sleep apnea in the news in Dallas
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sleep apnea in the news in Dallas
Channel 4 news in dallas, Texas, just had a five minute spot on the "For Your Health" portion of their newscast. It gave some of the symptoms and the dangers of sleep apnea and had a man that had suffered multiple heart attacks and was up for a transplant when his doctor ordered a sleep study. It turned out he had apnea and was treated with c-pap and no longer needed a heart transplant. It actually showed the man putting on his Swift (I think it was Swift) headgear. Five minutes isn't much but at least sleep apnea and sleep deprivation is getting some attention on the news. Just thought you people out there would like to know.
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rock and roll
- Posts: 1222
- Joined: Mon Nov 01, 2004 7:30 pm
- Location: Texas
Don't they all get referrel fees for anything they do? Most doctors I know aren't gonna do anything unless they can make money off of it. I'm rather jaded when it comes to the medical profession. My primary care physician doesn't even really believe there is sleep apnea or he sure doesn't act like he does. I had to demand a sleep study before he would refer me. I had told him for some time that I was always exhausted and couldn't sleep and that some of my family had observed me and noticed that I stopped breathing while I slept. He just didn't seem to put it all together. I finally demanded that he refer me and he reluctantly did and the rest is history. I had to go in last week and get my BP medication changed and he asked me how I was doing and I mentioned the cpap treatment and he just kind of smiled a little and said nothing. He probably didn't want me to get better or am I just being cynical.
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rock and roll
- Posts: 1222
- Joined: Mon Nov 01, 2004 7:30 pm
- Location: Texas
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Bullwinkle
- Posts: 37
- Joined: Fri Mar 04, 2005 9:39 pm
- Location: Dallas, Texas
Hey Tater Pie (and any other Dallas'ites),
Don't know what part of town you are in or who your insurance carrier might be, but if you need a good family practice doctor in North Dallas, try any of the doctors at Bent Tree Family Physicians. They have locations on the tollway just south of Trinity Mills and in Frisco north of Stonebriar Mall. Dr's Ferguson and Culpepper are particularly versed in sleep disorders.
Also, I have lucked into a FANTASTIC person for a DME. Richard Self at Sleep Therapeutics on Beltline Rd. in Carrollton. He is accepting assignment from my insurance carrier even though he is not even in their plan. My doctor at Bent Tree prescribed an auto CPAP for me, and Richard had a Remstar Auto CPAP with C-Flex in my hands 24 hours later. Had most every mask imaginable including the new Fisher and Paykel Infinity (which I absolutely love). http://www.sleeptherapeutics.net if anyone in Dallas area needs someone to deal with insurance rather than buying direct from the fine folks here at cpap.com.
Don't know what part of town you are in or who your insurance carrier might be, but if you need a good family practice doctor in North Dallas, try any of the doctors at Bent Tree Family Physicians. They have locations on the tollway just south of Trinity Mills and in Frisco north of Stonebriar Mall. Dr's Ferguson and Culpepper are particularly versed in sleep disorders.
Also, I have lucked into a FANTASTIC person for a DME. Richard Self at Sleep Therapeutics on Beltline Rd. in Carrollton. He is accepting assignment from my insurance carrier even though he is not even in their plan. My doctor at Bent Tree prescribed an auto CPAP for me, and Richard had a Remstar Auto CPAP with C-Flex in my hands 24 hours later. Had most every mask imaginable including the new Fisher and Paykel Infinity (which I absolutely love). http://www.sleeptherapeutics.net if anyone in Dallas area needs someone to deal with insurance rather than buying direct from the fine folks here at cpap.com.
Yeah, but it was Channel 4 in Dallas -- sensationalism news.
But since it is sleep awareness week, every station is "required" to do some kind of story on sleep.
While we're talking about Dallas -- I just "found" a fabulous DME. Hope Home Medical. They do take BCBS. My doctor ordered replacement stuff (mask and humidifer) yesterday, they called by 5:00 and delivered it at 4:30 today. Can't beat that! (Well, they would have done it earlier, but I teach school).
But since it is sleep awareness week, every station is "required" to do some kind of story on sleep.
While we're talking about Dallas -- I just "found" a fabulous DME. Hope Home Medical. They do take BCBS. My doctor ordered replacement stuff (mask and humidifer) yesterday, they called by 5:00 and delivered it at 4:30 today. Can't beat that! (Well, they would have done it earlier, but I teach school).
Bullwinkle, thanks for the referrel. I live in Garland (the poorer side of town). My daughter's ob-gyn is at the doctor's clinic in Frisco you're talking about. My sleep doctor is just down the road from me and I'm pretty satisfied with him but I am certainly interested in the DME. Mine's lousy. My insurance is United Healthcare and I don't have to have a referrel to see a specialist and I'm up for a new mask May 18th. I notice you say that you liked the Infinity. I've been wondering about that. I've seen a lot of negative posts about it. Does it move around a lot when you move at night? It does look a little unstable. I'm a side-sleeper and turn from side to side at night. Could you PM me and give me the DME's number and I'll see what my insurance will do about it. A good DME would be a great help to me. Carrollton is not too far from me although I would go a considerable distance to get good service.
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Bullwinkle
- Posts: 37
- Joined: Fri Mar 04, 2005 9:39 pm
- Location: Dallas, Texas
Tater Pie,
My one complaint about the Infinity is the way the ball-swivel and hose attach to the gizmo under your nose. Since it comes out to the side only, there is a bit of torque on it when you roll over or shift positions. I wish there were an option to just bring the hose straight down so I could run it down on my chest and then off to the side of the bed. I keep the CPAP on a stool next to the bed about even with my waist anyway; I've had too many problems routing the hose when I try to keep it back on the nightstand or even the headboard.
As for stability, the "strap" is actually like a thin diameter surgical hose -- very stretchy. So with that run over the ears around the back of the head the thing is surprisingly steady. But, I think I need to move up one size on the nasal fitting though. Current size seals well enough, but when I do roll over; the torque from the hose does sometimes break the air seal in one nostril or the other. My current thinking is that the next larger size will either help keep the sucker in my nose or else give me a major headache from being too tight. Gonna try the larger size tonight, though, and see how it works.
My insurance is also UHC, and although my DME is not in UHC plan, he assures me that he knows how to handle them including all the pre-cert stuff they require for out of plan. I volunteered to help since I have several ailments that put me on a first-name basis with several of UHC's supervisors; he says not to worry about it.. He also swears I will never see a bill from him. The only money I am out of pocket is for the Infinity; the mask going in on the insurance claim is an Oracle and I wanted choice and variety so I personally bought the Infinity.
My one complaint about the Infinity is the way the ball-swivel and hose attach to the gizmo under your nose. Since it comes out to the side only, there is a bit of torque on it when you roll over or shift positions. I wish there were an option to just bring the hose straight down so I could run it down on my chest and then off to the side of the bed. I keep the CPAP on a stool next to the bed about even with my waist anyway; I've had too many problems routing the hose when I try to keep it back on the nightstand or even the headboard.
As for stability, the "strap" is actually like a thin diameter surgical hose -- very stretchy. So with that run over the ears around the back of the head the thing is surprisingly steady. But, I think I need to move up one size on the nasal fitting though. Current size seals well enough, but when I do roll over; the torque from the hose does sometimes break the air seal in one nostril or the other. My current thinking is that the next larger size will either help keep the sucker in my nose or else give me a major headache from being too tight. Gonna try the larger size tonight, though, and see how it works.
My insurance is also UHC, and although my DME is not in UHC plan, he assures me that he knows how to handle them including all the pre-cert stuff they require for out of plan. I volunteered to help since I have several ailments that put me on a first-name basis with several of UHC's supervisors; he says not to worry about it.. He also swears I will never see a bill from him. The only money I am out of pocket is for the Infinity; the mask going in on the insurance claim is an Oracle and I wanted choice and variety so I personally bought the Infinity.
10 posts
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