Doctors Answers (3)
Many sleep centers will work out a payment plan for a sleep study. Of course, there are other costs such as the physician who makes the decision to order the test, the doctor who interprets the test and the equipment needed to treat the sleep apnea. All of this can usually be put on a payment plan. Some sleep centers have older equipment they can sell for much less than the newer equipment. Home sleep testing, while less accurate than testing done in a sleep lab, is less expensive and may be the best approach to get started. A sleep test either in the lab or at home is needed to make the diagnosis and measure oxygen levels. Also, a so-called titration study is helpful to determine the pressure settings for the CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) machine. Otherwise, an auto titrating CPAP machine may be the best option if a titration study is out of the question due to cost.
You should have your primary care doctor evaluate you for a potential sleep disorder and, if they are still concerned about this, then they could order a sleep study themselves or refer you to a sleep specialist to be evaluated for a diagnostic test and potential treatment. A sleep study will diagnose sleep problems like insufficient sleep time, recurrent sleep apneas and oxygen desaturations, snoring and leg movements that could also fragment your sleep. Treatment of these different afflictions could then be determined by the sleep specialist physician.
Identification of Sleep Apnea through a diagnostic sleep study can help remove interrelated, inevitable health issues in the future (i.e. high blood pressure, cardio-health issues, fatigue and mental alertness).
