[Diagnosis] POLL: Do you know of anyone who was NOT diagnosed with Apnea after a sleep "study"?

[S. Manz]

Sounds like someone I know and she does not have apnea...just like your friend...only a bad case of snoring:-)

[Sleeprider]

Sleep test outcomes are biased to determine an event index prescribed by insurance to qualify the patient for reimbursement for equipment that treats obstructive sleep apnea and hypopnea. That definition of sleep disordered breathing leaves many people with severe flow limitation and and upper airway resistance syndrome with a negative result for sleep apnea, but suffering debilitating symptoms, easily treated with CPAP or BPAP. Sleep medicine is an oxymoron because it is really insurance screening that generally ignores problems not qualified for insurance reimbursement. Not only does sleep testing fail to qualify many people that desperately need positive pressure therapy due to obstructive disorders, but it consistently diagnoses individuals with central apnea and more complex respiratory disorders with obstructive sleep apnea and mis-treats them with an inappropriate CPAP device.

I'm not voting because sleep tests are a joke. A test that costs more than the device it attempts to disqualify patients to receive under insurance guidelines, conducted by doctors you never see, and that consider this an easy buck to be made by reviewing technician reports. What a crock. FWIW I know of many people that have failed to demonstrate sleep apnea, even with severe sleep disordered breathing.

[brianc18t]

My wife came back negative…. And I always questioned if my sleep Dr is in the up and up

[S. Manz]

Sleep test outcomes are biased to determine an event index prescribed by insurance to qualify the patient for reimbursement for equipment ...........

In parts of the world like Canada, where state-sponsored healthcare adds another 2 digit number on people's income taxes, the sleep study is an industry where no one get's out with a "negative" test result because a positive test result funds entire industries and jobs whereby everyone from manufacturers of equipment to the middlemen and doctors on state payroll benefit, thanks to taxpayers deep pockets. I know because I have extensive friends and family in Canada and western Europe.
That said my intent to conduct this poll is to see if I can come up with some kind of statistical result on the scope of this industry, except that in the US, things are the opposite of everywhere else, due to differences in our healthcare with the rest of the world.
So I will have another driver in my stats that is to do with demographics of the respondents.

[SarcasticDave94]

Yep the capitalism way keeps us from having good PAP tests.

If I have it right, I would be in jail in Canada because I'm a Christian and would likely witness to a homosexual about needing God. Or maybe my stance on guns comes up. Surprising, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania doesn't look that bad after all. If only we could be rid of Wolf and Shuster the Shyster.

[SleeplessinPgh]

My husband's test came back negative.

[S. Manz]

If I have it right, I would be in jail in Canada because I'm a Christian and would likely witness to a homosexual about needing God. Or maybe my stance on guns comes up. 

Absolutely. Stay put and away from the biorder my friend.

[Sleeprider]

In parts of the world like Canada, where state-sponsored healthcare adds another 2 digit number on people's income taxes, the sleep study is an industry where no one get's out with a "negative" test result because a positive test result funds entire industries and jobs whereby everyone from manufacturers of equipment to the middlemen and doctors on state payroll benefit, thanks to taxpayers deep pockets. I know because I have extensive friends and family in Canada and western Europe.

I disagree. The insurance system the skews our results in the U.S. is Medicare, which is a socialist as anything you can find.  Medicare saw an avalanche of costs associated with CPAP therapy, and required proof that the therapy was medically necessary. This ended up costing more than just accepting a doctor's opinion. Canada and most countries with public medical coverage, consistently ignore anything more complex than obstructive sleep apnea.  Based on our members in Canada, U.K. AU, Europe and Asia, your countries have made it more difficult and expensive to obtain any advanced therapy out of pocket, when you can't get the "system" to pay attention to what is going on.  Import restrictions, value added taxes and restrictive regulations on medical equipment mean you pay significantly more for advanced bilevel therapy, if you can get it at all.  Rarely, we see someone like you with ASV, and AVAPS is nearly unheard of. Do you really think you would have the privilege of getting ASV in Canada with your medical background and symptoms?

[hegel]

Kaiser encouraged me to take a home test. And they very highly encouraged me to go on cpap. I think Kaiser comes at this from the other direction: apnea can lead to worse health outcomes that are more expensive to treat than apnea itself. So my sense is, if anything, they err toward over-diagnosing for apnea; or in any case, they want to make it cheap and easy to use cpap.

when I went to a Kaiser cpap class, the room was filled with men, mostly my age (older) who were with their wives. They watched the presentation and still shook their heads "NO" when it came to cpap. Their wives shook their heads "yes".

so there's a ton of resistance to using cpap. My brother's wife kept getting terrible results on her sleep tests but wouldn't use cpap for years. the two of us got on her and now she's a convert. I think it's more typical for people who need cpap to refuse treatment than for people who don't need it to be 'forced' to use the machine. I mean, who would continue if it made no difference in their lives? that's why I doubt the claim that there's an industry forcing people to use cpap in order to line the pockets of evil doctors and the medical industry.

With Kaiser, I get a huge discount on a new machine and on masks through Supplier #1. The latter benefits through volume selling; Kaiser benefits by having a healthier set of subscribers who aren't having sleep deprivation health issues.

In other words, cpap is a form of "wellness" intervention. Healthy lifestyle means fewer costly patients with other conditions.

Oh, and yeah, I sing the Marseillaise every time I see my doctors!

Odd, given the horrible nature of the Canadian health care system that Canadians continue to support it and have for decades. Same with France and the rest of Europe.

[S. Manz]

 Do you really think you would have the privilege of getting ASV in Canada with your medical background and symptoms?

Healthcare in Canada is a Provincial matter so the Provinces have full autonomy on dispensing their own healthcare while the federal government supports the provinces via annual "federal healthcare transfers" which depend on factors such as the population and the average demographics age.
How healthcare costs are controlled in each province, very much depend on whether there is a Liberal or a Conservative party ruling the legislature.
Generally speaking, the Liberals increase costs while the Conservatives cut liberal mandates when they are elected.

That said, in Ontario where upwards of 40% of the entire population resides, including a lot of my family and friends, the current Conservative government has cut payouts for CPAP ,machines and also levied a "copay" of about a whopping 25% on them.(unless they are over 65 in which case the province picks up the full tab)
Looking at the list of machines that they cover, the selection is certainly wide and includes all models of APAP, BIPAPS and other auto machine, but does NOT cover "NON-LIFE SUPPORT" ASV machines for home use. (the type you and I are on).
They do however cover "LIFE-SUPPORT" ASV units for home use for severe life threatening cases where the patient's life is on the line and long term hospitalization is not practical.

Canadians are able to have access to "any" CPAP machine they want (in Ontario at least), as long as they are prepared to pay for it themselves. In fact Canadians can order machines online from abroad like the US "without a prescription" and there is ZERO $ customs duties on their imports.

Again I know all this because....:-)

As for the rest of Canadians who know nothing other than dependency on the government for their own healthcare, then they can get any machine their doctors prescribe under their provincial healthcare program and pay 25% of it, unless it is a ASV machine , for which they will either have to be one step away from the grave...or just puck up the full tab themselves.....so YES, the state decides what therapy is good for you, up in Canadistan....Then again, all socialist systems do the same, including and not limited to the US Medicare/Medicade.