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Permalink Reply by RockRpsgt on April 8, 2009 at 8:40am

Unfortunately yes. Right now there is a huge number of people getting their first diagnosis of sleep apnea from their primary care physicians. 40 million people in the U.S. alone are presumed to have untreated apnea. That staggering number combined with the fact that there are only a little over 1000 sleep diagnostic centers, 14,000 registered sleep technicians, and probably about the same amount of sleep registered Dr.s. is the reason that it takes so much time to get in. In larger cities where the bulk of the labs are it can be a little easier, not much though. Rural and underpopulated areas seem to have the toughest time. You can go to the post below and it has a sleep lab directory. Maybe there is another lab in your area that can get you in faster. Good Luck!

http://www.sleepassociation.org/index.php?p=locateLab

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Permalink Reply by Mike on April 8, 2009 at 11:19am

Hi Elissa, I'm happy you joined. There are a lot of knowledgeable, caring people here. While your plight might not be extremely unusual, it is unacceptable, and doesn't mean you should settle for this pace going forward. I found that i've done myself a lot of good by taking a consumer oriented approach toward getting the right health care for my sleep apnea -- if you let them do things on their own schedule, it'll take forever. You've got to "shop around" like Rock said.

By the way, I had the same dreams/nightmares of being smothered to death only to wake up in a panic gasping for air.

So at this point, do you have a prescription for a sleep study, or are you waiting for a doctor specialist to give you one?

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Permalink Reply by William Rentfrow on April 8, 2009 at 11:47am

Seems fishy to me...you had a referral from a doctor to the sleep clinic. This seems like an example of forced multiple office visits, etc. More on that in a second...

Sleep centers are profit centers for most hospital (I do not recall where I read that at the moment) so suffice it to say that if there is demand they will add capacity. So I doubt it's a capacity problem.

I had to wait a month before I had my study but it was scheduled the same day the ENT said I needed one.

Anyway - I do have a problem with the medical profession. I have routinely seen people I know be forced to have multiple referrals and office visits which were pointless. For example a year ago I had an ingrown toenail. I've lost toenails many times (soccer anyone?). I know when they need attention - yet I was forced to see my doctor, then a specialist, then return to the specialist for the procedure to fix it. Is this really necessary? That was 3 co-pays for me (which I can afford, but still......) and two wasted visits in terms of time and money. One doctor visit generates a ridiculous amount of paperwork and billing - three is by far too many.

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Permalink Reply by Barbara on April 8, 2009 at 10:15pm

Hi,
I’m new here but I will share a few things I found helpful.
- You might get further faster by calling your insurance company to find out what restrictions they have. You might learn that they don't care one bit where you go as long as the referral is properly done. If this is the case that puts you in a better drivers seat - especially if you feel your case is dangerous and needs quick attention.
- I was FLEXIBLE beyond words. When I found that my study was going to take months I explained that I lived 1 hour away but that I would keep a packed bag in my auto at all times. If they had a cancellation as late as 10 or 11 at night that I would be happy to fill that empty bed so they would not lose money on a no-show patient. Told them I'd run every red light getting there and that I never EVER fall asleep before midnight anyway so calling me late would not mess up any testing.
- On top of all that I called them every day around 4:00 to see if there had been any cancellations. I made extra sure I didn't p*ss anybody off who was answering the phone.... that’s super important.

Apparently a lot of people chicken out and no show for these tests. Apparently there are also a lot of cancellations and rescheduling (I really have no idea why). Several people I have talked to had the same situation. Turns out I was able to get everything done from referral to at home CPAP within a few weeks and originally it was going to take several months. I got in on appointment nights when others cancelled their appts.

However, I do think if I had been frightened, like maybe you are with the smothering dream etc.., I might have taken even more dramatic measures like finding another clinic or calling the referring MD to see if he or she could make some phone calls or pull some strings. Maybe talking to a medical person at the sleep clinic rather than office staff would be helpful. Maybe try a nurse, doc, tech, medical social worker etc.... It could be that the medical staff has the ability to look a little more outside the box for creative solutions where office staff is simply looking at a scheduling appointment book and that’s it.

Oh, maybe send the overnight sleep techs pizza delivery one night & chinese another night with a card saying if you work me in this week they'll be fresh hot pastries in it for you YUMMMMMY! The tech who tested me was the nicest guy. In fact all the guys there seemed like sweethearts. I think if they could have done it they’d test a hundred people a night. They all seemed to realize importance of what they were doing and how it could help improve so many lives.

Most importantly, seriously, try not to give up with overloaded frustration.
Hang in there.
Will be thinking of you,
Barbara

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Permalink Reply by Duane McDade on April 9, 2009 at 9:38am

I heared about this before .. It's not a "Those Evil Doctors and Henchmen" Some doctors are using a large sleep labs (SUPER LABS) they have 10 -30 beds and are booked months in advance. They signed up with these labs for lower prices blah blah blah.....or maybe a very small sleep lab and there's a line. I work in California near Los Angeles and we keep very busy I work 5-6 days a week 2 patients a night, but no one waits longer than a week. It's different Everywhere.

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Permalink Reply by RockRpsgt on April 9, 2009 at 12:01pm

I would say that alot of labs do have capacity problems. For one most labs only have 2-6 beds on average. For the sake of the pt most labs require a 2 to 1 patient to tech ratio. Anymore than that and the tech can have a nightmare on his hands. 2 pts can be difficult enough if there are special needs, or numerous bathroom breaks. If you live in a smaller populated area that only has 1 lab with say 4 beds it can be difficult to see everyone in a timely fashion. I would definately shop around in this case though.

William Rentfrow said:

Seems fishy to me...you had a referral from a doctor to the sleep clinic. This seems like an example of forced multiple office visits, etc. More on that in a second...

Sleep centers are profit centers for most hospital (I do not recall where I read that at the moment) so suffice it to say that if there is demand they will add capacity. So I doubt it's a capacity problem.

I had to wait a month before I had my study but it was scheduled the same day the ENT said I needed one.

Anyway - I do have a problem with the medical profession. I have routinely seen people I know be forced to have multiple referrals and office visits which were pointless. For example a year ago I had an ingrown toenail. I've lost toenails many times (soccer anyone?). I know when they need attention - yet I was forced to see my doctor, then a specialist, then return to the specialist for the procedure to fix it. Is this really necessary? That was 3 co-pays for me (which I can afford, but still......) and two wasted visits in terms of time and money. One doctor visit generates a ridiculous amount of paperwork and billing - three is by far too many.

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Permalink Reply by RockRpsgt on April 9, 2009 at 12:04pm

I work in a 10 bed lab at 1 job, and a 6 bed at the other.The larger is IDTF and the smaller is a hospital. We rarely see full capacity at the larger. 4-6 pts a night. I think 9 is the most I have seen 1x. I am also working 5-6 days a week. Our biggest problem at the IDTF is that we only have 2 drs trying to keep 10 beds full. This can be a follow up nightmare.

Duane McDade said:

I heared about this before .. It's not a "Those Evil Doctors and Henchmen" Some doctors are using a large sleep labs (SUPER LABS) they have 10 -30 beds and are booked months in advance. They signed up with these labs for lower prices blah blah blah.....or maybe a very small sleep lab and there's a line. I work in California near Los Angeles and we keep very busy I work 5-6 days a week 2 patients a night, but no one waits longer than a week. It's different Everywhere.

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Permalink Reply by Duane McDade on April 10, 2009 at 12:28am

I score all my test on the fly, so the Dr. has a report in his hands 1st thing in the morning. Then he does his report before the office opens. He see's most of the patients the next day for follow ups. But, we run a very tight ship. I can't see a reason not to. It's too important for treatments to start right away. That's just what I'm used to.

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Permalink Reply by RockRpsgt on April 10, 2009 at 7:57am

sounds great Duane! where do I sign up?
Duane McDade said:

I score all my test on the fly, so the Dr. has a report in his hands 1st thing in the morning. Then he does his report before the office opens. He see's most of the patients the next day for follow ups. But, we run a very tight ship. I can't see a reason not to. It's too important for treatments to start right away. That's just what I'm used to.

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Permalink Reply by Duane McDade on April 10, 2009 at 10:19am

Not to far from los angeles

Rock Hinkle said:

sounds great Duane! where do I sign up?
Duane McDade said:

I score all my test on the fly, so the Dr. has a report in his hands 1st thing in the morning. Then he does his report before the office opens. He see's most of the patients the next day for follow ups. But, we run a very tight ship. I can't see a reason not to. It's too important for treatments to start right away. That's just what I'm used to.

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Permalink Reply by Mike on April 11, 2009 at 4:33pm

Come on out to sunny California, Rock! We'd love to have more wonderful sleep techs like yourself out here.

Duane McDade said:

Not to far from los angeles
Rock Hinkle said:

sounds great Duane! where do I sign up?
Duane McDade said:

I score all my test on the fly, so the Dr. has a report in his hands 1st thing in the morning. Then he does his report before the office opens. He see's most of the patients the next day for follow ups. But, we run a very tight ship. I can't see a reason not to. It's too important for treatments to start right away. That's just what I'm used to.

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Permalink Reply by Marie Davis on April 11, 2009 at 9:07pm

I had a great sleep clinic that was also caring and prompt to get me in but then waited 3-4 weeks for my doctor to calll me back with the results. Then it was a yes, you need a CPAP conversation in about 2 minutes.. Not many answers to my questions so this site is a god send. Now I have decided to followup and leave my "SLEEP" Care with the sleep institute I went to. They seem to be better at quickness than the docs for adjustments on the CPAP and questions you will have at the beginning. Keep that in mind and don't give up!!Your sleep (WHen you finally get it) willl make all the frustration worthwhile. I think doctors really need to study sleep and how it affects everyone much more!

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