Time for a new Dr.?
Question:
Well… *sleep* disorder, *sleep* specialist. *ENT* problem, *ENT* specialist. Does this make sense? Probably. It’s a good thing your doc was not a $urgeon. regards, eric pearson db2e…@nospammindspring.com – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -On Thu, 15 Jun 2000 19:18:12 -0700, "AT" <tier…@prodigy.net> wrote: >I have been diagnosed with severe OSA by an ENT Dr. >He suggested that I try CPAP with a setting of 9mm after in home sleep study >(4Hr. with a recorder and a pulse oxymeter). His instructions were – Give >it a try for 3mo. and then get back to me. >Well, despite feeling a little better the first night, I felt like the CPAP >was not keeping up with my breathing. The second night was awful, and I >would wake up to pull the mask off. After a week of this, I called the >Resp. tech who set me up with the CPAP. >She got a prescription to change it to 11cm. That was the best night that >I can remember having, I woke up with lots of energy and felt great. The >2nd night was not so good and getting worse by the days. I have called the >resp. tech and the Dr. for a new pressure change. That was two weeks ago. >I finally resorted to having to change it myself. I am now a lot more >confortable with 15mm. I don’t feel that I am suffocating and I do feel >better. >I am looking to get refered to a new Doctor. Should I look for a sleep >specialist or another ENT. I live in Port Orchard, WA. Any >recommendations? >This whole process has been so slow -From getting am appointment with the >ENT (1 mo), waiting for the CPAP (1 mo.), and now trying to get adjusted to >the right setting (1.5mo). This has been real frustrating >Thank you, >Alex
Response:
I think a sleep specialist is better, I was sent to a ENT about 3 years before a sleep specialist and he wanted to operate and said when I lost about 10 stone he would operate. Lucky for me he was sued by a number of people before an operation took place {but I was never going to lose 10 stone (a stone is 14 lbs.)} He had to close up. Than I read an article on sleep apnea and went to my GP who was a new one I was going to after last guy sent me to ENT, and I was sent to a sleep specialist and after much test etc was put on CPAP but all my testing was done in a hospital night 1 sleep test night 2 test with CPAP in which they test pressures out until they get the right pressure for you. The only CPAP to use after these test you did probably would be a auto CPAP. I Did a test like you describe but that was before hospital just because hospital waiting lists are long here in Australia if you use the public health system. Warren – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -"AT" <tier…@prodigy.net> wrote in message news:8ic2tl$nlu$1@newssvr03-int.news.prodigy.com… > I have been diagnosed with severe OSA by an ENT Dr. > He suggested that I try CPAP with a setting of 9mm after in home sleep study > (4Hr. with a recorder and a pulse oxymeter). His instructions were – Give > it a try for 3mo. and then get back to me. > Well, despite feeling a little better the first night, I felt like the CPAP > was not keeping up with my breathing. The second night was awful, and I > would wake up to pull the mask off. After a week of this, I called the > Resp. tech who set me up with the CPAP. > She got a prescription to change it to 11cm. That was the best night that > I can remember having, I woke up with lots of energy and felt great. The > 2nd night was not so good and getting worse by the days. I have called the > resp. tech and the Dr. for a new pressure change. That was two weeks ago. > I finally resorted to having to change it myself. I am now a lot more > confortable with 15mm. I don’t feel that I am suffocating and I do feel > better. > I am looking to get refered to a new Doctor. Should I look for a sleep > specialist or another ENT. I live in Port Orchard, WA. Any > recommendations? > This whole process has been so slow -From getting am appointment with the > ENT (1 mo), waiting for the CPAP (1 mo.), and now trying to get adjusted to > the right setting (1.5mo). This has been real frustrating > Thank you, > Alex
Response:
I have been diagnosed with severe OSA by an ENT Dr. He suggested that I try CPAP with a setting of 9mm after in home sleep study (4Hr. with a recorder and a pulse oxymeter). His instructions were – Give it a try for 3mo. and then get back to me. Well, despite feeling a little better the first night, I felt like the CPAP was not keeping up with my breathing. The second night was awful, and I would wake up to pull the mask off. After a week of this, I called the Resp. tech who set me up with the CPAP. She got a prescription to change it to 11cm. That was the best night that I can remember having, I woke up with lots of energy and felt great. The 2nd night was not so good and getting worse by the days. I have called the resp. tech and the Dr. for a new pressure change. That was two weeks ago. I finally resorted to having to change it myself. I am now a lot more confortable with 15mm. I don’t feel that I am suffocating and I do feel better. I am looking to get refered to a new Doctor. Should I look for a sleep specialist or another ENT. I live in Port Orchard, WA. Any recommendations? This whole process has been so slow -From getting am appointment with the ENT (1 mo), waiting for the CPAP (1 mo.), and now trying to get adjusted to the right setting (1.5mo). This has been real frustrating Thank you, Alex
Response:
AT wrote: > I am looking to get refered to a new Doctor. Should I look for a sleep > specialist or another ENT. I live in Port Orchard, WA. Any > recommendations? > This whole process has been so slow -From getting am appointment with the > ENT (1 mo), waiting for the CPAP (1 mo.), and now trying to get adjusted to > the right setting (1.5mo). This has been real frustrating
As much as it does sound like you need a new Dr., it also sounds like you could benefit from having a titration at a sleep lab rather than the "hit and miss" method preferred by your current Dr. And personally speaking it should be a sleep specialist, (and while there are ENTs who are sleep specialists, they usually are pulmonologists or neurologists). As frustrating as the length of time seems to you, it is something most of us have go through… First convincing our Primary we need something more than, "give it a few weeks, maybe you have a mild virus illness that will pass" (which took about three or four months) it took me about a month to get to the Specialist, then the wait for an opening in the sleep lab (from June to August) to getting titrated (I was lucky they had a cancellation ten days later or it would have been in November) to the wait for the equipment. Yes it is time consuming and frustrating, and also worth every bit of it once things are set properly and you spend the additional time to get use to the setup (which could be immediate or could take 6 months or more). Regaining the ability to think and act rationally as well as the energy to go about normal routines that had sapped energy in the past is worth it. — Magesteff - "The only real valuable thing is intuition." -Albert Einstein
