Jan. 17th, 2006

billeyler: (sunlight)
There was a message on the machine when we got back late late Sunday night...from Friday, when the sleep center called to schedule a study report. Of course, I wouldn't be in town when the call came.

As of today, I'm officially convinced that this whole 'sleep study' industry is a total racket, with absolutely zero concern for the patient and 100% concern for the corporate bottom line. How CAN I be an accountant and not think that.

The first clue was a rare thing. Last week, I got the bill for the overnight sleep study. $2,350. Amazing. That's twice what I paid WITHOUT insurance for a 1979 4-cyst removal surgery that corrected a serious problem I'd had for years that I was starting to think was cancer. That's 80% of what I paid WITHOUT insurance for orthodontics and braces in 1985-1987. That's the ONLY bill I've ever gotten in the past few years for a hospital visit. The others have just been totally invisible behind a small co-pay.

So today, I go to my 3pm appointment to see my sleep doc about the results of the December 28 study. Mind you, I made this appointment 23 hours before at 4pm yesterday when I returned the call. And before that it took a full six weeks before I could get my INITIAL appointment. I don't get it.

So I get the results. In a nutshell, I have 'mild' obstructive sleep apnea. In reading over the 10 points of the summary, I've decided the results were mostly made up and unprovable, unless I were able to be smart enought to read the results and see the video and sound portion of the study. The big lie was that it said I slept 71% of the 463 minutes of the full study. That is a downright fabrication. It's impossible that I slept more than 60 minutes, if that. My 'oxygenation' was lowest at 87% with 98% of the study of 90%, which I assume is good, but what does that prove, since I never really slept. "1 apnea, 16 hypopnea events" Big whoop.

The end result is that the doctor asked what I wanted to do, after giving me two options. The CPAP was the lesser of the recommendations; the recommended one was a "Herbst Appliance" which is apparently only available from one person in all of metro Albuquerque. Hmm, I thinks. The doctor was unsure about what kind of cost was involved with this mouth sleeping device, and if insurance would cover the appliance AND the CPAP if the appliance didn't do any good. This appliance would likely cost about $1500 for what appears to simply be a retainer with hinges. Confidence level dropping quickly on my part, considering they put through at least six sleep subject studies a day for five days a week.

But actually, for a good bit of the visit, the doctor talks to me about Popejoy Hall, and Musical Theatre Southwest, where I used to work (I was still wearing my Popejoy badge from work).

One irking bit, was that this doctor visit cost ANOTHER co-pay of $35, with the same mindless taking of the weight, the temperature, blood pressure, etc etc etc that eats up insurance. Why wouldn't a simple discussion of results be included in that hugely inflated overnight stay cost, I wonder.

Anyway, I'm thinking that I'm going to just let this apnea bit drop. Danny as well as other people encouraged me to do this. I have, and it's done.

Now tomorrow morning, I'm going for another worthless test, the Stress Echocardiogram, as part of this a-fib deal, to see if my body will tolerate some of the preventative drugs for a-fib. I guess it's just another way to pass the time and keep the machinery of the medical industry going. Sorry, [livejournal.com profile] fuzzygruf, my respect for the medical field is WAY low right now, at least this portion of it.
billeyler: (sunlight)
There was a message on the machine when we got back late late Sunday night...from Friday, when the sleep center called to schedule a study report. Of course, I wouldn't be in town when the call came.

As of today, I'm officially convinced that this whole 'sleep study' industry is a total racket, with absolutely zero concern for the patient and 100% concern for the corporate bottom line. How CAN I be an accountant and not think that.

The first clue was a rare thing. Last week, I got the bill for the overnight sleep study. $2,350. Amazing. That's twice what I paid WITHOUT insurance for a 1979 4-cyst removal surgery that corrected a serious problem I'd had for years that I was starting to think was cancer. That's 80% of what I paid WITHOUT insurance for orthodontics and braces in 1985-1987. That's the ONLY bill I've ever gotten in the past few years for a hospital visit. The others have just been totally invisible behind a small co-pay.

So today, I go to my 3pm appointment to see my sleep doc about the results of the December 28 study. Mind you, I made this appointment 23 hours before at 4pm yesterday when I returned the call. And before that it took a full six weeks before I could get my INITIAL appointment. I don't get it.

So I get the results. In a nutshell, I have 'mild' obstructive sleep apnea. In reading over the 10 points of the summary, I've decided the results were mostly made up and unprovable, unless I were able to be smart enought to read the results and see the video and sound portion of the study. The big lie was that it said I slept 71% of the 463 minutes of the full study. That is a downright fabrication. It's impossible that I slept more than 60 minutes, if that. My 'oxygenation' was lowest at 87% with 98% of the study of 90%, which I assume is good, but what does that prove, since I never really slept. "1 apnea, 16 hypopnea events" Big whoop.

The end result is that the doctor asked what I wanted to do, after giving me two options. The CPAP was the lesser of the recommendations; the recommended one was a "Herbst Appliance" which is apparently only available from one person in all of metro Albuquerque. Hmm, I thinks. The doctor was unsure about what kind of cost was involved with this mouth sleeping device, and if insurance would cover the appliance AND the CPAP if the appliance didn't do any good. This appliance would likely cost about $1500 for what appears to simply be a retainer with hinges. Confidence level dropping quickly on my part, considering they put through at least six sleep subject studies a day for five days a week.

But actually, for a good bit of the visit, the doctor talks to me about Popejoy Hall, and Musical Theatre Southwest, where I used to work (I was still wearing my Popejoy badge from work).

One irking bit, was that this doctor visit cost ANOTHER co-pay of $35, with the same mindless taking of the weight, the temperature, blood pressure, etc etc etc that eats up insurance. Why wouldn't a simple discussion of results be included in that hugely inflated overnight stay cost, I wonder.

Anyway, I'm thinking that I'm going to just let this apnea bit drop. Danny as well as other people encouraged me to do this. I have, and it's done.

Now tomorrow morning, I'm going for another worthless test, the Stress Echocardiogram, as part of this a-fib deal, to see if my body will tolerate some of the preventative drugs for a-fib. I guess it's just another way to pass the time and keep the machinery of the medical industry going. Sorry, [livejournal.com profile] fuzzygruf, my respect for the medical field is WAY low right now, at least this portion of it.

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