Sleep Apnea Specialists, and OCCAMS Razor.
I have wasted a lot of time in my life with bad doctors. With my Sleep Apnea, don’t waste time with someone who does not know sleep, or specialize in it like Dr. Park (I keep plugging him on this site, but he was the first doctor to listen, and actually show me on camera what happened in my throat while I slept).
There are great sleep centers at major hospitals, but try and guage how the treatment is going. I had a great experience at Mount Sinai in New York, but after several years the doctors changed, and the staff changed. It began to hurt the treatment and I needed a better solution.
ALWAYS get a second opinion! It’s an hour or two out of your day and won’t cost you a cent, generally.
Find specialists. I have a bipolar disorder and need medication. I spent many years with a really incompetent psychotherapist who had the best of intentions, but did not know the specificity of the illness.
My next doctor was great, but one thing to know about shrinks is that when it comes to medication they won’t often fix what they don’t consider broken.
Then I found a doctor here in New York who is an MD Psychiatrist who really specialized in bipolar. When I went to her she immediately made changes in my medication which scared me a little. But then after a few days I felt better than ever before! And that has lasted for years!! AND! I didn’t have to pay her the $150 a week that I had been paying the incompetent shrink. She took my 20.00 copay!! My bills went from 600 dollars a month to 20.00 every 6 weeks!!!
OCCAMS RAZOR and why it matters to Sleep Apnea:
Franciscan friar William of Ockham deduced in the 14th century that:
“Entities should not be multiplied unnecessarily.” Or, what is the simplist reason for something?
Basically, If you are tired, you probably need to sleep. Hungry, you probably need to eat. If the car isn’t running, first check that there is gas.
For many years I thought my apnea was anything but sleep related! Please don’t make that mistake.
I was tired, it was from DEPRESSION, I was tired, it was from CHRONIC FATIGUE SYNDROME, I was tired, I had Fibromagilia, or chronic fatigue.
The mystery of what it is will cause you to get depressed.
RULE OF MEDICINE-and PSYCHOLOGY! (from 20 years to therapy, and doctors visits)
Assume that whatever is wrong with you somebody else has had, and they generally know what to do about it. The bad part of having a condition like depression or a mental illness is that it feels like you uniquely have it. You don’t.
And don’t settle for a doctor if you don’t feel better! Google another one. Travel to see them. The payoff is your life.
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