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Sleep Medicine Doctors in the U.S?
#11
RE: Sleep Medicine Doctors in the U.S?
(12-05-2019, 09:11 PM)WSHenry Wrote: Hi,

My experience pretty much mirrors yours. My sleep doc is board-certified, but both she and her nurse-practitioner are concerned with compliance/usage, treatment with AHI<5, and my reporting generally positive benefits while under treatment. I discovered years ago they were not interested at looking at anything beyond that. As they schedule patients for no more than 15-minute visits, they are not inclined to discuss much else.

For what it's worth, the doc and I could do this remotely. It's strictly to meet a Medicare requirement and generate a fresh script for supplies.

I've noticed that as well with my sleep doctor. Once he gets up from being seated and slowly but surely moves towards the door, you know your appointment is about over.  Rolleyes
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#12
RE: Sleep Medicine Doctors in the U.S?
My experience with a pulmonary doctor and apnea have given mixed results. The first doctor, for anonymity I'll call him Dr. Duck, was older and therefore set in his ways in my opinion. AHI was below 5 so that's all that counts. But doc I'm still not feeling better. Then you're doing something wrong. OK yep gotcha blame the patient. "I the patient was wrong" from the doc that put me on BPAP for Central Apnea, discounting for that moment I needed to fail BPAP for insurance coverage for the ASV.

Doc 2 from same office is younger and more open to what I say and spends roughly equal time telling me things and listening to me. He and I have a real unique set of illnesses I'm dealing with. I'm an Overlap Syndrome person, as in COPD and heavy accent on Central Apnea and some Obstructive.

I think your results will vary depending on the doc you get. Some will be better able to help, where some are more inclined to hinder. If your mechanic ever suggests changing the spark plugs on your diesel pick-up, chances are your mechanic is a fraud. And if your breathing doc says that disturbed sleep is acceptable because your AHI was below 5, you need to shop for another Duck.
INFORMATION ON APNEA BOARD FORUMS OR ON APNEABOARD.COM SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED MEDICAL ADVICE. ALWAYS SEEK THE ADVICE OF A PHYSICIAN BEFORE SEEKING TREATMENT FOR MEDICAL CONDITIONS, INCLUDING SLEEP APNEA. INFORMATION POSTED ON THE APNEA BOARD WEBSITE AND FORUMS ARE PERSONAL OPINION ONLY AND NOT NECESSARILY A STATEMENT OF FACT.
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#13
RE: Sleep Medicine Doctors in the U.S?
Everything I’ve complained about has been written off instantaneously because my AHI is under 5. My flow limitations I’m assuming because they aren’t flagging a RERA. But I sure felt them the next day before fix them with the help of the forum members. And what I’m dealing with now, central apneas. My central index is low so again who cares how I feel the day after a night with a lot of them. Going on a week straight now. I can’t lower my epr because I need the pressure support for my flow limitations. She suggested that it has to be recreational drugs that’s making me feel this way, prescription or otherwise. Lol I haven’t touched the stuff in years and the Xanax I was taking for anxiety I haven’t had since way before my sleep study in September. She was coming up with anything not to work with my complaints to just say yet again your doing great. I’ve never had a doc flat out discount and ignore everything I said. I’d say sleep medicine is severely broken cause I couldn’t even begin to count how many posts I’ve seen in here saying all this also
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#14
RE: Sleep Medicine Doctors in the U.S?
(12-06-2019, 03:07 PM)Osiris357 Wrote: I’ve never had a doc flat out discount and ignore everything I said. I’d say sleep medicine is severely broken cause I couldn’t even begin to count how many posts I’ve seen in here saying all this also

I'm on a couple discussion boards for chronic illnesses. There are other fields and diagnoses that get doctors ignoring you. I'd say any diagnosis that requires ongoing fine tuning of treatment and has a patient compliance component. Diabetics who have high blood sugar must not be following their diet (rather than their beta cells are dying and their medication needs to be increased). People whose injuries aren't healing must not be doing their physical therapy, instead of being misdiagnosed or having poor circulation hurting healing. Problems with doctors not believing patients tend to be more common in diseases that mostly afflict women, like fibromyalgia. It's less common for doctors to ignore me. 

I had a nurse practitioner tell me I wasn't having symptoms leading up to menopause, because I was too young, and that instead I was having panic attacks, and didn't have a chronically elevated heart rate. A year and a half later, I'm well on my way to menopause.
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#15
RE: Sleep Medicine Doctors in the U.S?
It appears that many here on the Apnea Board are afflicted with chronic Dr. Duck-itis.
INFORMATION ON APNEA BOARD FORUMS OR ON APNEABOARD.COM SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED MEDICAL ADVICE. ALWAYS SEEK THE ADVICE OF A PHYSICIAN BEFORE SEEKING TREATMENT FOR MEDICAL CONDITIONS, INCLUDING SLEEP APNEA. INFORMATION POSTED ON THE APNEA BOARD WEBSITE AND FORUMS ARE PERSONAL OPINION ONLY AND NOT NECESSARILY A STATEMENT OF FACT.
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#16
RE: Sleep Medicine Doctors in the U.S?
(12-06-2019, 05:39 PM)SleepyTexasGirl Wrote:
(12-06-2019, 03:07 PM)Osiris357 Wrote: I’ve never had a doc flat out discount and ignore everything I said. I’d say sleep medicine is severely broken cause I couldn’t even begin to count how many posts I’ve seen in here saying all this also

I'm on a couple discussion boards for chronic illnesses. There are other fields and diagnoses that get doctors ignoring you. I'd say any diagnosis that requires ongoing fine tuning of treatment and has a patient compliance component. Diabetics who have high blood sugar must not be following their diet (rather than their beta cells are dying and their medication needs to be increased). People whose injuries aren't healing must not be doing their physical therapy, instead of being misdiagnosed or having poor circulation hurting healing. Problems with doctors not believing patients tend to be more common in diseases that mostly afflict women, like fibromyalgia. It's less common for doctors to ignore me. 

I had a nurse practitioner tell me I wasn't having symptoms leading up to menopause, because I was too young, and that instead I was having panic attacks, and didn't have a chronically elevated heart rate. A year and a half later, I'm well on my way to menopause.
You are 100% right sleepytexasgirl. My girlfriend is a type 2 diabetic and when she calls or goes in to say hey something is very wrong here, please help me, she is made to feel like it’s in her head or it must be something else because her numbers are great. Then a few weeks later when she’s suffering even more she calls or goes in again and then they say yeah your numbers aren’t quite right so do this. Meanwhile up until her numbers finally show it she’s suffering and I have to sit there and watch it not being able to help her. I definitely know how she feels now and so does she now understand why I get so P*ssed off at these docs. Because we sit there watching someone we love suffer and can’t do anything about it.

We sure are SarcasticDave! It definitely looks like duckitis is widespread. I’m glad my doctor for my thyroid issue has never done this or I would be dealing with 2 at the same time
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#17
RE: Sleep Medicine Doctors in the U.S?
My sleep clinic plays bait and switch. You make an appointment with the doctor and you see an NP, occasionally a PA. In addition, they are totally not set up for handicapped people. My primary does my prescription for supplies, but can't do anything about a machine so I'm stuck seeing the clinic every 5 years to get a new machine.
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