Provigil is a band aid to make you feel more alert and better; however, please remember that if you have sleep-disordered breathing, your body and brain are still sleep deprived. Whatever you do, keep working on the sleep quality piece. P.S. When I…
Hi Saralynn-
Where did you see the reference? I can take a look at the study and give you more if an idea of what the study is saying. As well as being a respiratory therapist working at a sleep clinic, I am also a scientist finishing her PhD. I ca…
I recently came across a reference to a newer study on sleep apnea as a cause of brain damage. I have a diagnosis of UARS, which I understand to be on a continuum with OAS and treated the same as OAS (however, the nature of the nervous system in th…
Yes, thank you, Melinda. My diagnosis is actually UARS and my AHI is 1. There have been many codes attached to my diagnosis. My current treatment was coded under the 327.20, and it was described to me by the billing party as used for UARS with apnea…
I believe that to be diagnosed under that code you need to have a minimum apnea/hypopnea index (AHI) of 5.0. You need to have had a sleep study in which you slept for a minimum of 2 hours, during which the AHI is recorded. An apnea is defined by the…
My sleep breathing disorder has been given a diagnostic code of 327.20 "organic sleep apnea, unspecified." Can anyone tell me what diagnostic criteria are required for this code?
Interestingly, according to how the policy reads for UARS, it does not qualify for intervention with CPAP either (only surgical intervention, which is ridiculous as his primary issue is tongue collapse). The only reason he was able to get CPAP was b…
As 99 said, insurance companies can change their rules. There are a number of dubiously qualified providers selling oral appliances with limited success. Their ineffective actions are obscuring the fine work of qualified practitioners of dental slee…
Just write back to point out their inconsistency and also the fact that UARS is a legitimate medical condition that's treated using similar treatment options that we use for sleep apnea. Remind them that untreated, it can lead to or cause a variety…
I was diagnosed with UARS (6/08) and initially treated with CPAP, resulting in worsening of my symptoms. A mandibular advancement device was recommended (04/09) resulting in immediate improvement of symptoms! Insurance paid the expected 80% on the C…
Tech appearance is really important; it is a little creepy to go to a strange place to fall asleep and be "watched" by someone, so it is important that the tech appear very professional.
Bedroom feel preferred
Do not have a preference for male or fe…
Thank you for the citation. The next time I am in a medical library I will read the full text and get back to you about things. I cant read it online cause I dont have a subscription to the journal.
excellent point....i think im looking at about 20 years of sdb.....and uars is not as cut and dry as apnea.....our sleep disturbances are more complex, i believe. i have continued to improve at a snails pace. but that is okay....i have gotten over the idea that i would wake up cured after one night.
glad to hear that you are having good initial results. i'm still at about 30% improvement....its weird. i have improved in some ways and not in others....but i am figuring it will be a long recovery....
wouldn't it be nice if we could just get a tongue reduction! why can't they figure that one out. any way, you are right, my wife is scarey sharp....it is just frustrating when i see my friends who can surf for hours and hours, come in and eat, and surf again in the afternoon.....i can't even imagine what that's like anymore...i could still surf for a solid three hours in 2005 and maybe two hours in 2007....monday i went for an hour and a half and it just kicked my butt. but the week before i was fine. sorry if i keep rambling....i think it is great that you will be able to help your kids before they even know they have a problem. i know my grandmother(REST HER SOUL) suffered from this and my father too. and at 37 i'm just figuring this out on my own.....are you doing the teleconference tomorrow?
hi sara....glad you got it, and it seems to be working so far....after i posted you last(10 days ago) i continued to improve...i was thinking maybe as much as 35% or so....i was feeling stronger...still sleepy at times but not crippling. then i surfed last week for an hour and felt much improved. then on last sunday i started to feel that old need to yawn or take deep breathes all day...yuck....i surfed on monday and felt pretty darn good again but when i was done i was miserable for the rest of the day on the couch exhausted. i don't get it...i know i feel better in some ways....my wife says to take it slow which i have no choice but to do.....at this point the mad is probably helping reduce arousals but not eliminate them....or i just have to slowly recover from a lifetime of SBD. im still optimistic though! do you have an overbite? how far out do you think you can adjust your lower jaw from its natural position?
yes, i am the one and only sleep surfer....i maybe to 15% better now....still hard to tell. to try and illustrate it for you....10 years ago at age 28 i'll rate myself a 10 in strength endurance and wakefullness(even though i was a sleepy head then) at my worst about two months ago, i was a 2, now i think i'm up to a 4.5. so if you look at it like a stock market cycle, on the way up there are bumps in the road as on the way down....so am i on the way up or is it a bump in the road? i hope to find out soon....oh yeah, on the scale, a 0 would be not leaving the house. you must be getting a TAP. seems to be the most popular.
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In delayed sleep phase syndrome, the internal biological clock runs longer than the normal 24-hour cycle, resulting in a desire to go to sleep later and wake up later. The plan of action? Resetting Merbaum's clock through the use of light therapy: d…
Ahhhh, and does anyone else besides me smell the RRT organizations behind these "second thoughts" ???
Or am I just a pessimistic and suspicious ole broad who is smelling some rats???
www.polysomnography.info
THE THREAT
As you may be aware, the State Education Department (see attached memorandum) has reaffirmed its view that certain tasks undertaken in sleep centers may be within the practice of respiratory therapy and, as a re…
Honestly I believe that the medical industry should be controlled by parties from both the government and private sectors. Until someone comes up with a better solution I will continue to support licensure.
Carol right now those odds are slim. Those jobs just are not open to the RPSGT at this point. Not that I have found anyway. Most sleep programs are only available to RTs right now. We are fighting to put an end to this. The sleep programs should be…
Okay, first off, I would like to see you a little less passive. Why do you have to wait until the 24th of March for a nasal pillows style mask? That's ridiculous. There are several brands and models of nasal pillows style masks and you should have b…
What are the odds of the RSGPTS getting on at DME's and more interaction that is positive other than what many of us have experienced in the RTs or LPNS that have serviced us through the DMEs.
I know in this region Lincare has an LPN you deal with.…
As a teacher, that must hold current certification in order to teach I see nothing wrong in licensing those in the medical profession. My daughter completed RN school in December. In order to work as an RN in the state of Missouri, she had to take h…
What have you done, if anything, to get used to the machine?
Pillows are great -- but be aware of mouth breathing which negates the positive aspects of cpap. Is there someone that can observe you when you first start using the pillows? Watch for ex…
Welcome to the site Lia. Your presence was felt long before your arrival. Good luck with your lab. it sounds like you are doing great things for sleep.
Update on my progress, still not using cpap, went to see a new specialist and he wants me to try pillows instead of the mask, does anyone have any input for me on pillows? Suppose to get my pillows on 3-24-2010, Wish me luck!
All I have left to say is that giving complete control to the private sector has worked well for our economy so far.
Good luck in GA banyon. I hope that we are still friends. I will continue to follow and be educated by your post.
Rock
I don't follow the logic that creating government licensing would take some of the control back from government.
But there will be no energy spent by me to stop the effort in NY.
Eventually it may come around to GA, as our historically independent…
Not agreeing with me is not the problem. I am getting quite used to that. I have listened to your gripes over and over Banyon. I have even asked you to talk things out with me several times. You believe that my solutions are not going to work, and a…
It is my opinion that every lab should employ an RT. Just due to the nature of what we do. If that RT happens to be double certified for sleep then that is a bonus in my opinion. On the same note DMEs should have to employ a RPSGT as well as a RRT.…