Sleep Study Rip-Off

National Association of Small Trucking Companies. NASTC has a cheaper sleep test I think you wear a jacket while sleeping and the jacket records what you do while sleeping. Your spouse can also tell if you have apena, by noticing if you stop breathing while sleeping.

 

Tell who "NO"? The clinic, that holds your medical card? I had no choice, the clinic I used was the one the company used, and sent me to. My own doctor couldn't or wouldn't do anything about it.

 

And we go through all this to make 43 cpm , live in a truck, and do a lot of free work

 

yES

 

Exactly what happened to me. Concentra recorded my 90 day medical card with the
state before I even left their office. The official record shows that a Doctor flagged me
for a sleep study. I can holler no all day long. I am still screwed.

Do I think the Concentra doctor is a crook, sure do. Do I think my family doctors
opinion is more valuable than the idiot from Concentra, sure do. Do I think this
whole sleep apnea deal is medical malpractice for money, sure do. Do I think the
entire medical board that is responsible for the mess aught to be disbarred from
ever practicing medicine again, sure do. Would I vote to somehow do away with
this whole mess? sure would. But at this time, who do I say no to? The only
choice I have is to play the game, or give up my CDL.

Just about every job I have ever had required a CDL. Here in the Mid-West
it is almost impossible to find a job that pays above $10 an hour, unless you
hold a CDL. The problem is there are lots of guys looking for work that don't
have it. There are only a few guys looking for work who do have it. Here a
CDL is worth more than a Highschool Diploma, there are so many college
graduates running around that even a college degree isn't worth much.

 

To me, Concentra is a Mega Bottom Feeder Clinic. Back in the late 90's about 13 of us drivers got hired on to a dedicated account and were sent to a Concentra clinic in the Milwaukee area, guess what, every driver was told they had high blood pressure, these drivers were healthy as all get out, they all complained big time and were sent to another Concentra clinic and passed with no problems. So I guess it depended on the clinic back then. A few years ago another clinic that I now go to, told me about Concentra over stepping there line with sleep apnea. Now they feel that they do not have to follow what the D.O.T. wants as far as percentage goes for use, now they are making up there own numbers as guidelines. Even if your in the D.O.T. guidelines, Concentra will fail you if you do not meet there numbers, again, this is what I heard.

 

I feel bad for those who do...and hope they quit companies like that..
Personally I gave up the newbie pay companies long ago.

 

That only goes so far. They also use BMI and neck size, which are unreliable indicators at best. Most folks don't have a one-size fits all body type. I'm close to 300 lbs and have a 17" neck which is what caused the doctor to flag me for the sleep study. I'm also 6 foot 8 with a large frame. Thanks to a careful diet I've actually lost a lot of weight over the past few years. But according to those guidelines there is no diffrentiation between me and the guy that is 5'5" with the same set of numbers.

 

Do I think the sleep apnea testing is a money making scam? Yep.

Do I think there are a lot of guys out there that are told they have sleep apnea that don't have it or have it very mildly? Yep.

Do I think some have it and refuse to admit it? Yep.

I feel for you all who are clear and have to put up with the cost and BS. I really do. But all I know is that I DO have it and was using a mouth piece as treatment. It made it better but I still didn't feel energetic. I paid a lot of money, that I thought was unnecessary, to find out that the mouth piece was doing nothing for me. Paid more to get a sleep mapping CPAP. Changed my life for the better. For the first time in 50 pounds I slept through the night with out waking up gasping and do not fall asleep reading a book anymore.

A rip off racket? Maybe. But I sure would pay all that price again in a heartbeat knowing how much good it did me since. Just sayin'.

 

That's the thing, some people do have it, but not everybody, it also depends on how you sleep as well, sleep face down and you are less likely to show signs and issues even if you do have it. One of these days someone from Concentra is going to let the cat out of the bag and it's going to be another epic level class action lawsuit like Redding Medical and heart surgery.