Question:
About first consult for sleep study

I have made an appt. with a sleep dr. because I feel I may have sleep apnea plus I feel like it may help in my battle with the insurance company...can anyone tell me what you do on your first visit? I know I won't be sleeping the first time...my appt. is at 2:45 p.m...just curious...by the way..thanks so much to all the helpful people on this site! God Bless!    — Amy S. (posted on July 11, 2002)

July 11, 2002
On my first visit, when I went into the office, height, weight and then a questionaire about my sleep habits. Then I had to do a pulminary functions test. Breathing in tubes, with clips on my nose, it's nothing to prep for, except if you smoke you cannot for 4 hours before the test. Then if the Dr. feels the need he will send you to a sleep center. Mine consisted of 2 days of being wired up and watched.
   — Moma V.

July 11, 2002
My surgeon required me to have a sleep study before I could be scheduled for surgery. My first appointment, I just talked with the doctor and took a test on a computer. The test was like a video game. I was in control of a car and there was a deer that would appear on one side of the road. I had to move the car to the other side of the road to miss the deer. Then the doctor scored it and you only could hit so many deer to pass. It was about 30 minutes of going back and forth from lane to lane on a road. As you could imagine it was boring and therefore you start hitting the deer because your reflex is not as quick after doing it for a long period of time. The test results were included in my prior approval for BCBS. The doctor also asks you misc. questions about your sleeping patterns and problems you have with sleeping. Then if from the inital interview the doctor feels that you have a problem he schedules a sleep study. If you do have Apnea the CPAP really does help matters. My sleeping really improved. Now that I have lost quit a bit of weight I no longer am using the CPAP because I am able to sleep just fine. I hope this answer is what you are looking for. If you have any other questions let me know. Good luck....
   — Christy B.

July 12, 2002
I had to fill out a 20 page form (hundreds of questions) and monitor my sleep habits for a two week period and log all of this, so when I met the pulmonary Dr. he looked it all over and from there, they set up a sleep study appt. For that you arrive at the Hospital in the evening and they hook you up to tons of wires and tell you to sleep (ha ha), but they do get enough info to determine your diagnosis. Good Luck! (PS, I do have it)
   — Dana B.