TTMA: Sleep Studies

[doggielover]

1 of the resolutions I made for myself was to finally get a handle on my sleep - or rather lack thereof.  

I'm averaging literally 3-4 hours a night.  When I do take a sleep aid that was prescribed I either stay awake through it or I'm a zoombie the next morning and feel like I'm drugged.  DH says I do snore (a lot) which I know doesn't help when I finally do fall asleep.  I've done everything you can think of (no phones in the room, no electronics in bedroom, no tv, white noise machine etc) and nothing helps.  I'll go up to bed at 10:30, lay in bed for an hour and finally get up when I'm still not asleep to go in the guest room to watch crap tv until I finally pass out from exhaustion.  Last night I finally fell asleep on the couch downstairs at 3:30 only to be up again at 6.  Growing up I never had an issue with sleep.  

I'm assuming I need to make an appt with my primary care and have them order it?  I checked my insurance and sadly this isn't something that is covered which surprises me but what does this all entail or even how much does something like this cost?  I sleep even worse when I'm not in my own house so I can only imagine how this would go.  

[Bernadine]

I’m following, because I also need to do this, but just FYI, I’ve heard most sleep studies now can be done at home.

[fluffycookie]

MH did his at home. It was pretty simple - a piece that went under his nose, a sensor on his finger and a belt that went around his chest. They gave him links to videos to show how to set up and use the equipment. Good luck!!

[elefun]

DH did one at home and insurance did not cover it, nor did it cover his cpap.

It was about 1k through a local hospital sleep lab.

[turkletsmom]

H just did this in October for his snoring. He went to his PCP and he put in a referral with the sleep clinic associated with them and he was monitored from home through the device.
It did take about 4-5 weeks to get his cpap machine due to a chip shortage. But now that he has it, he's sleeping so much better. Our insurance covered it so I don't know the cost.

[katfco]

My husband is going through this right now. I pushed him into it because his snoring is getting worse and I can't stand it anymore (I'm also worried about the health implications). His PCP sent in a referral and they're going to send a home set up for him to do.

[doggielover]

Jan 19, 2022 14:24:51 GMT -5 fluffycookie said:

MH did his at home. It was pretty simple - a piece that went under his nose, a sensor on his finger and a belt that went around his chest. They gave him links to videos to show how to set up and use the equipment. Good luck!!

There's a lot of "at home" ones - do you know which company he used or was it one from his primary care?

[cricketwife]

I've never had sleep study and based on your description, my sleep issues were not as severe as yours. However, if you're open to anything, intermittent fasting may help. And it's fine you have no interest in trying it. I know I'm not directly answering your question. But for me, I started intermittent fasting a year ago and the impact on my sleep was almost immediate and dramatic. I started it because I wanted to lose weight, but it was really remarkable to me how quickly my sleep improved. It did not improve my snoring, so I'm not saying don't do the sleep study, but just tuck it away as an idea of something that might be helpful.

[megkat]

I did mine at home through the local sleep disorder clinic. I had an appointment, they explained how to use all of the equipment, I took it home, and returned it at the designated time. My insurance covered everything, and even though it wasn’t my greatest night sleep ever, it was enough to easily diagnose my sleep apnea. I started with making an appointment with my PCP, who referred me to the sleep disorder clinic

Good luck! Getting my CPAP machine has been truly life changing for me

[luckystar2]

I’ve done the at home and in clinic ones. The first step was my pcp. She referred me to a sleep clinic. I did a telemed visit with the sleep specialist. He thought sleep study was warranted. We decided to try the at home first. I picked up the equipment and returned the next day. It was pretty easy. Just a chest strap and a finger thing. The results were basically inconclusive. So then I did the in clinic sleep study. It ended up being a mess. There was a mixup with rooms which was a pain. And it was during Covid/pre-vaccine so I was already super stressed to be there doing it. That along with not being at home etc - I just couldn’t sleep. The dr said apnea wasn’t found but they also didn’t really get much data from me.

The reason I did it was because of headaches/fatigue which I thought were due to poor sleep. I would wake up a lot and snore. So apnea seemed plausible. I later ended up changing allergy medications and that has really helped my headaches and sleep. I think I just didn’t realize how incredibly congested I was.

As for cost, I have HSA so I pay everything until I meet my deductible. I’m trying to look at my bills but of course they are confusing. it looks like the at home is listed as $700 but around $500 with insurance adjustments. The in clinic one is listed as over $4k initially but with insurance adjustments around $3k. I must have hit my deductible though at that point because I only had to pay a portion. Costs will vary widely though!

[luckydog]

I have done a ton of sleep studies.

First they might do an overnight pulse ox if they don’t do a home study first. The pulse ox is literally the little red finger light all night, that’s it. A home study will either have a chest strap or a headband thing across the forehead. Sometimes it has a few other things like a pulse ox or nasal cannula (which doesn’t deliver anything like what you see people who use oxygen wear, instead it measures things).

If the home study does not provide results that make sense for your situation, sometimes they’ll order a second one or they’ll move onto an in-lab study. You sleep at a lab all night. Bring a pillow and blanket so it feels as cozy as possible. Ask your doc for one ambien for that might because some will do it if you feel nervous. They have you go in the late evening, glue a bunch of stuff to your hair and out sensors on your torso and legs. You get ready for bed and go to sleep. If you wake up to pee a lot, you do have to ask them to unhook for the bathroom but don’t feel bad or weird about it.

At this point, you likely will get some sort of result. If you do not manage to sleep, try not to feel discouraged because that is also useful information for your doctor.

Insurance can be a huge pain. Home studies are often covered without issue but of course that’s not always true. Ask your doctor for he billing codes they’ll use for any kind of test or study, then call your insurance company yourself to ask what if those is covered or what has pre-authorization requirements and ask what else you need to know (like what labs or equipment suppliers are in network and get those names and addresses). Always call the lab or location you’ll be referred to and ask THEM if they take your insurance because my insurance does not guarantee their database is accurate (dumb, I know).

There are also online companies that’ll do a sleep study and order a cpap for you and you can do that but it’s often better if you already know you’ll get results but it’s also often a lot cheaper. There’s also WatchPat on Amazon that has inexpensive compared to going thru a doc and many people have success with that, but not always.

Edit: please ignore typos. Autocorrect and all that.

[fluffycookie]

Jan 19, 2022 14:38:39 GMT -5 doggielover said:

Jan 19, 2022 14:24:51 GMT -5 fluffycookie said:

MH did his at home. It was pretty simple - a piece that went under his nose, a sensor on his finger and a belt that went around his chest. They gave him links to videos to show how to set up and use the equipment. Good luck!!

There's a lot of "at home" ones - do you know which company he used or was it one from his primary care?

His PCP ordered it after he went for his physical. We’re in mass and It was thru Neurocare

[sweetchix]

I need to get a sleep study done too as I have night terrors almost every night. I used to jump out of bed and run into the hall while shaking “bugs” off is me, but fortunately that hasn’t happened in a while. It’s now mostly me yelling at something to “GET OUT” or yelling “what is it?” like there is something in my bed. I have an app that records any noises during the night.

I had mentioned this to my PCP at my last physical and she recommended a specialist for the study, but my part of the cost was pricey and I didn’t feel it was worth it. I may try to fit it in this year though.

[luckydog]

To add, if your pcp isn’t available for awhile or you don’t have one, you can see a number of other specialities if you already have a relationship and they’re familiar with sleep medicine—sleep specialist, dentist/orthodontist (because of the functional problems apnea can sometimes be caused by), psychiatrist (sleep and mental health can sometimes be related and psychologists can often prescribe the same meds for mental health as they would for sleep disorders in addition to a cpap or other treatments), pulmonologist, neurologist or ENT for a sleep study. Not every single person in these roles will be familiar enough to go through the entire process, but if there is someone you have an established relationship already ask that person first. If they don’t do sleep medicine then they’ll have good recommendations or you can try the next one you have a relationship with. I point out dentists because if you have to switch PCPs due to insurance or whatever reason, a lot of people still have the same dentist and don’t have to wait for a new patient appointment. I suppose the same is true with the other specialists.

To get started, one of these medical professionals will order the sleep study for you barring insurance issues. They should help guide you through the process but that hasn’t always been my experience. A pcp will probably want to run a blood panel to rule out other things if you haven’t had one in awhile, which is fine because if you do have something else going on you’ll feel so much better getting it all taken care of.

[isabel]

I have no advice. Just here to say that every thread about medical shit makes me want to throw things. Our country is so fucking stupid about so many things, but medical care/insurance is high in that list.

I hope you have success and start sleeping better soon, OP.

[macmars45]

I did a home sleep study, slept barely enough for them to gather the info they needed and tried a cpap for a month. I slept worse with it than without it. I tried multiple face mask options and they all hurt/didn't stay on right etc etc and I'd wake up at 2 or 3am and would be up for the day. It wasn't sustainable for me. My next option is a mouth guard thing but it's a process of 6 months or so between fittings at a dentist and multiple sleep studies so I haven't done it. I also moved to another city with less medical options so it's more daunting than before.

doggielover I hope you get some answers and workable solutions.

[SwimDeep]

I was falling asleep in meetings at work and my H was worried about my snoring. My pcp authorized an at home sleep study, and the company (sorry, I don't remember the name) mailed it to me. I wore a band around my chest and a little thing on my finger for two nights and then mailed it back. It was actually a pretty quick turnaround to get the results (moderate sleep apnea).

My insurance did cover the testing and some of the cost of the cpap machine and supplies, but it was still expensive. And I also have issues with how the mask fits. I switched to a different nose piece (I don't have a full mouth/nose mask) and that has helped, but I'm also starting to research the mandibular device. My only hesitation with that is that I don't think my apnea is caused by a physical blockage. My brain just forgets that it's supposed to make sure I keep breathing (there's a med term for it that I can't remember). So the mandibular device might not help.

Overall, though, my sleep definitely improves when I use the cpap. I usually wake up more rested, even if it wakes me up at night sometimes.

[boiler717]

My mom just had one. Her PCP ordered it. She stopped breathing 57 times an hour (goal is less than 5). I hope her machine is life-changing for her!