Advice for getting treatment for a New Bee

[Millie]

I'm new! Just last week I realized I have low daytime oxygen levels after accidentally stumbling upon this board and quickly ordered a cms50 plus. My sleep reports are not good. I had a dr appt yesterday and she blew me off but did suggest a dental device. Is that enough?

I'm thinking I need more so I'm trying to learn really fast as I have appt. with a different dr tomorrow and might be able to get a prescription based on my reports. I'm hoping to avoid a lab sleep study due to health issues but I will do what is necessary as I can see now that low oxygen may explain why I've been able to heal.

I am attaching a report and would ask for observations and suggestions on treatment that I could ask for from my dr. so I can begin treatment as soon as possible. I've already found some great info and some suggestioms on type of APAP to buy with sd card but I'm not sure that info is up to date.

Does anyone else deal with chemical sensitivities? I'm worried about plastics and especially vinyl. Thank you!

Ok. I can't get the image of my report to attach. Can I attach a pdf? I spent 27.9 minutes <88% last night. Avg. Low 85.5%. My basal spo2% is 91.7. Index per hour 20.8. I'll keep trying to get my report posted.

Millie

[Sleeprider]

I will take a guess that you are near normal weight and do not have the normal (obese) co-morbidities often associated with obstructive sleep apnea. Doctors often look at thin people and simply reject the possibility that they may have sleep disordered breathing. Sleep apnea comes in many forms, including straight obstructive sleep apnea, complex and mixed apnea, and upper or lower airway resistance associated with other breathing disorder (COPD, asthema, etc). So there is a lot of ground to cover, and a dental device addresses only one of those; obstruction in the upper airway caused by the jaw moving back at night.

What is needed is a proper clinical sleep study, which will diagnose the type and frequency of any sleep disordered breathing, and may include physical evaluation of your upper airway by an ENT. You should insist on a sleep study referral, simply because at this point, you just got blown off and your concerns totally disregarded. You need a professional opinion on whether the low oxygen and other symptoms you are having have a physical cause. Also, chronic hypoxia will show up in blood tests as an increase in pH due to higher carbon dioxide. Did your doctor even consider referral for blood testing, or consult your last tests?

[icyura10]

SleepRider's got it dialed in pretty good..

I'd also advocate for you to see a pulmonologist certified in sleep disorders considering your statements

• Just last week I realized I have low daytime oxygen levels after accidentally stumbling upon this board and quickly ordered a cms50 plus.
  
• My sleep reports are not good.
  

While an ENT is a good place to start, it seems most ENT's aren't sleep specialists. Second, if you are really experiencing a pulmonary issue of some kind, you will likely be refereed to a pulmonologist anyway.

If it were me, I'd just start with the pulmonologist and get it over with. Just my thoughts.

[Millie]

No, my integrative doctor didn't want to do anything. She's a major disappointment but my best option for thyroid treatment, at this point. I think I can get my needs met from the dr I see each week for acupuncture but I want to walk in there knowing what assessments and treatments are necessary so I can ask for them if not offered. So I understand your opinion is to get a full sleep study, dont just start treating with APAP. My mom had sleep study and she said that was a joke. How do I find a quality dr and facility. Is there a "good doctor" list?

I'm 45lbs overweight.

Millie

[Sleeprider]

Millie, I think you need to see a conventional physician. You seem to be into some alternative medical specialists, and they are not going to be dialed into using a positive air pressure to resolve your problem when they can feed you hummus or poke you with needles instead. This is just not their dance. You can probably get a referral from your insurance for an in-network primary care physician, or if allowed, you can self-refer to a specialist in pulmonology with an interest in sleep medicine.

[trish6hundred]

Hi Millie,
WELCOME! to the forum.!
I would see another doc, the one you saw doesn't seem to want to get you taken care of.
Good luck to you in figuring out what is going on, hang in there for more responses to your post.

[PoolQ]

There is at least on of the suppliers in the links above (top of page) that offers home sleep testing that can result in a prescription. IIRC it's under $300 and you get to do it at home. Even a dentist can prescribe CPAP, getting a prescription is typically not the issue-that would be getting insurance to pay for one of these other sources.

It's great that you did not accept your first Doctor experience. You do have low O2 and do need to get that sorted out. Low O2 can be caused by other things besides sleep apnea and your lower levels during the day indicates that something else may be going on.

[Millie]

Hoping this report will upload. Thanks for all the comments!

[Sleeprider]

There is at least on of the suppliers in the links above (top of page) that offers home sleep testing that can result in a prescription. IIRC it's under $300 and you get to do it at home. Even a dentist can prescribe CPAP, getting a prescription is typically not the issue-that would be getting insurance to pay for one of these other sources.

It's great that you did not accept your first Doctor experience. You do have low O2 and do need to get that sorted out. Low O2 can be caused by other things besides sleep apnea and your lower levels during the day indicates that something else may be going on.

I believe it is Supplier #30 that offers home sleep testing evaluated by a doctor at $299. They also offer a prescription service for $99 that uses a questionaire and might be able to use your SpO2 graph to make a determination and prescribe PAP therapy. Worth a try if insurance is an issue. That is not a sleep study, but does get your prescription. Look under Customer Service on Supplier #30.

[green wings]

Hi, Millie.

Regarding your question about chemical sensitivies, I suppose I have isolated chemical sensitivities. I did have a problem with the first CPAP mask that I tried. It had a very weird odor that made me feel queasy and dizzy when I just held it to my face and breathed through it. Soaking it in a dilute vinegar and water solution and then a dishwashing liquid and water solution for many hours didn't fix the problem.

I asked to couple of people to sniff it (people I knew, not strangers) and they said it hardly had any odor at all to them.

I switched to a different mask and that one was fine. While I had that mask, I had replacement parts for the part that fit over my nose 3 times and those were all fine.

I'm using a different model mask now, and I have had no problems with it.

I know that there are CPAP masks made from cloth, but I have not actually seen one of them. You can look at photos of them online.

You can also look at specifications for masks online and find materials of construction listed for lots of them. I think most of them use silicon for the mask and nylon or neoprene for the headgear.

I'm new! Just last week I realized I have low daytime oxygen levels after accidentally stumbling upon this board and quickly ordered a cms50 plus. My sleep reports are not good. I had a dr appt yesterday and she blew me off but did suggest a dental device. Is that enough?

I'm thinking I need more so I'm trying to learn really fast as I have appt. with a different dr tomorrow and might be able to get a prescription based on my reports. I'm hoping to avoid a lab sleep study due to health issues but I will do what is necessary as I can see now that low oxygen may explain why I've been able to heal.

I am attaching a report and would ask for observations and suggestions on treatment that I could ask for from my dr. so I can begin treatment as soon as possible. I've already found some great info and some suggestioms on type of APAP to buy with sd card but I'm not sure that info is up to date.

Does anyone else deal with chemical sensitivities? I'm worried about plastics and especially vinyl. Thank you!

Ok. I can't get the image of my report to attach. Can I attach a pdf? I spent 27.9 minutes <88% last night. Avg. Low 85.5%. My basal spo2% is 91.7. Index per hour 20.8. I'll keep trying to get my report posted.

Millie