The Results are In

Well, I went to the followup appointment and the fellow was going over the results when she spotted an error in the day study data.  The doctor had made an error in a calculation "in my favor" that resulted in correcting the diagnosis to something like "excessive sleepiness."  Still that means there's not much that can be done about it.

The doctor said if we go the medicine route we wouldn't be able to continue trying to have kids; she didn't want to be responsible for someone having kids with horns!  I checked out the medicines she discussed (Nuvigil & Provigil) and they both say to tell your doctor if you are pregnant or are planning to become pregnant and to talk to him/her about birth control.  That idea turned Benny off.  He wants a kid of his own and he's not getting any younger.

I called St. Francis' weight loss program and asked about how they work around the insurance coverage issue.  They woman that answered the phone didn't have a friendly tone.  She told me that the initial visit, testing and lab work is $2300.  There are 10 followup visits which are $100+ each.  So that's another option that I can't do.

Next I called IU's program to find out if I should still be on the waiting list.  We played phone tag a few times before I was able to speak with someone.  This woman explained that they bill visits as regular doctor visits so that would covered by insurance.  So this sounds more promising despite the hiccup with them not accepting new patients for the program yet.

Inconclusive Again

The lady finally called back almost first thing Wednesday and said the sleep study was normal.  So the third time wasn't the charm.  I'm wondering what the doctor's next course of action will be.

In the mail was a letter that said, "We would like to take this opportunity to let you know that one of our board certified sleep physicians (MY DOCTOR) has interpreted your recent sleep study and has preliminarily determined that the study showed signs of Primary Snoring."  So they don't want to say inconclusive in writing anymore and call it "Primary Snoring"???

I briefly searched online to find out what Primary Snoring is but didn't really find a definition but more how it differs from sleep apnea.  The differences listed are:

• A complaint of snoring by an observer without witnessed gasping.
• No evidence of insomnia or excessive sleepiness due to snoring.
• No dryness of the mouth upon waking.
• No associated abrupt arousals, lowered oxygen in the blood, or cardiac disturbances.
• Normal sleep pattern.
• Normal breathing pattern during sleep.
• No signs of other sleep disorder.

Right away I wonder how they can classify whatever this is as Primary Snoring because of this excessive sleepiness I have.  Perhaps they don't think it's caused by my snoring.  Otherwise Primary Snoring is doctor speak for "we don't know what's wrong with you" in relation to excessive sleepiness.  I'll find out more details next week what the doctor says.