sleep study...

[treevernal]

Thanks Mark! Wow, just 3 days to go, best of luck!!

Dan

[beowulf68]

Sleep Studies definitely aren't that fun....I've had 6 or 7 sleep studies over the course of the last 5 or 6 years and I never felt like I slept correctly enough for the Pulmonologist to get a good read. I'm a little surprised people post that they aren't allowed to sleep on their sides, always their back. The sleep clinics I went to always allowed me to sleep anyway I wanted as long as that was the way I usually slept at home.

When I was first diagnosed with severe obstructive sleep apnea the ENT tried a Septoplasty because he said I had a deviated septum. That helped me breath through my nose, but didn't fix my apnea. Then he wanted me on a C-PAP. I could not sleep with that thing. I woke up most nights ripping it off my face because I felt like it was choking me. Next I saw another ENT who did a partial glossectomy on me. This basically is the ENT melting a groove in the middle of your tongue at it's base with a spam spam wand supposedly to open up the airway. No joy on that either. Finally, I bit the bullet and had major jaw surgery. I did a BSSO, Lefort1, sliding genioplasty, septoplasty, 10 weeks of being hard wired and finaly 6 months later........BANG, SLEEP APNEA ALL GONE. I went from an AHI of 58 to an AHI of 8 which means I'm completely cured. It was mentioned in a previous post that orthognathic surgery is the best way to cure sleep apnea.....I agree 100 PERCENT. It's certainly not an easy way, but definitely the best.

[streo]

So I was on a trip recently and I was told:

1) I snore a lot

2) I eventually stop breathing

3) after a few seconds, I started coughing and then resume snoring

I told my doctor and he immediately ordered a sleep study. Problem is, it's in the middle of September. While I'm upset about this new development, I'm wondering if insurance will actually show some integrity in this process and contribute financially to the surgery.

Has anybody been able to get orthognathic surgery covered by insurance due to sleep apnea? I should add that my overbite does exceed 6mm, which is the minimum for most insurance companies (I have BCBS).

[beowulf68]

I had BCN when I had my jaw surgery in November of last year for obstructive Sleep Apnea and they had no problem at all paying for everything. As long as your Docs send in lots of medical records showing it's medically necessary most insurance companies will cover it.

[streo]

I've been diagnosed with "moderate" sleep apnea. I had my first night of sleep with a CPAP machine. I cannot remember the last time I slept this well. The part of the results that disturbed me the most is that my blood/oxygen level dropped below the minimum 80%.

I wonder how this will play out with insurance. Does anybody else get the feeling insurance companies are like dead-beat dads not wanting to pay up for legitimate reasons?

[bbsadmin]

I've been diagnosed with "moderate" sleep apnea. I had my first night of sleep with a CPAP machine. I cannot remember the last time I slept this well. The part of the results that disturbed me the most is that my blood/oxygen level dropped below the minimum 80%.

I wonder how this will play out with insurance. Does anybody else get the feeling insurance companies are like dead-beat dads not wanting to pay up for legitimate reasons?

Just make sure that your cpap machine records data that you can download. This is very important. I've heard stories about DME providers who sell "bricks" to patients (machines that don't record data).

There is a really great site for this sort of information, and it is cpap.com.

My husband has obstructive sleep apnea, and I was diagnosed recently with borderline moderate sleep apena (mainly hypopnea). The site cpap.com has been invaluable to us. They have a message board similar to this, for cpap info.

Also, yes, insurance covered everything for both of us.

[streo]

Also, yes, insurance covered everything for both of us.

Did either of you have orthognathic surgery?

[bbsadmin]

No, we just got sleep studies and cpap. Insurance covered everything after our deductibles were met. Surgery is not in the picture for either of us.

Also, yes, insurance covered everything for both of us.

Did either of you have orthognathic surgery?