Do Sleep Doctors...

[PsychoMike]

This topic I think is a microcosm of the way a lot of things in life work. There are very knowledgeable and expert people available on most issues and then some not so good and some downright poor folks. You have to do your homework to find and get to the first tier folks.

100% this.

There are some sleep docs out there who are specialists, know their stuff and want the best treatment for each patient...they are the top tier folks you want to find. There are also those who've had a couple extra courses beyond the 1-2 days they got in medical school and look at the PSG info for a DME. For the latter, they may not have much of a clue other than the diagnostic stage and don't care because the RT at the DME is supposed to take care of the treatment side.

I had a sleep doc do the diagnosis (UARS in my case), but that's as far as I dealt with one. Where I am, they are not common and you'd be looking at weeks to months for an appointment each time. Most DME's have a relationship with one, but most rely on their respiratory therapists (RT's) to do the grunt work of CPAP therapy treatment.

My DME and RT have changed as I found that using SH and the machine data I was able to optimize my treatment far better than they cared to (i.e. I had a DME where I was a profit, more than a patient). My current DME and RT are much better. I have a good relationship with them where I am integral to my treatment....we actually discuss what's going on and, because I have a decent level of information learned from here and elsewhere, I'm actually listened to (heck, I often am discussing things with my RT that he found out about the week before because I'm staying current about CPAPs and masks).

I personally feel that the machine data is reasonably accurate and can be a good tool to evaluate and adjust your treatment...not as good as a proper PSG on new equipment (assuming you sleep well at the clinic), but better than what the ancient equipment gets in an "old school" PSG or if you sleep like crap at the clinic. Using the machine data, you have far more time available (weeks, not hours) to evaluate changes and make adjustments....which can result in far better overall treatment optimization.

Just my couple pennies worth