How long between sleep study and surgery...

I am like you.. I am going for my sleep study next friday the 18th. I am actually really frustrated because I was hoping to not have to do the sleep study especially since i have a 1 year old at home. I was told I have to do the study because my father has sleep apnea, and i have high blood pressure. I was really upset at my apointment yesterday. I am having my surgery at Jefferson. I just wrote a really long blog about this and being anxious, and feeling like everything is being prolonged and the only thing that is getting done is i am paying copays out the butt for extra apointments when i am reading people's stories of being set and ready to go with a surgery date in less than 2 months. Did anyone here have to do a sleep consultation first? I just wish they would have scheduled the sleep study instead of making me pay a 30 dollar co pay just to tell me i have to do the sleep study with a 50 dollar co pay. I feel like having a surgery date isn't coming fast enough. Like you everything else is done.

The most efficient way to do this for patients, and the way I do it is to schedule the sleep study, PFT, and chest x-ray right away.  Then, once all of that is done, I send the pt. to the pulmonologist, who will order CPAP if needed, or clear the pt. if they do not have sleep apnea.  The does save the patient co-pays.  The pulmonary process takes the longest to get through.  Unfortunately, not every program does things the same way.  Just get through this, it is worth it in the end!

I wasnt told about a chest xRay.   Is that the endoscopy appointment?  And do all patients have to go to the pulmonologist to be cleared after the sleep study?  I really don't think i have sleep apnea.  I never snore, never wake up with night tremors, or wake myself up cause i can't breath. I sometimes get up for the bathroom, but thats it. And My fiance says I don't snore.. but i'm working myself up over this so bad, i am afraid i wont be able to fall asleep or i'm worried i do have it and its going to take longer now to get cleared for surgery.  I work 12-8pm and they are telling me lights out at 11pm for the test.. I dont even fall asleep until 2am sometimes because of my work hours...lol and not only that, they already ordered a cpap machine for me and are making me come back in 2 weeks after the sleep study.  When I asked why, they said for my results...I mean, couldn't they give me the results over the phone?  I understand if i have it, then go from there, but to anticipate an appointment and another 30 dollar co pay just to tell me my results i dont think is right. in 3 weeks, I am paying 110 dollars just in co pays just for this part.  Apart of me wants to feel guilty though because according to insurances, this is an elective procedure, and the way the receptionist was making me feel at this appointment was if your complaining about paying co pays, don't do the surgery then.  I mean, does anyone agree with me here that making me go back just to tell me results is just not right?  I get my blood work results over the phone, and thankfully, not too long ago, i had a stress test done, and those results were given over the phone. So what makes this any different?  I have a one year old and money is tight enough so paying an extra 30 dollar co pay for a 5-10 minute appointment is alot to me.

Not every program asks for a chest x-ray until you get to you pre-admission testing appointment.  We have several pulmonologists that want a chest x-ray before they will clear a patient for surgery.

The sleep study process is definitely the most frustrating for patients.  I agree that if you do NOT have sllep apnea that information could be told over the phone.  However, if you do have it, the pulmonologists like to discuss the implications of apnea and treatment with CPAP. 

The best advice is to suck it up and get it done.  Don't let anything get in your way if you really want this surgery!

i feel you pain in this. my insurance does not cover doctors office visits at all. so every visit at fitz was $200. imagine paying that just to hear the sleep study says you have apnea and we scheduled the second half of the test to see how much pressure you need. and by the way your insurance won't cover the machine even if you need it.

as far as going to sleep. when i took my test they did go by my sleep scheduled. some people didn't even come in until 11pm. just tell them your  hours and see if they could work around them.
it will be ok.  sometimes i feel that this is just a test to see how many people will drop out so they don't have to pay for the surgery or a test to see if you are emotionally strong enough to keep on the program after surgery.

I Had sleep study done last night. No co-pay and I don't pay for the machine if I do need it. Our co-pays at the most is $15. The pulmonogist send a script for me to sleep hooked up to wires until 2am and then they would wake me up at 2am to hook up c-pap to sleep w that till 6am. I woke up at 6am without pap. She said that because I didnt stop breathing more then 10 times an hour, I didnt have the need to be hooked up to the machine. So I'm guessing I don't have sleep apnea? Or maybe a very mild one.

Oh No... Thats just plain out wrong..I guess you are right that it could be worse..Do you still have apnea now that you are post op?  Also, did you know you had sleep apnea or was it completely a shock?  
 I totally agree with you about them making us go through all these hoops to wein out the serious ones.. and actually, my psychologist said that during my psyche eval..lol The insurances make obstacles...