Sleep medicine, written for patients
Practical answers from a Westerville sleep practice. Each piece is written for a specific question, cited to primary sources, and reviewed against current labeling and guidelines. Newest first.
Inspire
Getting Inspire approved by insurance in Ohio
Medicare LCD L38310 versus FDA labeling. Prior auth packets, not a promise that any Ohio plan will pay.
Inspire
Inspire vs Nyxoah Genio: two implants compared
Implanted battery versus an external activator. FDA AHI windows, DISE, and what STAR and DREAM actually measured.
Cost and insurance
Do you need a referral to see a sleep doctor?
Medicare fee-for-service does not. TRICARE Prime does. Ohio commercial and Medicaid products vary. How to check.
Cost and insurance
What to expect at your first sleep medicine appointment
What to bring, what will not be asked on a website form, and how testing is decided in the room.
Columbus area
Sleep testing options for patients in Delaware and Powell, Ohio
How patients north of Columbus get a home test or in-lab study without a doorway city page.
CPAP alternatives
Oral appliance therapy: who it works for and who it doesn't
AASM recommends custom devices when CPAP is refused or not tolerated. AADSM wants first-line reimbursement. Both positions, unmerged.
Insomnia
CBT-I vs sleeping pills: what the guidelines say
AASM and ACP put multicomponent CBT-I first. Pills are adjuncts. Hygiene alone is not the treatment.
Sleep apnea
What is sleep apnea? Signs most people miss
Resistant blood pressure, nocturia, atrial fibrillation, and the partner who already knows. Not a generic “what is apnea” page.
Sleep apnea
Central vs obstructive sleep apnea
Effort versus blockage, why a home test can miss central events, and why the treatments are not interchangeable.
Sleep testing
Who does not qualify for a home sleep test, and why
AASM reasons a home test is the wrong tool: heart and lung disease, opioids, stroke, severe insomnia, and more.
Sleep testing
What actually happens during an overnight sleep study
Sensors, lights-out, split-night titration, and why the lab night is not a hotel stay with extra wires.
CPAP
Your first month on CPAP: what to expect
The Medicare 90-day adherence window, what “getting used to it” actually involves, and when to call.