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.

Sleep Study III - Done

Despite my normal bedtime being around midnight they had me arrive at 8pm.  I was wondering what all I would do for 4 hours.  Mostly I flipped through all the tv channels, stopping to watch something for a few minutes and then moved on.

After I was in the room for maybe an hour the night tech hooked me up with all the wires.  Some of the leads itched or burned but nothing actually burned my skin this time.  I asked for water to drink and she gave me one of those mini bottles (which surprisingly lasted me through the night).  Around 10:30 pm she put me down for the night.

Throughout the night I woke up with all my joints aching from laying funny to avoid accidentally removing leads.  Once I woke up hearing a lot of movement and conversations in the hallway I assumed it was sometime after 7 am.  However, when she unhooked me so I could go to the bathroom, she told me it was about 3 am!  I felt awake but not fully alert (or maybe the other way around) so it took me a little bit to go back to sleep.

When waking again later I heard less movement but still conversations in the hallway.  This time it was 7 am so I was done for the night.  The day tech unhooked most of the leads and brought me juice and granola bars (what I normally eat for breakfast).  About every hour and a half she returned to hook me up for the 20 minute naps.  I never was completely asleep but dozed a few seconds, waking up when I started snoring.

The last nap was at 4:30 pm.  I don't recall the day study taking this long on the other two studies.  I stood in the shower what felt like a long time to get the goo out of my hair.  I think most of the goo came out before applying the shampoo.

When I got home the insurance approval letter was waiting for me in the mail.  The letter was dated Monday so why did it take until Friday to reach me?  Talk about slow processing time!

Insurance Approved!

I called insurance Tuesday for my annual verification that nobody has other insurance.  Once that was done I asked the rep to check on the pre-authorization for the sleep study.  She said it was approved but no number had been assigned (whatever that meant).

A few minutes later I received a call from the sleep lab saying she had just spoken with insurance and said that they had approved the sleep study.  That night I received an automated reminder message about the sleep study.  Wednesday morning I received another call (from an actual person) verifying the apointment.  Wednesday evening, while out to dinner for Benny's birthday, I received yet another automated reminder message bout the sleep study.  Talk about overkill!

Tonight is the night so no more reminders (I hope).  I'm to check in at 8pm but usually don't get to sleep until around midnight.  So I hope that I'll be able to sleep earlier otherwise I'll run out of things to do quickly.  I'll be there tomorrow until who knows when where they check to see how easy it is for me to doze during the day.  I don't recall if I nodded off during this portion on the other two studies.  There's a higher chance that I will doze this time (or so it feels like).

Insurance Pended

We have received a request to approve the services identified above (the sleep study).  However, at this time we do not have enough clinical information regarding your health status to determine whether the services are covered by your plan.

If you and your physical decide to continue with the treatment, we cannot guarantee benefits will be covered.

In order to process your request the following information is requested:

• MD office notes and exam findings
• Diagnostic testing results
• Previously tried treatments and medications
• Any other information you feel would support this request
• Does the member have narcolepsy?
• Is the member suspected for idiopathic hypersomnia?
• PLEASE USE ATTACHED PROVIDER TOOL (wasn't attached to my copy so I hope they put it with the doctor's copy)

We have 2 business days to complete your request after you provide us with the additional clinical information.  If you do not provide us with the additional clinical information that has been requested, we will review by 06/20/12 based upon the information you have provided thus far.

So I've sent a message to the sleep doctor's office asking if they needed anything from me to help get this processed.  I hope a rush is put on this so a doctor can find out what's wrong with me and get a workable treatment plan.  I'm tired of being tired....10 years is too long!

Non-Restorative Sleep

Since Austin was born I don't feel refreshed when I wake up. Some may say it's a new mom thing....but it's been 10 years! I used to be able to take a 10 minute nap and that would be good for me. Now no matter how long I sleep I'm still exhausted.

I went to my first sleep study under the advice of a neurologist in 2002. He thought going in it was narcolepsy. The results showed otherwise. It wasn't sleep apnea either. The doctor tried some meds but they didn't have any affect.

New job and new insurance some years later I get my second sleep study after the advice of a pulmonologist. Again nothing conclusive.

Tuesday I went for a consultation at the IU Sleep Disorder Center. They're having me go for my third sleep study. When I spoke with the lady in scheduling she was shocked that this would be the third time. So I now know it's not just Benny and I that think this is odd.

I'm a plus size gal so they also referred me to bariatrics. The paperwork says the first thing the bariatrician requires is to sit through a 2 hour seminar about their services and options. One of the medically supervised weight loss programs is probably what I need. I'm not motivated to exercise. The problem we'll run into is that I'm a very picky eater.

Now I wait for the sleep study in two weeks and hope that the third time will be the charm.