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Any reason to consult a neurologist?
After my fourth sleep study in ten years, I finally decided to do something about my sleep apnea. I was diagnosed by my current insurer, Kaiser Permanente, and I asked for a consultation before starting my CPAP therapy. They made an appointment with a neurologist. Does this make sense to you all? And by the way, thanks to the amazing information on SleepGuide, I'll be very well prepared. Thanks!
Cindy
Cindy
Views: 289
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by RL on
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Hi Cindy,
You don't mention whether you have obstructive sleep apnea or central sleep apnea or both (complex sleep apnea). I have noticed on other threads that some people do mention seeing neurologists in relation to their apnea treatment. If you have central apnea (or complex), it might make sense, since this is a neurological problem. This also seems to be variable depending on where you live, and who is available in your area that has training or experience with sleep apnea. There are several medical specialties that may work with sleep disorders, including neurologists, pulmonoligists, and others. Check out absm.org (American Board of Sleep Medicine) for info on different types of doctors who may be working in this field. I think Kaiser will let you see specialists in their network without a referral from your PCP if you want to talk to someone other than the neurologist and Kaiser's website lets you check out the doctors and their credentials directly. My mom has Kaiser so I have looked at this for her. Best wishes on your search.
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Permalink Reply by RockRpsgt on
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If the neurologist is certified in sleep it makes perfect sense. Apnea is not a problem of anyone specific medical practice. I have seen pulmonologist, ENTs, cardiologist, neurologist, dentist, and even family doctors that were certified in sleep.
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Permalink Reply by Cindy on
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Terrific - thanks to both of you for your advice. I'm sorry I didn't mention that I have obstructive sleep apnea. Thanks again!
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Permalink Reply by susan mccord on
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Hi Cindy--my cardiologist referred me to for a neurology consult after I told him how totally exhausted I was and how long it had been going on, overt memory loss, went to sleep at an intersection and drove right into oncoming traffic--no memory of doing it till I got hit. Had a neuro workup, MRI, and was sent for a sleep study, per the neurologist. Then a different neurologist in the same practice who does a LOT of sleep work, evaluated my lab results. I was scheduled to go back to the neurology practice for follow-up, but I didn't 'cause I didn't much care for the initial MD I'd had.
So there are sometimes reasons, at least early on, for a neuro consult with those kinds of symptoms. They want to rule out something else going on before they Rx a sleep study. People come to treatment via all kinds of avenues. But we all seem to end up in the same place, generally speaking. For me, it's about finding a sleep specialist that you really like and that you trust. Sometimes not an easy task, although there are a lot of them out there--big $$ these days in sleep practice.........
Susan McCord :-)
Cindy said:Terrific - thanks to both of you for your advice. I'm sorry I didn't mention that I have obstructive sleep apnea. Thanks again!
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Thanks so much, Susan - and everyone - it turns out the guy I'm seeing has sleep disorders as a subspecialty, so that's good. It hadn't occurred to me to check, so thanks very much, Rock!
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Permalink Reply by Raymond J. Young, Jr. on
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I ACTUALLY PREFER A NEUROLOGIST. MANY PEOPLE HAVE OTHER SLEEP PROBLEMS BESIDES OSA.. RLS/PLMS ARE AS COMMON AS OSA AND ARE BEST TREATED BY A NEUROLOGIST. THEY ARE ALSO MORE LIKELY TO PICK UP THESE PROBLEMS. MANY TIMES DURING A SLEEP STUDY THE MOVEMENTS CHARACTERIZED BY RLS/PLMS ARE MISSED BECAUSE THEY ARE ASSOCIATED WITH OSA. EVEN SO, I WOULD SAY THAT BEING ATTENDED BY A SLEEP SPECIALIST AND A DOCTOR YOU LIKE ARE PARAMOUNT. THIS IS BECAUSE OF THE INTENSITY OF THE RELATIONSHIP.
GOOD LUCK,
JACK
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Permalink Reply by Kristina Zabala on
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My Neurologist was the one that originally diagnosed my sleep apnea.
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Permalink Reply by Jeffrey Donaldson on
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I went to one. He just happens to be a pioneer in the field of sleep apnea. He was diagnosing and treating people before almost anyone had heard of it. He got me going on C-Pap and I will only go to his lab for my sleep studies. I hope that you have good results to whom ever you go to.
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Hi Cindy,
I have worked in sleep clinics for many years and have had the privilege of working with both Pulmonologist and Nuerologist. There are great things about both professions. However, I agree with the person that felt the neurologist was a good Idea. Neurologist deal better with multiple problems with sleep disorders. Most people that have sleep problems tend to have more then just one. These specialist tend to have more patience with dealing with multiple problems.
I wish you great success and many happy dreams.
Teresa
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Yes it does...I went to a neurologist who prescribed my CPAP based on my sleep study test.
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Permalink Reply by Elizabeth Shannon on
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Yes, it's amazing how many things can be helped by someone who knows about how our neurology works. I've seen experts help people with everything from stress to allergies to dyslexia etc. And some are trained from the complimentary/alternative perspective as well (e.g. Andrew Verity of Neuro-Training, http://www.Neuro-Training.com).
Another link with sleep apnea that was revealed during my webinar series in 2009 was certain food additives, colourings etc.
Specifically Sue Dengate cited a nine year old boy who suffered from snoring and sleep apnea, who went through the complete Elimination Diet, supervised by a dietition. They found out that he reacted to Sunset Yellow (additive 110 - an artificial colour), the bread preservative calcium propionate (282, which, by the way, doesn't even get listed on the label in Australia because of our 5% labelling loophole), and MSG monosodium glutamate - a flavour enhancer. If he avoided those he was fine.
Interestingly too with this case study, was that he later redeveloped his problems (while still avoiding the listed items) and it turned out to be the fumes from a mattress that were causing his problem. Everyone is different. You can find out more about Sue Dengates work by visiting http://www.fedup.com.au. Sue Dengate has been nominated as Australian of the Year twice for her amazing work with food additives and flavourings etc and their effect on health, behaviour, attitude, learning ability etc.
Source: Sue Dengate, "Sleep With The Experts" webinar series, winter 2009
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