Long Wait for Specialist Appointment, What Can I do Now?

Hi folks,

Albertan Canuck here,

I finally got fed up with being tired all the time and unable to function (even after my daily pot of coffee), so I went to a sleep centre (referred by my doctor) and they had me do an at home sleep study.

The tech at the sleep centre is referring me to the specialist, but my appointment is Jan. 24th!

The sleep tech who gave me the study wouldn't share my results, but told me "I have to refer you to the specialist and he will tell you all about the episodes you're having in the night". Sleep Apnea confirmed it seems.

I can't afford a machine on my own right now, thankfully I have funding options once I'm officially diagnosed, but two months feels like an eternity right now.

I'm hoping you fine folks might have some suggestions for things I can do in the meantime to make life more bearable. I'm ready to cry right now finally knowing that I'm not just lazy, or depressed, but there's something wrong with me and I can't do anything about it.

I could really use some advice right now.

Hi Albertan, you posted: so I went to a sleep centre (referred by my doctor) . What about your doctor helping you by contacting the sleep tech and the specialist? If a doctor {MD or OD} referred you to a sleep center then he/she is responsible for expediting the situation. Keep calling the office.

Surprised to see a doctor recommend an at home sleep study. What did you think of the process. It took me more than 2 1/2 months to get through the sleep study. They say you have to do this or it will kill you and then they take forever. Plenty of used machines from people that failed to stay with the program. Hope you get more support than I did.

Here in the USA the Doctor would have normally received the sleep study results and then he would have ordered the specialist appointment if he agreed.
I had my Doctor give me a copy of the sleep study results report to keep for my records.
I have no idea how the Healthcare system works in Canada.
Have you asked your doctor for the results?
Don't you as an individual patient have the right to your own medical records in Canada?

Things you can do to help your sleep apnea befor getting the machine is don't sleep on your back.
avoid alcohol and sleeping medications that can make it worse.
I had a tennis ball sewed into the back of a shirt so that if i flopped over on my back during the night the pain would cause me to flip back on my side.
Sleep with your head elevated has also been reported to help some people.

Another Albertan here, maybe I can give you some help.
There is no way you can speed up the specialist, sorry. We only have a few that read test results and do the diagnosis unfortunately. You are doing way better that I did, went for my study in November, got the results in February and didn't get my machine until mid April... I thought I was going to give up the ghost . I sat down with a friend who had already gone through the mill and was told..."you have had this condition for several years, have you died yet???????? One thing you can do is sleep on your side (not your back) and double your pillow height or raise the head of your bed about six inches. Or... how about you sleep in a recliner for a bit." Good advice it seemed... I'm still here, almost seven years later . I have even slept in my recliner on those nights that I was sick and could not wear my mask.... I'm still here.
There is a little home work you can do in the mean time... read all that you can on this site and you will become truly educated on what each and every one of us has had to go through. Make sure that you get an auto machine, one that gives you ALL the data, not just compliance info. We have a member here that has written a program that we can use to give us our daily, hourly info on how we are being treated for episodes, mask fit... the whole ball of wax. It is called sleepyhead, and is compatible with all of our machines that are auto. Read, read and read some more, you will make it to your appointment before you know it, and become educated at the same time.
Cheers and WELCOME to the land of "hoseheads"
Nan

jtravel wrote:Things you can do to help your sleep apnea befor getting the machine is don't sleep on your back.
avoid alcohol and sleeping medications that can make it worse.
I had a tennis ball sewed into the back of a shirt so that if i flopped over on my back during the night the pain would cause me to flip back on my side.
Sleep with your head elevated has also been reported to help some people.

+1

Also, some people report sleeping as erect as possible in a reclining chair moderates the apnea.

The reason is that obstructive sleep apnea is caused by the tongue and soft palate collapsing into the airway. When you sleep on your back, gravity is pulling them directly into the airway.

Thanks for all the great suggestions folks! Yesterday I was feeling *****ier than normal (this last week has been a real struggle sleep-wise more than the usual), and then to get the news that it's going to be a while was just the cherry on top. I was able to realise last night that I've been dealing with this for years, two more months isn't gonna kill me any more than the last ten years has

avi123 wrote:Hi Albertan, you posted: so I went to a sleep centre (referred by my doctor) . What about your doctor helping you by contacting the sleep tech and the specialist? If a doctor {MD or OD} referred you to a sleep center then he/she is responsible for expediting the situation. Keep calling the office.

It's worth reaching out to him and seeing if he can do anything about it, I'll give it a go!

jtravel wrote: Things you can do to help your sleep apnea befor getting the machine is don't sleep on your back.
avoid alcohol and sleeping medications that can make it worse.
I had a tennis ball sewed into the back of a shirt so that if i flopped over on my back during the night the pain would cause me to flip back on my side.
Sleep with your head elevated has also been reported to help some people.

My sleep disorder (whatever I have) is weird in that I don't seem to have a lot of the normal sleeping habits that I see mentioned a lot. I sleep in the recovery position every night (it's always been the most comfortable to me......in hindsight probably because it allows me to you know, BREATHE! ), I've used TONS of pillows since as long as I can remember (basically sleeping elevated), and I've very rarely had problems getting to sleep, I just never feel rested. All of that said I REALLY need to lose weight (5' 9" 290-ish), but it's a chicken and egg thing, no energy means I can't work out, not working out means no energy....

Why do sleep medications make it worse? (I don't use them, but more knowledge is always better).

nanwilson wrote:Another Albertan here, maybe I can give you some help.
There is no way you can speed up the specialist, sorry. We only have a few that read test results and do the diagnosis unfortunately. You are doing way better that I did, went for my study in November, got the results in February and didn't get my machine until mid April... I thought I was going to give up the ghost . I sat down with a friend who had already gone through the mill and was told..."you have had this condition for several years, have you died yet???????? One thing you can do is sleep on your side (not your back) and double your pillow height or raise the head of your bed about six inches. Or... how about you sleep in a recliner for a bit." Good advice it seemed... I'm still here, almost seven years later . I have even slept in my recliner on those nights that I was sick and could not wear my mask.... I'm still here.
There is a little home work you can do in the mean time... read all that you can on this site and you will become truly educated on what each and every one of us has had to go through. Make sure that you get an auto machine, one that gives you ALL the data, not just compliance info. We have a member here that has written a program that we can use to give us our daily, hourly info on how we are being treated for episodes, mask fit... the whole ball of wax. It is called sleepyhead, and is compatible with all of our machines that are auto. Read, read and read some more, you will make it to your appointment before you know it, and become educated at the same time.
Cheers and WELCOME to the land of "hoseheads"
Nan

Thanks for the support, it really helped me remember this morning that while it's ok to be frustrated, I was a bit of a toddler yesterday in my own head going "I want my energy ...NOW!". I've already started doing some reading and saw the sleepyhead software, I'll be sure to check it out if I get a machine that can use it.

I've got a lot to learn and it's amazing the more I read about sleep Apnea the more I realize how much it touches every part of my life (assuming I do indeed have it, which is likely at this point). I've struggled with depression and anxiety, low energy, "laziness", memory issues (I'm a student right now, I can read three sentences and have forgotten the first), and general lethargy for as long as I can remember, fixing the sleep apnea probably won't fix it all, but it has to be making it worse at the least.

You guys and gals are all super friendly! I'm glad I found this place, thank you.