"please keep me updated about oximeters "
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Sleep Study Experience
After getting fed up with feeling tired and struggling to get the mental energy together to focus on work and life, I listed my symptoms to my primary physician. It seemed that I fit the pattern for obstructive sleep apnea of the male, necksize > 17 in, difficulty staying awake during the afternoon, swelling in ankles, etc. so he referred me to a sleep specialist in the area.
After an office visit, the sleep specialist scheduled a sleep study for me. At the study, we all watched a helpful orientation video that summarized the process and what to expect. One thing I would suggest to anyone doing a study is to follow the advice of wearing a loose fitting t-shirt and shorts to bed. It is much easier to attach the leads if you do! I wasn't too concerned about falling asleep with all the measuring equipment since I'm usually ready to get to sleep no matter what. It turned out that I got used to the measuring devices pretty quickly.
Somewhere in the middle of the study, the assistant came in and fitted me with a nasal mask and got CPAP started. Evidently, that was not providing enough pressure via air leakage (I often find that I have a dry mouth after sleep, so I suspect my jaw was dropping and allowing air to escape) so the assistant came back in and fitted me with a full face mask. That took a bit of getting used to. It felt sort of like being smothered, but I relaxed and thought of the many folks who use this as a nightly routine and got myself relaxed and used to the feeling of positive pressure.
Wow! I was out like a light. It seems like minutes before the assistant came in and said that the study was over. I couldn't believe how much better I felt after just a partial night on CPAP! Maybe my apnea is in the severe range (i haven't seen my study results yet), but I was motivated to get started with treatment.
The problem was that my followup visit to the sleep specialist was going to be about two months after the sleep study :-(. I stopped by the specialists office and left a note with him that I would like to get his prescription for CPAP as soon as he had interpreted the results. Fortunately, they are setting up a home care visit to get the machine and mask set up after he interprets the study. The followup visit now will be to evaluate how the therapy is going and to tweak things as needed. Definitely let your sleep specialist know important things you've experienced/learned along the way. Now that I've gotten a taste for what better sleep can do for my life, I felt that it was actually potentially dangerous to delay treatment. Plus I want to get started right away being able to concentrate and perform better on the job and feeling ready to work towards a healthier lifestyle.
After an office visit, the sleep specialist scheduled a sleep study for me. At the study, we all watched a helpful orientation video that summarized the process and what to expect. One thing I would suggest to anyone doing a study is to follow the advice of wearing a loose fitting t-shirt and shorts to bed. It is much easier to attach the leads if you do! I wasn't too concerned about falling asleep with all the measuring equipment since I'm usually ready to get to sleep no matter what. It turned out that I got used to the measuring devices pretty quickly.
Somewhere in the middle of the study, the assistant came in and fitted me with a nasal mask and got CPAP started. Evidently, that was not providing enough pressure via air leakage (I often find that I have a dry mouth after sleep, so I suspect my jaw was dropping and allowing air to escape) so the assistant came back in and fitted me with a full face mask. That took a bit of getting used to. It felt sort of like being smothered, but I relaxed and thought of the many folks who use this as a nightly routine and got myself relaxed and used to the feeling of positive pressure.
Wow! I was out like a light. It seems like minutes before the assistant came in and said that the study was over. I couldn't believe how much better I felt after just a partial night on CPAP! Maybe my apnea is in the severe range (i haven't seen my study results yet), but I was motivated to get started with treatment.
The problem was that my followup visit to the sleep specialist was going to be about two months after the sleep study :-(. I stopped by the specialists office and left a note with him that I would like to get his prescription for CPAP as soon as he had interpreted the results. Fortunately, they are setting up a home care visit to get the machine and mask set up after he interprets the study. The followup visit now will be to evaluate how the therapy is going and to tweak things as needed. Definitely let your sleep specialist know important things you've experienced/learned along the way. Now that I've gotten a taste for what better sleep can do for my life, I felt that it was actually potentially dangerous to delay treatment. Plus I want to get started right away being able to concentrate and perform better on the job and feeling ready to work towards a healthier lifestyle.
Views: 15
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Judy on
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Call your insurance company, ask what local DME CPAP suppliers they are contracted with. Then bug the sleep lab and sleep doctor - where the devil are the results and your order for equipment, what's the holdup, you have a list of other local DME suppliers contract w/your insurance, maybe your order should be FAX'd to a different supplier?
However, take into consideration maybe your sleep doctor has scripted a specific brand and model and the local DME supplier they FAX'd your order to doesn't routinely stock that particular brand and model.
KEEP BUGGING THEM! The squeaky wheel gets the grease. Be diplomatic, but keep bugging them.
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Permalink Reply by Mike on
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i agree with Judy. This may be typical, but certainly is not acceptable.
Judy said:Call your insurance company, ask what local DME CPAP suppliers they are contracted with. Then bug the sleep lab and sleep doctor - where the devil are the results and your order for equipment, what's the holdup, you have a list of other local DME suppliers contract w/your insurance, maybe your order should be FAX'd to a different supplier?
However, take into consideration maybe your sleep doctor has scripted a specific brand and model and the local DME supplier they FAX'd your order to doesn't routinely stock that particular brand and model.
KEEP BUGGING THEM! The squeaky wheel gets the grease. Be diplomatic, but keep bugging them.
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Permalink Reply by Eric Thayer on
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Finally, light at the end of the tunnel (and it's not an oncoming train). BiPAP machine w/ oxygen is being delivered tomorrow!
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Turns out that once the doctor got back from vacation and got through his pile of cases, the DME was very quick to contact me. They called the day they received the fax of the script from the doctor. The tech gave me her cell phone number so that we wouldn't have to play phone tag through their office voice mail system. The DME looks like a good one in that I only see the latest machines and masks offered as options on their web page. They are also JCAHO accredited so they at least are open to evaluation.
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They are delivering a ResMed VPAP Auto 25 machine w/ humidifier.
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Permalink Reply by Julia on
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I totally relate to the disappointment between the study and getting started on the equipment. I had my study June 4 and just had my first night on the cpap last night. It seems to take forever to get the results, get an appointment, go back for titration, get the script, get the machine. I had to find some humor in that I had been putting up with apnea for years, being in denial and then just having such a hard time functioning day to day that I HAD to do something and then it was a hurry up and wait game.
I am so eager to be in cpap and hope, hope, hope, I adjust easily and feel better soon.
Good luck and I hope everything moves quickly for you!
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