Herzl
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- May 17, 2009
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Billy Mayes died in his sleep. My neighbor who abused his dog died in his sleep. I didn't know Billy Mayes, other than I absolutely abhorred the sound of his voice, an immediate muting in order whenever one of his commercials came into my space. When I was a child, the man who cut my hair died, in his sleep. I intensely disliked him because he had a habit of squeezing my head while he was cutting my hair. He was the person all the parents took their kid to, to have their haircut. While I was 'tender-headed,' I was perfectly willing to keep still to avoid that squeezing, and he squeezed anyway. His daughter was a classmate. I felt sorry for her that he had died, but was relieved, as I am now, never to hear Billy Mayes voice again. For the posting police, I am writing here about a significant medical problem, and the healthcare system that interacts with it, and not about being relieved, or 'compassionate,' that somebody else died.
Sleep Apnea is a huge problem, the most common sleep disorder, and a significant cause of morbidity and mortality. I've had sleep apnea as long as I can remember. When I was a snoring child, I couldn't breathe through one side of my nose. In swimming, I had the problem that when they required that I switch sides of exhalation, I was in trouble. Later in life, I had a significant problem with unsatisfactory sleep. I was taking massive doses of decongestants trying to get a better nights sleep. I slept with a fire bell connected to my telephone, my answering service an alarm, so that I could hear it over the decibels of my snoring.
Eventually, I had surgery that had been discredited to the status of 'cashectomy,' to try to address my sleep apnea. The surgery was 'pre-approved,' but the insurance company refused to pay, after the fact. Had they indicated that the surgery was unapproved in advance, I may have avoided unnecessary pain and suffering for a procedure that didn't help me, and the effects of which I live with to this day.
There is a gaming of the system, on both sides, the doctor who has found an opportunity to make money off a trusting patient, and the insurance company that doesn't act as an advocate for good care, but as a troll to punish both the doctor and the patient by a denial after the fact, the very nerve of them to make a claim! Of course, the good doctor will deny that he knew the procedure was useless. The insurance company may say that they have no intent to interfere with the doctor-patient relationship, but are not required to pay for discredited procedures. Their guilt is in their practice of denial, after the fact. Denials have now become routine, even when the procedure is indicated and useful. From paying all claims, to not paying for bad care, they are now standing in just not paying. Forget regulation or ethics, their only ethos is profit. Stormtroopers doing what they are told, 'to take care of my family.'
In order to get a CPAP machine, the now available and only reputable treatment for sleep apnea, one must have a 'sleep study.' I wrote my first prescription for a CPAP machine for myself with a letter of medical necessity and cash on the barrelhead to the company that sold me the machine. Most people don't have that privilege. America is the only country in the world that restricts the sale of these machines. In most countries, it's like buying a glucometer, over the counter. The reason it is restricted this way in America is to ensure that the proper people get paid for the privilege of having one.
In a 'sleep study,' you are attached to a hundred uncomfortable electrodes with as many wires attached to your head and body, and spend a most unusual night in a room similar to a hotel room without King Size, being watched while you sleep. In cardiology, there is the 'Holter Monitor,' an EKG rhythm-monitoring recorder you take home with you for a day. Modern CPAP machines have that same capability. Once upon a time, to diagnose a cardiac rhythm disturbance, you spent the night in the Intensive[, then later times, Intermediate] Cardiac Unit, and the printout of the nurse-monitored rhythm strip was reviewed by the doctor, the nurse faithfully reporting any 'problems' during the night. To reduce costs, and found as effective and reliable, you now take that 'Holter Monitor' home and the cost of the study is a couple hundred instead of thousands.
The restriction of CPAP machines to going through a superfluous 'sleep study,' is illustrative of the massive inflation of health care costs in America. The good doctors, spreading their white coats to bar the door from the 'abuse' and 'misuse,' the unmonitored (read unpaid) use of such a machine that can have complications is just, well ... unthinkable. Better that the hundreds who die in their sleep every night be blessed with a 'tsk,' than, miss dollars. Or have a sinus infection or two go undiagnosed. Heavens forbid, even bronchitis is possible!
Not long ago, my Hypertension doctor wanted me to have a 'sleep study.' Of course, I offered to bring my current printouts from my CPAP machine. No, I needed a real 'sleep study,' and of course based on that study, I needed a new machine. I never saw or talked to the 'sleep doctor.' Its more than interesting that I couldn't get the prescription for the machine [without an uncomfortable confrontational hassle] to take to my previous machine supplier, for whom I had a multiple years relationship and had purchased two machines over time from directly, it had to be directly conveyed to their purveyor of choice. My recent sleep study, again 'pre-approved,' was denied after the fact. Same with the new and different machine. Now, I owe a bit over six thousand dollars. Fine. I want to live.
My neighbor who died was known to have a sleep disorder. Not thinking how wonderful it would be if he died, I tried to tell him that he should have a 'sleep study.' An arrogant minor opportunistic politician, he had insurance, and 'connections.' He couldn't listen. When I heard that he had died in his sleep, I thought, now that is a well-deserved death, and thankfully, a dog-abuser's dog has been saved. How wrong I was. While he abused the dog, at least he gave it attention. He seemed to love the dog in his way, to the extent he was capable. Some would say he was probably beaten as a child. I could care less. So was I, and abusing anything, and especially a helpless dog, is the last consideration in my mind. An abomination. Under the good widow's administration however, the dog then was not only abused, but unloved, still standing in the snow and mud with no place to lie down. Brilliant.
I won't miss Billy Mayes nauseating voice, but I won't say I'm glad he died, our relationship perfected with my ability to press my mute button. He certainly had the resources, as my neighbor, to have a sleep study if he wanted, and if his doctors had the intelligence to think of the possibility. It sounds as though Billy Mayes wasn't under any care, and if so not under any effective care. I have no doubt that he could get all the Oxycontin he might want. Dare I say that Michael Jackson's sleep disorder should have been professionally diagnosed, not with an unlearned observance by Bubbles or a nurse. Yes, even skinny vegetarians, particularly those with no nose to breath through, and even women have sleep disorders and sleep apnea.
My hope here is that you remember that oftentimes, people who die in their sleep, do so from sleep apnea. When you think of Billy Mayes, consider that you may need a 'sleep study.' And a real check-up, not that now prevalent listening through cloth.
The healthcare system is in serious need of reform. Profit as the only moral imperative is overwhelming our culture and society, on all sides. You must be your own advocate. Start by supporting healthcare reform. The status quo ante is killing people every day, and night.
Sleep Apnea is a huge problem, the most common sleep disorder, and a significant cause of morbidity and mortality. I've had sleep apnea as long as I can remember. When I was a snoring child, I couldn't breathe through one side of my nose. In swimming, I had the problem that when they required that I switch sides of exhalation, I was in trouble. Later in life, I had a significant problem with unsatisfactory sleep. I was taking massive doses of decongestants trying to get a better nights sleep. I slept with a fire bell connected to my telephone, my answering service an alarm, so that I could hear it over the decibels of my snoring.
Eventually, I had surgery that had been discredited to the status of 'cashectomy,' to try to address my sleep apnea. The surgery was 'pre-approved,' but the insurance company refused to pay, after the fact. Had they indicated that the surgery was unapproved in advance, I may have avoided unnecessary pain and suffering for a procedure that didn't help me, and the effects of which I live with to this day.
There is a gaming of the system, on both sides, the doctor who has found an opportunity to make money off a trusting patient, and the insurance company that doesn't act as an advocate for good care, but as a troll to punish both the doctor and the patient by a denial after the fact, the very nerve of them to make a claim! Of course, the good doctor will deny that he knew the procedure was useless. The insurance company may say that they have no intent to interfere with the doctor-patient relationship, but are not required to pay for discredited procedures. Their guilt is in their practice of denial, after the fact. Denials have now become routine, even when the procedure is indicated and useful. From paying all claims, to not paying for bad care, they are now standing in just not paying. Forget regulation or ethics, their only ethos is profit. Stormtroopers doing what they are told, 'to take care of my family.'
In order to get a CPAP machine, the now available and only reputable treatment for sleep apnea, one must have a 'sleep study.' I wrote my first prescription for a CPAP machine for myself with a letter of medical necessity and cash on the barrelhead to the company that sold me the machine. Most people don't have that privilege. America is the only country in the world that restricts the sale of these machines. In most countries, it's like buying a glucometer, over the counter. The reason it is restricted this way in America is to ensure that the proper people get paid for the privilege of having one.
In a 'sleep study,' you are attached to a hundred uncomfortable electrodes with as many wires attached to your head and body, and spend a most unusual night in a room similar to a hotel room without King Size, being watched while you sleep. In cardiology, there is the 'Holter Monitor,' an EKG rhythm-monitoring recorder you take home with you for a day. Modern CPAP machines have that same capability. Once upon a time, to diagnose a cardiac rhythm disturbance, you spent the night in the Intensive[, then later times, Intermediate] Cardiac Unit, and the printout of the nurse-monitored rhythm strip was reviewed by the doctor, the nurse faithfully reporting any 'problems' during the night. To reduce costs, and found as effective and reliable, you now take that 'Holter Monitor' home and the cost of the study is a couple hundred instead of thousands.
The restriction of CPAP machines to going through a superfluous 'sleep study,' is illustrative of the massive inflation of health care costs in America. The good doctors, spreading their white coats to bar the door from the 'abuse' and 'misuse,' the unmonitored (read unpaid) use of such a machine that can have complications is just, well ... unthinkable. Better that the hundreds who die in their sleep every night be blessed with a 'tsk,' than, miss dollars. Or have a sinus infection or two go undiagnosed. Heavens forbid, even bronchitis is possible!
Not long ago, my Hypertension doctor wanted me to have a 'sleep study.' Of course, I offered to bring my current printouts from my CPAP machine. No, I needed a real 'sleep study,' and of course based on that study, I needed a new machine. I never saw or talked to the 'sleep doctor.' Its more than interesting that I couldn't get the prescription for the machine [without an uncomfortable confrontational hassle] to take to my previous machine supplier, for whom I had a multiple years relationship and had purchased two machines over time from directly, it had to be directly conveyed to their purveyor of choice. My recent sleep study, again 'pre-approved,' was denied after the fact. Same with the new and different machine. Now, I owe a bit over six thousand dollars. Fine. I want to live.
My neighbor who died was known to have a sleep disorder. Not thinking how wonderful it would be if he died, I tried to tell him that he should have a 'sleep study.' An arrogant minor opportunistic politician, he had insurance, and 'connections.' He couldn't listen. When I heard that he had died in his sleep, I thought, now that is a well-deserved death, and thankfully, a dog-abuser's dog has been saved. How wrong I was. While he abused the dog, at least he gave it attention. He seemed to love the dog in his way, to the extent he was capable. Some would say he was probably beaten as a child. I could care less. So was I, and abusing anything, and especially a helpless dog, is the last consideration in my mind. An abomination. Under the good widow's administration however, the dog then was not only abused, but unloved, still standing in the snow and mud with no place to lie down. Brilliant.
I won't miss Billy Mayes nauseating voice, but I won't say I'm glad he died, our relationship perfected with my ability to press my mute button. He certainly had the resources, as my neighbor, to have a sleep study if he wanted, and if his doctors had the intelligence to think of the possibility. It sounds as though Billy Mayes wasn't under any care, and if so not under any effective care. I have no doubt that he could get all the Oxycontin he might want. Dare I say that Michael Jackson's sleep disorder should have been professionally diagnosed, not with an unlearned observance by Bubbles or a nurse. Yes, even skinny vegetarians, particularly those with no nose to breath through, and even women have sleep disorders and sleep apnea.
My hope here is that you remember that oftentimes, people who die in their sleep, do so from sleep apnea. When you think of Billy Mayes, consider that you may need a 'sleep study.' And a real check-up, not that now prevalent listening through cloth.
The healthcare system is in serious need of reform. Profit as the only moral imperative is overwhelming our culture and society, on all sides. You must be your own advocate. Start by supporting healthcare reform. The status quo ante is killing people every day, and night.
