A new sleep lab – SLEEPMED – in the 1600 block of West Yosemite Avenue is focused on helping snorers who might be diagnosed with the dangerous Obstructive Sleep Apnea condition.
Dr. Michael Davis, M.D. has been specializing in diseases of the lungs and the thorax at his office in the 200 block of North Cottage Avenue since 1987, where he has been overseeing sleep studies for the last 10 years.
He explained that it’s difficult to have a sleep lab in a doctor’s office, giving credence to opening such a facility away from his daytime practice.
Da Yang is serving as his respiratory therapist during the nighttime operation where patients are put to bed in one of two bedroom suites 12X14 feet in size where they are monitored throughout the night to determine their sleep patterns and their eventual corrective treatment.
A patient with a chronic sleep ailment reports to the lab at 8 p.m. at night and is discharged at 6 a.m. the next morning following an earlier face-to-face interview with the therapist.
“This is my pet project,” Dr. Davis said. He serves as the medical director for the Manteca lab as well as for two others in Modesto and Sonora.
“As a physician, you know that ordering a sleep study is useless if you are unable to treat the patient with an effective and long lasting sleep therapy,” he said.
Dr. Davis said that following the diagnostic and therapy services, the staff provides valuable assessment and support tools to help screen, diagnose and treat the patients with sleep disorders while assisting with regulatory compliance.
Some 25 percent of women and 28 percent of men over 65 reportedly have Obstructive Sleep Apnea. Dr. Davis reported that 80 to 90 percent of those individuals are unaware they have a problem. He added that an estimated 38,000 cardiovascular deaths a year are related to the sleep disorder with some 95 percent of those never being diagnosed.
Obstructive Sleep Apnea is the condition that causes a person to repeatedly stop breathing during sleep. Breathing can stop because the airway collapses and prevents air from getting into the lungs. When sleep patterns are disrupted excessive sleepiness or fatigue can result during the patient’s daytime hours.
The cause is related to extra tissue in the back of the airway such as large tonsils, a decrease in the tone of the muscles holding the airway open or having the tongue fall back and close off the airway.
Studies show there are four in every 100 middle-aged men and two in every 100 middle-aged women who have Obstructive Sleep Apnea – being as common as adult asthma.
The possible risks of the condition going untreated are high blood pressure, heart disease, heart attack, stroke, and fatigue-related motor vehicle and work accidents and a decreased quality of life, according to medical reports.
Dr. Davis grew up in the Sunset District of San Francisco, later graduating from U.C. Davis Medical School. He met his wife in Manhattan before he graduated. She was already serving as a registered nurse in New York, he said.
Lois Davis is the office manager of the lab as well as for the long established medical office on Cottage Avenue. Also on staff is Jane Nakbayashi who serves as medical sales representative.
Anyone wishing more information or a tour of the facility may call 239-0681. The online website may be viewed at www.sleepmed.md.
Dr. Michael Davis, M.D. has been specializing in diseases of the lungs and the thorax at his office in the 200 block of North Cottage Avenue since 1987, where he has been overseeing sleep studies for the last 10 years.
He explained that it’s difficult to have a sleep lab in a doctor’s office, giving credence to opening such a facility away from his daytime practice.
Da Yang is serving as his respiratory therapist during the nighttime operation where patients are put to bed in one of two bedroom suites 12X14 feet in size where they are monitored throughout the night to determine their sleep patterns and their eventual corrective treatment.
A patient with a chronic sleep ailment reports to the lab at 8 p.m. at night and is discharged at 6 a.m. the next morning following an earlier face-to-face interview with the therapist.
“This is my pet project,” Dr. Davis said. He serves as the medical director for the Manteca lab as well as for two others in Modesto and Sonora.
“As a physician, you know that ordering a sleep study is useless if you are unable to treat the patient with an effective and long lasting sleep therapy,” he said.
Dr. Davis said that following the diagnostic and therapy services, the staff provides valuable assessment and support tools to help screen, diagnose and treat the patients with sleep disorders while assisting with regulatory compliance.
Some 25 percent of women and 28 percent of men over 65 reportedly have Obstructive Sleep Apnea. Dr. Davis reported that 80 to 90 percent of those individuals are unaware they have a problem. He added that an estimated 38,000 cardiovascular deaths a year are related to the sleep disorder with some 95 percent of those never being diagnosed.
Obstructive Sleep Apnea is the condition that causes a person to repeatedly stop breathing during sleep. Breathing can stop because the airway collapses and prevents air from getting into the lungs. When sleep patterns are disrupted excessive sleepiness or fatigue can result during the patient’s daytime hours.
The cause is related to extra tissue in the back of the airway such as large tonsils, a decrease in the tone of the muscles holding the airway open or having the tongue fall back and close off the airway.
Studies show there are four in every 100 middle-aged men and two in every 100 middle-aged women who have Obstructive Sleep Apnea – being as common as adult asthma.
The possible risks of the condition going untreated are high blood pressure, heart disease, heart attack, stroke, and fatigue-related motor vehicle and work accidents and a decreased quality of life, according to medical reports.
Dr. Davis grew up in the Sunset District of San Francisco, later graduating from U.C. Davis Medical School. He met his wife in Manhattan before he graduated. She was already serving as a registered nurse in New York, he said.
Lois Davis is the office manager of the lab as well as for the long established medical office on Cottage Avenue. Also on staff is Jane Nakbayashi who serves as medical sales representative.
Anyone wishing more information or a tour of the facility may call 239-0681. The online website may be viewed at www.sleepmed.md.
