Frequently Asked Questions
Please select from the topics below to find some answers to our most common questions. Should you require any further assistance, please contact our main office on (02) 9790 2378, or send us a message on our Contact Us page.
Yes. You can call us on (02) 97902378 or send a request on the Contact tab.
The initial consultation usually takes around 90 minutes which includes the consultation & any necessary respiratory function tests in the laboratory.
Meredith Clinic:
There are two free council car parks across from our building – Marion Street Car Park & Meredith Street Car Park. For sleep unit patient’s at night only there is free, secure, parking within the building.
Rooty Hill Clinic: Onsite, off street, free parking in our court yard.
Please bring a referral letter, a valid Medicare card and healthcare/pension card/health fund card if you have one.
No.
All new patients are required to bring a referral from your family doctors or other specialists.
For follow up visit it depends on whether your previous referral expired or not. A GP’s referral last for 12 months & a specialist referral last for 3 months.
Yes. We accept cash, bank card, Master card & Visa card. The initial consultation fee is up to $350 and the follow up consultation fees will be significantly less.
By registering your bank details with Medicare, you will get up to $246.20 of Medicare rebate within1-2 business days after you made full payment.
Healthcare card holders only pay for consultation fees. All investigations in the respiratory and sleep laboratories are bulk billed. The initial consultation fee is $190 of which medicare rebates $128.30 & the follow up consultation fee is $120 of which medicare rebates $64.20.
We fully bulk bill pensioners.
Yes, please bring any current or relevant old X-rays/CTs along with you to the appointment and make sure the reports are in your film bag.
If you don’t speak English, please advise our staff to organise a free interpreter service for you. If it is not available, you are required to bring a English speaking family member or friend to attend your appointment.
Yes. Usually our staff will give you a reminding call one day before your appointment during the week to confirm your appointment & give you instructions for the visit including whether to withhold any inhaler medications on the day.
Unless medical emergency, we usually require you to stop inhalers for 8-24 hours prior to your appointment for the preparation of an accurate respiratory assessment. The inhalers withhold time is depending on the inhaler you are taking, please inform our staff at the time of booking & you will be clearly instructed.
Yes, please eat & drink normal and take all your medication as usual except the inhalers.
Please request at the time of consultation otherwise you are required to give us a written request with your signature for privacy reason.
Untreated sleep apnoea will affect your daily routine and activity.
If you are a driver, it may put your life in danger as well as other’s. It is worth to mention that 15-25% of road accidents are believed to be due to sleep problems, 62% of truck accidents are due to sleep problems. 18-30% of these accidents are fatal.
Sleep apnoea raises the blood pressure which can be dangerous especially if the patient has a pre-existing condition of high blood pressure or a heart problem.
Sleep apnoea affects the body hormonal balance due to the shortage or the lack of the deep sleep stage (SWS).
Some symptoms might be noticed during the day like continues fatigue, tiredness and falling asleep during day time, during watching TV or when setting in a public place, while talking to someone or while driving.
Other symptoms can be noticed during the sleep usually noticed by the patient’s spouse or partner, such as snoring, significant reduction or complete stopping breathing for few seconds or minutes. Also gasping for breath, reflux and choking can be signs for OSA.
OSA is not treated by any medications. Serious OSA is usually best be controlled by CPAP treatment. Losing significant weight, removal of enlarged tonsils, and dental devices can also help in reducing OSA severity in some cases.
CPAP stands for continues positive airway pressure, It is the most successful treatment for obstructive sleep apnoea.
It is basically an air pump that delivers normal room air under pressure to the patient through a mask during their sleep. This air flow will keep the patient’s airway open and allow them to breathe safely so they don’t have obstructive sleep apnoea on those nights they use the CPAP.
Sleep apnoea is the reduction or the complete stopping of breathing during sleep. Patients may not be aware of the apnoea but will feel the other symptoms during the wake.
There are many types of sleep apnoea such as:
Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA): It is the reduction or the stopping of breathing during sleep due to the narrowing or the complete closure of the airways.
Central Sleep apnoea (CSA): When the brain fails partially or completely to send a signal to the chest muscles to move for breathing (usually this type of apnoea is not associated with snoring)
Complex or Mixed apnoea: This is the mixture between OSA and CSA.
A sleep study is a recording of brain waves, eye movements, muscle activity, heart rhythm, oxygen level, breathing effort, leg movement, nasal/oral air flow, body position by attaching several sensors on the body.
Yes, you need a referral.
Yes it is very important as a first step before coming to call us 2 business days prior your test on 02 8405 7555 to confirm your appointment and to confirm that you feel well to attend the test and not having any recent signs of cold, flu or blocked nose. Failure to confirm may result in cancellation of your appointment. If you have any symptoms of cold, flu, blocked nose or any other medical condition that can affect the test results please call us to discuss and possibly reschedule your appointment.
Yes you can however you will need to have a shower and wash your face and hair very well as the sensors that will be attached to your skin are sensitive and require very clean skin.
Yes but you will need to have a good shower first as you will have some sticky gel on your body and hair. Shower facilities are available at our Meredith Street and Waratah Private sleep units.
Yes you can unless you have been advised not to by your doctor, or if you take sleeping tablets at night and you are still under their effect in the morning.
Yes, please bring the sleeping tablets with you to the sleep clinic at night and show the technician/nurse the original package and they will let you know when to take them.
No, you will need to bring your own sleeping tablets.
It is recommended that you bring along your own pillow if you are more comfortable with it or if you have a special pillow for a medical condition. Please remember to take it with you when leaving in the morning.
A minimum of 8 hours recording is required for a valid sleep study, please allow some extra time for attaching the sensors to start recording.
Yes you can. However, all electronic devices must be switched off by 11:00 PM at the latest in order to start the sleep study.
Yes, please feel free to press on the buzzer next to your bed if you need to go to the toilet. The technician will need to disconnect only one cable from the machine and you will then be able to move freely.
You don’t have to remove your acrylic nails but please remove the nail polish from at least the index finger of each hand.
Usually it takes 10 – 15 business days for your sleep study to get analysed. The results will be sent to your referring doctor, so you will need to make a follow up appointment with your referring doctor.
In some cases the referring doctor may ask for urgent results according to the patient’s circumstances in which cases the results can be ready within 1-5 business days.