Cheap Sleep Study

Discussion in 'Driver Health' started by Corporal_Clegg, Oct 26, 2010.

  1. Corporal_Clegg

    Corporal_Clegg Road Train Member

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    OK, for any of you that have to get a sleep study done, I found a doctor that will do it for only $250.00. They send you the kit overnight and you sleep with it in your home for 2 nights and send it back so they can check the data.

    At that point, if you dont have it they mail you the results so you have a copy for yourself, and they will fax a copy to the company. He is a board certified doc so nothing to worry about there.

    If you do have sleep apnea, you dont have to pay $1500 - $2000 up front.
    They charge $1200 for the machine. You pay them $500 up front and $100 a month till its paid. Im not sure if they charge interest, but probably so.

    If anyone wants info on getting this set up, PM me and I will give you the number.

    Im paying for mine in the morning (had to borrow the cash from my father in law) and it should be shipped out sometime tommorow. I will post back here how it goes once I get my kit. I dont really think I have sleep apnea, but because my BMI is like 42, I have to take the test so I can finish training with Stevens. :(
     
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  3. Corporal_Clegg

    Corporal_Clegg Road Train Member

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    Started my sleep study last night. It was delayed because they didnt put my apt number on the package lol. good grief. The device wasnt bad at all. It just hooks onto your forehead. Have to sleep with it 1 more nnight, then ship it back to get my results.
     
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  4. bullhaulerswife

    bullhaulerswife Forum Leader/Admin Staff Member Administrator

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    Keep us udated on this. This is great information. :biggrin_25514:
     
  5. 123456

    123456 Road Train Member

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    How many machines ya want, I have 3 in the garage.

    Biggest joke I've ever seen. No doubt some people have the problem, and need the machine.

    But WAY too many folks are being ripped off on this..................



    If you want to save even more money, you might look on the internet,

    and have your sleep study done in the next 10 minutes !!!!!
     
  6. Corporal_Clegg

    Corporal_Clegg Road Train Member

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    Dude, if I end up needing one, I will gladly take one off your hands if its compliant. Do you have one with a data card that your not using?

    Yea, I feel like Im getting ripped. But at least I found this home study test thats alot cheaper than what the trucking company wanted to put me through. Its administered by a board certified doc, which is what they require, so Im hopeful it will come back negative and I can get on with my CDL Training.
     
  7. Corporal_Clegg

    Corporal_Clegg Road Train Member

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    Here is a pic of the device

    [​IMG]
     
  8. CondoCruiser

    CondoCruiser The Legend

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    That's how he is making his money. He is charging $1200 for a $600 machine.

    I had my done in the beginning of the year and had the feeling a woman would have if she got raped, lol. My $2100 machine cost $674 on CPAP.com. The insurance is paying the majority but still...
    I have received 3 letters from BCBS stating what benefits they paid in October. So far they have paid six different charges of equipment/medical devices for the same ONE machine last month. How is that possible? I paid cash for the mask, strap,tube and misc stuff. All that's left is the CPAP itself. I smell fraud :)
     
  9. Corporal_Clegg

    Corporal_Clegg Road Train Member

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    Well bloody hell. Turns out I do have sleep apnea. :(

    Another week down the drain.
     
  10. truckerdad57

    truckerdad57 Light Load Member

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    I have a BUNCH of questions..

    1) Is that a picture of the sleep test equipment or the CPAP machine?

    That looks like a TYPE IV testing device. A simple screening device designed to check are you a good candidate for being sent to a sleep lab.

    If a TYPE IV device says YES you do have sleep apnea and you start treatment on an auto-titrating CPAP (CPAP automatically adjusts pressure) where the treating sleep doc is careful to review and adjust the range of pressures the APAP is using that's GOOD.

    If a sleep doc says you DO NOT have sleep apnea solely on the basis of a TYPE IV testing device there are a whole lot of issues where you probably pissed away $ 250.00 for nothing.

    Medical Examiners are not stupid . There are so many ways to "cheat" a TYPE IV device that a negative sleep study ( study said NO sleep apnea) any good medical examiner will just say... go get a in-lab study to confirm this.

    I also would REALLY question the ethics of a board certified sleep doc signing off on a negative sleep study for a truck driver with a TYPE IV device. Then again most DOT medical examiners don't know much about sleep medicine.

    2) Did you get a CPAP machine? Did they tell you the range of pressures your machine is set for? Did they ask you anything about how you will plug the CPAP in... ie size and type of invertor? When will they follow up with you to check CPAP downloads and adjust pressure?

    There are legitimate home sleep studies being done for truck drivers using TYPE III (more sophisticated tests) that give the sleep doc enough information to make a real diagnosis. You can get an at home sleep study for $ 299-399. This makes a LOT more sense than spending upwards of $ 1,200 for an in-lab study (cheapest price I have heard about.. was billing to a large trucking company getting lots of studies....some stories drivers have had to pay $ 2,000 and up for an in-lab sleep study.)

    CPAP machine prices from DME's and insurance get real complicated as many DME's also factor in the follow-up data downloads into the CPAP price. Also many DME's will bill insurance much more than the CPAP costs because they know insurance will only pay them half of what they bill. If a DME sells direct to a driver they need to charge the higher price they bill insurance by federal law.

    If you buy direct you need to use a company that does not handle insurance and can set prices more realistically on actual costs not what insurance will or won't pay.

    This sleep apnea stuff is new to both the medical folks and trucking. Those of us who have been on a CPAP for years have been dealing with this stuff for a while. I went on CPAP in 2002 and have had to learn more than I wanted to about all this stuff.

    It pisses me off when I hear about some new shyster coming in and telling drivers they can get a sleep study for $ 250.00. Sorry folks...... if the price is too good to be true.. it probably is... you get what you pay for.
     
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  11. Corporal_Clegg

    Corporal_Clegg Road Train Member

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    It is the testing machine, not the CPAP

    ok, thats more than 1 question lol
    Have not gotten CPAP yet, but talked to them on the phone earlier today. It will be a Respironics Auto Adjusting. Range of preasure 5 - 15. no, they didnt ask about size/inverter, but they are aware I will be a Truck Driver and stated that this would fit my needs for that. And yes, it is data capable. He did mention that the data would be uploaded to him for follow up, but I did not ask how often.
     
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