Dr. Krakow, salesman extraordinaire? UPDATED

[SleepingUgly]

sleepy blimp, are you a patient of Dr. Krakow's?

[sleepy blimp]

no. why? i just found this forum because i wanted to cure my aerophagia.

[rocklin]

.

What do you mean by this?

(and since when does a husband use his wife's middle initial?!)

It seems that Ronnie B. Harmon and her partner in crime (ha ha), Richard Rosner, are well established and accepted in mainstream literature.

Pick up the phone and call the dude.

2126279217

PM first, K?

.

[rocklin]

.

As Donald Rumsfeld used to say:

Oh . . .

At least we now have an explanation about why he hasn’t been permanently institutionalized – his wife has “connections” to keep him out on the street.

My . . .

Since she & Rosner have an interest in “correctional psychiatry”, I can’t help but wonder if this is how Rocklin and his wife met?

Goodness.

(Maybe he’s the ultimate in “pet” projects for her to study? Talk about bringing your work home with you – sheesh!)

It's like you can see right through me, sir



.

[rocklin]

Columbia was a bust.

Mixed messages, crossed wires and I'll have to try them again later this week.

NYU is next, should be easier.

________________________________________________________________________________________

1. This thread has been great fun, and

2. I've loved and enjoyed all the diversions, but

3. it's time I refocused and split this thread into an updated sequel:

________________________________________________________________________________________


Dr. Krakow: He's back—and this time it's personal.

.

[deltadave]

My doc found that i had bubbles coming out the other end (sorry if I offended you).

Hey!

There'll be none of that here!

This is a

[deltadave]

The total number of variables is probably in the 4-6 range anyway (sleep stage, body position, xPAP mode, pressure, acclimatization period, unknown knowns (like of pile of heretofore undisclosed assorted pharmaceuticals) and unknown unknowns (like LA is in the ocean (or deserves to be) and Maimonides is on top of a mountain. That could create a significant first night confound).

How To Qualify For ASV

OMG.

What a BF surprise.

[ignorant1]

WOW! Too bad I can’t access the full article, but now we know about the correlation; a significant “cause & effect” has been identified.

I could add fuel to the fire by pointing out that the study was of people *living* at those altitudes. I can’t help but wonder what happens when a patient undergoes a PSG after travelling to a higher altitude, i.e., a patient that is not fully acclimated to the high altitude conditions.

On the other hand, this does not necessarily vilify Dr. K. In fact, one could postulate that Dr. K is legitimately seeing a valid need to put a significant number of patients on BiLevel or ASV; a valid conclusion to the testing process.

So now that we have this information, does that mean that insurance & medicare will pay to relocate compSA patients to beach communities? (Or maybe Death Valley in California since it’s below sea level?)

Good find Dave!

[deltadave]

So now that we have this information, does that mean that insurance & medicare will pay to relocate compSA patients to beach communities? (Or maybe Death Valley in California since it’s below sea level?)

If the patients were flatlanders who "suddenly" developed CompSAS when they went to Maimonides, I'd say it's more likely that the insurers are going to want their ASV back.

[rocklin]

Man! The cat claws are out tonight. Me Ow!

[rocklin]

.

There's only one way to settle this: a cage match between Double D and Docks-Ter K.

A full-on WWF style wrestling match: both men must wear a full face mask and be tethered up to an ASV (battery powered, they can wear it on a back-pack).

Dave's Freestyle (Don't Be Hatin' on my Titratin') Protocol vs Dr. K's Devastatin'-Escalatin' Ladder of Failure (C, V, Bi and Beyond).

.

[jnk]

What a coinkie-dink! This text, of an e-mail sent from the front lines of the CPAP battle, was just released by Wikileaks:

I have filed a patent for a sleep lab built into a non-pressurized cargo plane.

I'll let you know how high we have to fly in order to get every patient qualified for ASV.

[rocklin]

.

(Huh? Could've sworn I pressed submit on this one. Damn Ambien.)

Clearly, we need to have a cage match between DD and DK.

Both men strapped to portables ASV.

In this corner, weighing in at at 147 pounds, out of GeeTee, CeeTee, is R Pee Tee, Dee Dee, with with his (Don't be Hatin' on my Titratin') Freestyle Protocol!!

In the other corner, weighing in at 160 pounds, out of Allllllllllllllllbah Quirky New Mex i cooo, with his Upscaling, Never Failin', Let Me Set You Free, with an ASVeeeee, the Doctor is IN the House, Bee Kayyy!!!

tickets at ticketron

.

[rocklin]

.

UPDATE:

As of this point, with some sadness, I must report that Dr. Krakow's lab is refusing to supply the recent study he conducted, a study that presumably proves the efficacy of his ASV protocol.

In an email that I just received, they claim that they can't release it because it hasn't been accepted for publication yet.

Actually, while technically accurate, this stand may be slightly disingenuous on their part.

Their paper was submitted to, and rejected by, two industry standard journals, one of them called "Chest". I forget the name of the other publication.

.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
.

My treating physicians in New York are Dr. Steven Lund and Dr. Joseph Ghassibi of the Sleep Disorders Institute.

They are hospital affiliated, fully-published researchers, with a history of conducting clinical trials.

http://www.sleepny.com/DrLund
http://www.sleepny.com/DrGhassibi
http://www.sleepny.com/OurTeam
http://espanol.sleepny.com/AboutUs

.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
.

Dr. Ghassibi has told me that Chest accepts a broad range of papers for publication, as long as they meet Chest's basic criteria for publication.

Thus, Krakow presents patients and their treating physicians with what seems to me as a catch 22:

As of this writing, he won't release scientific proof that his protocol is valid until his paper is accepted for publication . . .

And, so far . . . publications are rejecting his paper.

.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
.

He is however, accepting $500 an hour initial consultations conducted via Skype, an internet video-conferencing company.

He was also offering to conduct a "telemedicine" session with me, having me stay the night at my sleep lab in NYC, while he and his staff control the titration in real-time from his sleep lab in New Mexico. (edit: he may/or may not continue to offer that service)

The quoted fee for this session would run an additional $1500 (added to SDI's charge of $1375 for using their facility and staff for the night). I don't know what his follow-up charges would be.

.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
.

And, as I have emphasized time and time again, despite his written protestations in this thread, unlike, say, Dr. Ghassabi and SDI, Dr. Krakow will not accept what your insurance pays as payment in full.

You are liable for the full bill.

That is his choice to make as a businessman.

But, imho, he should stop dancing around this issue with deceptive language.

He simply does not "accept all insurance", as that phrase would be commonly interpreted by prospective patients.

But, for me, money is not the real issue.

.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
.

I know that Dr. Krakow and his lab have received some excellent reviews from some members of CPAPtalk.

That is a good start, and such anecdotal reports are valuable in the beginning.

But, Dr, Krakow has been promoting his protocol for some years now.

If his protocol works, and his therapy can help patients in need of help, then, he should make the proof that it works available to treating physicians.

In the end, the doctors at SDI (and other sleep labs) need proof that the medicine they are practicing has a scientific basis.

.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
.

In my opinion, the time for catch 22 excuses on his part is well past.

Dr. Krakow, clinician, or salesman extraordinaire?

I'd be interested in hearing some feedback from my fellow members at CPAPtalk.

.

[SleepingUgly]

He was also offering to conduct a "telemedicine" session with me, having me stay the night at my sleep lab in NYC, while he and his staff control the titration in real-time from his sleep lab in New Mexico.

How is that even POSSIBLE? First of all, how can he control the equipment in a lab in another state? Secondly, what lab would be willing to assume the liability of having an outside doctor do in their lab what you claim (probably accurately) is unsubstantiated and outside standard practice? I'm not saying that what he does doesn't work for some people, but if it's not accepted practice, I don't see how, or why, another lab would be willing to do it.

Some doctors are practitioners and some doctors are researchers, and some are both. Some practitioners have little interest in conducting and publishing research, and for many practitioners in private practice, doing research is much more difficult than it is in a university setting. They are content to do what they do, earn the living they earn, and disseminating their knowledge is not a high priority. Now you say he's tried to publish his findings, so he's making some effort in that domain. I assume he can't much help that it hasn't been accepted for publication. Do you have any idea what the content of the article is, even in terms of topic? (e.g., ASV as a treatment for insomnia, ASV as a treatment for OSA in the absence of central sleep apnea, ??)