same thing just happened to me. And it IS your insurance company not your doctor. I just had another sleep study after 10 years constant use of CPAP. Because my pressure setting is too low, and I'm getting headaches.

My insurer (Cigna) demanded I test without the machine for 2 hours, then the rest of the night on CPAP. I was so nervous, I barely got the required 2 hours off. And I didn't get the required time on CPAP. So....I had to go take ANOTHER sleep study 2 weeks later. Luckily all I had to pay was the co-pay both times. But it still sucked I had to sleep without the machine.

Well I am refusing to go along with it. If I have to pay for the sleep study out of pocket to do it, then thats how it will be. Although I dont think thats gonna happen. But there is no way in hell I am going off my gear for two hours in a sleep study, when its already well documented going back to 2000 I have OSA. And my weight has not dropped significantly and I actually doubled my klonopin dosage in the last two years. If anything my average APAP pressures have gone up, not down.

I refuse to go along with this and consider it dangerous.

Eric

[Slinky]

But, WHAT would your doctor have to gain by getting you off CPAP?? At least if he can keep you qualfied for CPAP he can look foward to the financial benefit of your needing another sleep study in a few years. If he squeezes you off CPAP w/this study its the last buck he's going to make off you and your insurance.