Sorry it's taken me so long to reply to you all. Things got a little hectic this past week, and I've been unable to get back to this.
First - to
Liam: We've not been to the sleep lab at DHMC, just the Otolarynology Dept. We were initially referred there by another specialist for a hearing disorder. After the Audiology exam was finished he was examined by Dr. Weider, who immediately noticed severe obstructions in both the nose and the throat. These are not contributing to the hearing loss, but were severe enough for him to do some fiberoptic searches through the nose and throat. This was done on a screen we could all look at, and we were a little horrified at how badly these areas are closed up. After hearing that hubby had been through THREE totally unsuccessful sleep studies at LRGH seven years ago, he questioned us both a lot further. This is how we came to the point of scheduling the surgeries themselves. He was to perform surgery on the nose and throat all in one day. Unfortunately, he suffered a fatal heart attack four days before we were scheduled.
We've since learned that his replacement will be onboard in May, and we can schedule an appointment at that time. We'll go in and meet him and see if he recommends the same treatment or not, and move forward from there. In the meantime, we're still going to pursue the AutoPap for the interim, and if it works really well, perhaps that could change the end result too.
If the new Doctor recommends a sleep study at DHMC I certainly hope we have a better experience there than what we had in the early days of the lab at LRGH. I understand things are much diferent there now, but we've kinda lost our faith and it would be hard to regain confidence in them.
Now, to MelMel - I'll be speaking to the PCP tomorrow, and will tell her of your advice. I'm certain that she will want to be certain that we acquire the best alternative right away.
And to Seamaiden - Thanks for the info about Hutchinson!!!!! I have had some nice conversation with Keene Medical in Concord - ( I was actually referred to them by the dolt at Lindon'tCare) and I have high hopes that they'll be able to assist me. If it looks like they're going to be a problem, I'll happily jump down the road to Hutchinson!
To all - thanks to everyone who posts on these threads, as we've learned so much from all of you! The information we get here has helped tremendously, and in so many ways. We are so grateful to all of you!
Sweet Dreams to all of you who can sleep!!!