Pulmonologists manage other diseases such as COPD, asthma and other breathing disorders that may be related to sleep apnea therefore, some pulmonologists will elect to become boarded in sleep medicine. They may be affiliated with a sleep center or run with own and interpret sleep studies for their own patients. Pulmonologists are very familiar with sleep disorders such as obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) because it’s basically when you stop breathing while sleeping due to a blockage in the airway (learn more about that here). Now we’ll talk about which specialists will manage sleep issues. If not, you may wish to ask for a referral to a specialist or find one on your own (depending on your insurance, you may need a referral to see a specialist). It’s worth asking your primary care physician’s office staff if he or she manages sleep disorders. With this type of doctor, you won’t need to see a specialist. If you have a sleep disorder like sleep apnea, this may include ordering CPAP therapy to treat your disease (learn more about that here). After your sleep study, she will receive the results and contact you to discuss next steps. This doctor will then order a sleep study (either in-home or in a sleep center, read more about both options here). Are you snoring? Gasping for air at night? Do you stop breathing during the night? These are all signs of sleep disorder. Better yet, she may ask your bed partner how you’re sleeping. Some doctors will screen all of their new patients for sleep issues and incorporate sleep assessments into their new patient intake forms (check out the most common assessment, the Epworth Sleepiness Scale here). Some physicians will manage the sleep issues of their patients. The primary care physician is usually considered a generalist who will refer patients with specific medical conditions out to specialist for disease management however, many of these doctors are now managing many medical conditions, such as diabetes and hypertension themselves without referring to a specialist. Your Primary Care Physician May or May Not Manage Sleep Issues These physicians can be primary care or internal medicine physicians, pulmonologists, psychiatrists, neurologists, ENTs or even dentists. Usually this doctor will see patients with other medical conditions too such as pulmonary or neurological conditions (based on her training).Īlternatively, a physician may not obtain the sleep medicine credential required to interpret sleep studies, but has a special interest and pursues additional training in sleep medicine. Once a doctor is boarded in sleep medicine, he or she can interpret sleep studies and may build a sleep medicine practice. In order to be boarded (ie: certified or credentialed) in sleep medicine, the doctor must pass a rigorous exam (you can check the certification of a doctor on the American Board of Internal Medicine site here). Typically, the doctor is primarily trained in internal medicine, pulmonology or neurology and then completed additional training in sleep medicine. So, when is the right time to bring up your sleep issues? Should you even be talking to your primary care physician or do you need to see a specialist? Is there even such thing as a sleep doctor? Who is a sleep doctor?Ī sleep doctor is a medical doctor who has additional special training in sleep medicine. Your doctor probably doesn’t remember your name until she sees your chart and she certainly doesn’t remember your spouse’s name or that you just sent your first child off to college. In the real world, we’re lucky if we get a full 15 minutes of face-to-face time with our doctor each year. She’d even ask how you’re sleeping at night and if you’re feeling rested. She’d ask how your family is doing, your marriage, are you getting regular exercise? Are you eating well and how are you feeling about your job? You might have a list of questions for her and you’d carefully go through each one together. In a perfect world, you would visit your primary care doctor once a year and spend a solid hour talking about your current health.
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