Sleep Apnea

What Should You Do If You Think You Have Sleep Apnea ?

Posted on 06. Dec, 2009 by admin in Problems and Pitfalls of Identifying Sleep Apnea

1. First try working through your family doctor. Make an appointment and tell him or her that you think you have sleep apnea and why you think so. Ask for a referral to an accredited sleep center to be tested for sleep apnea.

When you see your family doctor, take with you any articles or books that have helped convince you that you have sleep apnea. You might also take along a tape recording of your snoring.

If your doctor doesn’t “hear” you (that is, he is not familiar with sleep apnea or does not take your diagnosis seriously) and you are still convinced you are right . . . proceed to step 2.

2. Call the nearest accredited sleep center yourself . Ask for an appointment. Some sleep centers will take patients only by referral from another physician, but many centers will make appointments with patients directly.

It is always best to work with your family doctor. If you decide to contact a sleep center directly, it still is a good idea to keep your family doctor informed. For one thing, he probably will become involved eventually because the sleep clinic will probably contact him to get your medical history. Later, as a courtesy, they probably will notify him of the treatment they recommend for you. In fact, depending on the kind of treatment, your family doctor may need to become actively involved. In addition, keeping your family doctor informed will expose him to more experience with sleep apnea, which will help other people with sleep apnea in the future.

Keep in mind that it is your health that is at stake. If your doctor seems uncooperative, you should not hesitate to get in touch with a sleep center yourself.

If the closest accredited sleep center only accepts referrals and your doctor is unwilling to refer you . . . take the next step.

3. Ask the sleep center for one of the following:

a. The name of a local doctor with whom they have worked who will refer you to the sleep clinic, or

b. The location of the closest qualified sleep center that will accept patients without a doctor’s referral.

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