Earlier this month I was referred by my dentist to an ENT (Ear, Nose, Throat) Specialist. My dentist referred me because I tend to breath almost exclusively through my mouth, and that has some negative consequences for oral health. The impression I received from the dentist's office that something as simple as a nose spray could solve the issue. I remained somewhat skeptical, after all, I didn't understand how I would just magically start breathing through my nose when I have breathed so dominantly through my mouth for most of my life.
Anyway, follow the medical professional's advice, right. Once at the ENT doctor, the issue became more complicated. While they did give me a nose spray (although only after I asked specifically about and referencing what my dentist had said), they gave me a home sleep study to conduct. Had to wrap some cords around my chest, put some tubes halfway up my nose, clamp a pulse indicator on my finger, and supposedly sleep normal through the night. So I take this test, probably sleeping half of what I would normally. I didn't expect anything of it. I'm sure they were checking for sleep apnea. But I wasn't concerned. I told myself I didn't have any of the obvious signs. I didn't snore loudly, if at all. I didn't have trouble staying awake during the day, or while driving, or any other time out of the ordinary. I may be tired frequently, but I never have slept well, lacking the ability to fall asleep quickly and to stay asleep for more than 3-4 hours at a time, ever since I was a kid.
Well of course, the test demonstrated otherwise. According to the results, I stopped breathing 62 times during the night, and another 54 times I had inappropriately low oxygen levels. Somewhat unnerving, but I wasn't overly concerned with it. The ENT doctor suggested a CPAP sleep study at the hospital, which would help figure out what level of oxygen support I would need from a CPAP machine to have proper sleeping. Me, wanting to follow the advice of medical professionals, agreed. I was all set up to take a sleep study the first week of January to further determine these issues.
Then all the paperwork for the study came in the mail yesterday, including information about insurance coverage (which the ENT office had never checked to see what my coverage was) and cost. While I did confirm with my insurance carrier that this study is partially covered, having to pay 20% of a several thousand dollar medical bill was not quite what I (or Jackie) expected. After some honest discussions last night, looking at the health side and the financial side, looking at what we could do without conducting the study, and looking at how soon in the future we could address it, we decided to postpone any study for the moment. My pay situation is very much in the air right now, and as we (I) didn't feel this was significantly impacting my quality of life, it could be placed on the back burner.
I may be putting too much stock into the quality of life analysis we did, but I feel that its accurate. I rarely feel the need to take naps. As stated before, I don't have problems staying awake at the office during the day or while driving home. I rarely get tired at home until after 9 or so, and I figure that's somewhat normal. Could I be sleeping better and would this help, sure. But Jackie and I both believed there were other things I could do that would better preserve our financial health at the moment, along with improve my quality of life.
Much of this feels weird to me. I've never had too many health issues (yet), and I've always just pretty much did whatever the doctor said - getting certain tests done, taking certain medications. Except now; now I decided I couldn't reasonably afford what the doctor was telling me to do. But it highlights to me the nature of what many people must do. During the latest round of health care debate in this country, one of my thoughts on the necessity of some reform was that, personally, Jackie and I, who are in that low-to mid middle class range for income, are essentially one illness away from bankruptcy. And we would not be the only ones. Many people, even those with insurance, are one illness, one injury, one condition away from bankruptcy. I always felt that needed to change. Jackie and I are lucky that this isn't a "serious" issue, an issue we couldn't not address for a few months due to finances. If this was something else, and we had no choice to incur the volume of medical expenses certain to incur, it would be tough to financially see it through. But millions of families are making those choices everyday right now. We are lucky.
Anyway, don't wish to digress into politics too much here. Suffice to say that I will be somewhat internally struggling with the idea that I am not following through with a test recommended by a doctor for the first time in my life. But I am upbeat; if nothing else these types of things tend to be great motivators for attempting to effectuate lifestyle changes. They can put things in authentic perspective. I mentioned above that I didn't feel like any sleep issues were affecting my quality of life. Well, there was one thing that does significantly impact my quality of life, and it also happens to be a major cause of sleep apnea - obesity. Thus, for me, finally addressing this issue could kill the ubiquitous two birds with one stone. But that's a post for another day.
Anyway, follow the medical professional's advice, right. Once at the ENT doctor, the issue became more complicated. While they did give me a nose spray (although only after I asked specifically about and referencing what my dentist had said), they gave me a home sleep study to conduct. Had to wrap some cords around my chest, put some tubes halfway up my nose, clamp a pulse indicator on my finger, and supposedly sleep normal through the night. So I take this test, probably sleeping half of what I would normally. I didn't expect anything of it. I'm sure they were checking for sleep apnea. But I wasn't concerned. I told myself I didn't have any of the obvious signs. I didn't snore loudly, if at all. I didn't have trouble staying awake during the day, or while driving, or any other time out of the ordinary. I may be tired frequently, but I never have slept well, lacking the ability to fall asleep quickly and to stay asleep for more than 3-4 hours at a time, ever since I was a kid.
Well of course, the test demonstrated otherwise. According to the results, I stopped breathing 62 times during the night, and another 54 times I had inappropriately low oxygen levels. Somewhat unnerving, but I wasn't overly concerned with it. The ENT doctor suggested a CPAP sleep study at the hospital, which would help figure out what level of oxygen support I would need from a CPAP machine to have proper sleeping. Me, wanting to follow the advice of medical professionals, agreed. I was all set up to take a sleep study the first week of January to further determine these issues.
Then all the paperwork for the study came in the mail yesterday, including information about insurance coverage (which the ENT office had never checked to see what my coverage was) and cost. While I did confirm with my insurance carrier that this study is partially covered, having to pay 20% of a several thousand dollar medical bill was not quite what I (or Jackie) expected. After some honest discussions last night, looking at the health side and the financial side, looking at what we could do without conducting the study, and looking at how soon in the future we could address it, we decided to postpone any study for the moment. My pay situation is very much in the air right now, and as we (I) didn't feel this was significantly impacting my quality of life, it could be placed on the back burner.
I may be putting too much stock into the quality of life analysis we did, but I feel that its accurate. I rarely feel the need to take naps. As stated before, I don't have problems staying awake at the office during the day or while driving home. I rarely get tired at home until after 9 or so, and I figure that's somewhat normal. Could I be sleeping better and would this help, sure. But Jackie and I both believed there were other things I could do that would better preserve our financial health at the moment, along with improve my quality of life.
Much of this feels weird to me. I've never had too many health issues (yet), and I've always just pretty much did whatever the doctor said - getting certain tests done, taking certain medications. Except now; now I decided I couldn't reasonably afford what the doctor was telling me to do. But it highlights to me the nature of what many people must do. During the latest round of health care debate in this country, one of my thoughts on the necessity of some reform was that, personally, Jackie and I, who are in that low-to mid middle class range for income, are essentially one illness away from bankruptcy. And we would not be the only ones. Many people, even those with insurance, are one illness, one injury, one condition away from bankruptcy. I always felt that needed to change. Jackie and I are lucky that this isn't a "serious" issue, an issue we couldn't not address for a few months due to finances. If this was something else, and we had no choice to incur the volume of medical expenses certain to incur, it would be tough to financially see it through. But millions of families are making those choices everyday right now. We are lucky.
Anyway, don't wish to digress into politics too much here. Suffice to say that I will be somewhat internally struggling with the idea that I am not following through with a test recommended by a doctor for the first time in my life. But I am upbeat; if nothing else these types of things tend to be great motivators for attempting to effectuate lifestyle changes. They can put things in authentic perspective. I mentioned above that I didn't feel like any sleep issues were affecting my quality of life. Well, there was one thing that does significantly impact my quality of life, and it also happens to be a major cause of sleep apnea - obesity. Thus, for me, finally addressing this issue could kill the ubiquitous two birds with one stone. But that's a post for another day.
No comments:
Post a Comment