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Permalink Reply by RockRpsgt on April 29, 2009 at 4:50am

Has all of your efforts been with a single lab? Are there any other labs in your area? If you are in a rural area you might want to try the some of the other local towns or cities. try aasm.com they should have a lab search tool to assist you. I am not on my home computer. If that is not it search aasm. I know that it can be difficult to get in due to a tech and Dr. shortage. Be patient and don't give up.

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Permalink Reply by Jim Hackett on May 1, 2009 at 3:47am

I diagnosed myself 2 months ago, and told my doctor.Ive had 2 sleep tests at home indicating a problem(the last one stated my o2 went down below 90 120 times in 6 hours).They set me up with a sleep doctor who I had to wait 2 weeks on only to be told I need a sleep test.Ya think! The test is set for June 8th but Im a little tired of awaking every hour.Ive been asking for this test since the begining and have already spent 500 bucks on tests and office visits.Sorry if I seem cranky, but if I figured this out 2 months ago why is it taking so long for all the paid professionals with all their fancy gagets to catch up.

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Permalink Reply by The SleepGuide Crew on May 1, 2009 at 4:45am

Jim, such is the sorry state of affairs as is. It's up to great industry folks like Rock and patients like all of us to push the agenda forward. Part of the problem is that the system can't scale to the demand right now because every sleep center is set up to test for every exotic sleep disorder under the sun, and not just for plain old run of the mill obstructive sleep apnea. Perhaps there should be a more streamlined, less expensive, dare we say it -- less rigorous -- sleep lab set up just to process easy cases like yours, and send the more exotic cases that are less straightforward and more complicated to the more sophisticated places to run more sophisticated testing. Isn't that how other areas of medicine deal with structuring themselves? Aren't there Level 1 trauma centers, and then Level 2 trauma centers?

Jim Hackett said:

I diagnosed myself 2 months ago, and told my doctor.Ive had 2 sleep tests at home indicating a problem(the last one stated my o2 went down below 90 120 times in 6 hours).They set me up with a sleep doctor who I had to wait 2 weeks on only to be told I need a sleep test.Ya think! The test is set for June 8th but Im a little tired of awaking every hour.Ive been asking for this test since the begining and have already spent 500 bucks on tests and office visits.Sorry if I seem cranky, but if I figured this out 2 months ago why is it taking so long for all the paid professionals with all their fancy gagets to catch up.

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Permalink Reply by Duane McDade on May 1, 2009 at 8:11am

Holy smokes come out to our lab we have a one week turn around, sometimes less. I guess it depends on the Doctor you have to use (Your Insurance Co. picks for you?) If you can pick your own, find a sleep specialist! Make sure you get a sleep study, Trust me it's very important. It's worth a road trip if you have to. Come out to California I'll take care of you! What the Heck!

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Permalink Reply by RockRpsgt on May 2, 2009 at 1:26am

We don't seem to have a problem in indy as well. I worked at a 10 bed facility that was never once full in the year I worked.

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