Sleep Apnea talk

GGames · Feb 24, 2017

I've been diagnosed since 2015. My dad and Grandpa have it too. I have a CPAP machine with the nasal wisk mask... it works. Just a nuance to sleep with. Anyone have any other methods they are dealing with. I just ordered a Nusleep mouth piece for traveling and looking at the Winx System.

Anyone have any other recommendations or tricks?

Wadernation · Feb 24, 2017

On the news the other night they had a new experimental treatment (seemed to work and is now moving forward). Magnet is installed in your throat and you wear a collar to bed. I guess it opens it up by the "forces" pulling it together..trippy stuff. Sorry i cant be more helpful..just what ive noticed recently on TV. good luck!

TomD · Feb 24, 2017

I use the nose pillows. They work OK. You have to pretty much lie on your back no matter what you use. It does take some getting use to.

Mike Honcho · Feb 24, 2017

Same boat use a cpap with the nose pillows and as for the mouth piece did that and it actually hurt my top teeth by pulling on them. I have heard something on the radio talking about another solution but what I gather is it is some implant devise that electrically stimulates the area in the throat (that sounded bad) to alleviate snoring. I am not real motivated to have a surgery or procedure for some implant.

Interested as well to find out if there is another solution available.

RitcheyRch · Feb 24, 2017

I too use the nose pillows and cannot sleep on my back. I sleep on my sides and the nose pillows move at times and wakes me up briefly from the additional noise of air rushing. I have noticed that if I tighten the strap a little more that the nose pillow dont move when I move in the night.

TomD said:
I use the nose pillows. They work OK. You have to pretty much lie on your back no matter what you use. It does take some getting use to.

SBMech · Feb 24, 2017

Had it for the last few years, just got it diagnosed in December, been using a new cpap machine with a full mask, it works well and I definitely feel more rested than before, but yea, sleeping on your back mostly is a pita.

The machine I use has a humidifier and heated/cooled tube, plus both ends rotate freely so you can actually get sorta on your side.

I'd be interested in learning any alternative methods however, I hate being tied to a machine every night...

pronstar · Feb 24, 2017

In my case, it was gluten-related.
I stopped snoring, and my sleep apnea went away, within three days of cutting gluten from my diet.
Waking-up feeling like I actually got sleep is an amazing feeling.

The inflammation response to gluten was causing a TON of health issues for me...now all gone, and no more daily meds to treat symptoms since we figured out the root cause.

Everyone is different, and gluten sensitivity isn't widely understood nor embraced by western medicine, but potentially worth a quick investigation to see if you can rule it out.
In my case, it literally changed my life.

River Dan · Feb 24, 2017

I have had a machine for only three months. I have the mask that covers the nose and mouth. The seal between the masked skin will break occasionally during sleep causing the machine to ramp up automatically to the point that the volume of air is greater than my ability to take it in. This wakes me up, so either I re boot the machine to lower the volume or I take it off altogether for an hour or so. But I have to say that other than that I sleep all night without snoring.

J DUNN · Feb 24, 2017

pronstar said:
In my case, it was gluten-related.
I stopped snoring, and my sleep apnea went away, within three days of cutting gluten from my diet.
Waking-up feeling like I actually got sleep is an amazing feeling.

The inflammation response to gluten was causing a TON of health issues for me...now all gone, and no more daily meds to treat symptoms since we figured out the root cause.

Everyone is different, and gluten sensitivity isn't widely understood nor embraced by western medicine, but potentially worth a quick investigation to see if you can rule it out.
In my case, it literally changed my life.

Yep, if you want to know more about what pronstar is saying then read Grain Brain, it will change your life, well if you follow what it tells you. It's that "do something" part that get's you every time.

GGames · Feb 24, 2017

Who ever is using the nose pillows should really check out the wisp mask. I started with the nose pillows... but it chapped my nose and would always come out. The Wisp mask goes over the entire nose (not mouth) and it hardly ever looses the seal.

GGames · Feb 24, 2017

https://www.amazon.com/Wisp-Mask-Fa...UTF8&qid=1487963183&sr=8-1&keywords=wisp+mask

Get the fabric frame.. not the hard plastic

J DUNN · Feb 24, 2017

I have apnia. I appreciate Pronstar's post. I just cut all bread, grains, and carbs from my diet and am seeing a TON of benefits just 10 days into it. Of course I have some higher motivation being that I am Type 1 Diabetic.

Anyways, back to the Apnia. I where a mask that covers mouth and nose. I also use flonase in my nose every night before bed. My machine is as big as the family Bible (like anybody has these anymore) and I dislike traveling with it. It does have humidifier but I never use it and never dry out too much. I sleep on my stomach or side and sleep like a baby. I'm never tired during the day like I used to be and I seldom wake up at night. I also have an insulin pump attached to me and a continuous glucose monitor so I'm used to the attachments while sleeping. I know weight doesn't always relate to Apnia but usually it does. Any time I see a fat person yawning during the day I'm like, "You need a CPAP!" I don't actually tell them but you know what I mean.

So, all this crap in my life for the last five years (diabetic for 20 years) and I'll only be 40 this year. Upside is, I am seeing huge health changes/improvement due to diet change. Really motivated by diet advice and reading the book "Grain Brain". Basically all the statins and other BP and Cholesterol meds we as society take are fed to us on a spoon by Big Pharma that makes millions off of us sheep every year. Pharma makes the drug, the spoon is the smokin hot "drug pusher" pharmaceutical saleswoman that get's the enamored doctors on board then the doctors push the crap on us. Over the last 2 years I've been prescribed BP meds and Cholesterol meds and I've taken them for the first month then stopped. I've had multiple labs done that the Dr would see the results on and he's never known that I stopped taking them but has never shown concern about them not "doing there job" and improving lab results. He's not brain dead, he's just prescribing pre-cautionary measures for potential problems and I'm suffering the side effects (most of which are unknown to us un-educated patients) but hey, at least he's pushing and it keeps that hottie coming around talking to him or incentivising him.

Oh well, off the soap box and thread robbing and back to work......

RitcheyRch · Feb 24, 2017

I will see if my sleep apnea supply company carries them

GGames said:
Who ever is using the nose pillows should really check out the wisp mask. I started with the nose pillows... but it chapped my nose and would always come out. The Wisp mask goes over the entire nose (not mouth) and it hardly ever looses the seal.

shunter2005 · Feb 24, 2017

Might also check out the Dream Wear head gear. Much like the wisp but fits under the nose. I have had Apnea for 12 year. On my third machine. The new Dream Wear headgear is much, MUCH better for me than the mask that I wore for over 11 years. It fits up against the bottom of the nose but does not fit like the pillows. Hose attached on the top of the headgear and is out of the way. I can sleep on back, side or stomach with mostly great results. Occasionally, I move wrong and get a little leak that wakes me up, but a quick adjustment and its back to some good sleep. I never use the humidifier, even in the winter. I could never get used to it. Always felt like I was drowning with condensation running into my nose.

Link is only to show what it looks like.

http://www.thecpapshop.com/respiron...vR0q50_DjdMyHYIdDDoAzGxBQjDRgndALwaAswy8P8HAQ

By the way, the new machines are getting much smaller, quieter and easier to travel with. There are a few small ones designed specifically for travel. Insurance has paid for a new machine every five years, so it's easy to see how they are progressing.

pkrrvr619 · Feb 24, 2017

I use this:

https://puresleep.com/s30/homepage.php

It is a boil and bite mouth piece that conforms to your teeth so it doesnt hurt or make them out of whack.

Works wonders, easy to use and the wife is super happy. Win win.

Only issue I have with it is that it makes you drool like a son of a bitch....

River Runnin · Feb 24, 2017

What I have and works well! http://www.cpapsupplyusa.com/61529-ResMed-Swift-FX-Headgear.aspx

underpressure · Feb 25, 2017

nicholastoft said:
I use this:

https://puresleep.com/s30/homepage.php

It is a boil and bite mouth piece that conforms to your teeth so it doesnt hurt or make them out of whack.

Works wonders, easy to use and the wife is super happy. Win win.

Only issue I have with it is that it makes you drool like a son of a bitch....

^^^^^

I started using one of these deals (different brand - Snorerx)... It seems to work...happy wife, happy life

Yellowboat · Feb 25, 2017

both my grandparent had it bad. the thing that worked best was raising the pillow side of the bed about 12" I don't know why, but it worked for them when even the machine wouldn't

Enen · Feb 25, 2017

GGames said:
I've been diagnosed since 2015. My dad and Grandpa have it too. I have a CPAP machine with the nasal wisk mask... it works. Just a nuance to sleep with. Anyone have any other methods they are dealing with. I just ordered a Nusleep mouth piece for traveling and looking at the Winx System.

Anyone have any other recommendations or tricks?

Lose some weight? I dropped 35 lbs and my sleep apnea was magically cured. I know that may not work for everyone, but I haven't touched my CPap machine in almost a year

FlyByWire · Feb 25, 2017

I was diagnosed with 'severe' apnea. I forget what my 'score' was but the sleep doctor / guy said it was one of the highest he'd seen. Got the machine and they fitted me for the pillows and one that just covers the nose, with a headgear type thing. During the trial of the first few days i got one of the best nights of sleep of my life.

Then I started fighting claustrophobia issues, and could never fall asleep using either setup. I'm a side sleeper and a mouth breather, and the pillows wouldn't stay put. The CPAP now sits in a case in the corner of my room.

KevinR · Feb 25, 2017

nicholastoft said:
I use this:

https://puresleep.com/s30/homepage.php

It is a boil and bite mouth piece that conforms to your teeth so it doesnt hurt or make them out of whack.

Works wonders, easy to use and the wife is super happy. Win win.

Only issue I have with it is that it makes you drool like a son of a bitch....

puresleep did the trick for me also. Could not be happier. I don't know if I
had apnea but it slammed my snoring.

lenmann · Feb 25, 2017

Ask you sleep doctor if you are a candidate for an oral appliance instead of CPAP. Up to 80% of sleep apnea patients can be treated successfully with a prescription oral appliance that advances the mandible (jaw) to open the air way. Patient compliance is typically much higher because comfort and convenience is substantially improved. I have a Micro2, made by a company called ProSomnus. It's great.

2FORCEFULL · Feb 25, 2017

is anyone that has this skinny?..

Yellowboat · Feb 25, 2017

2FORCEFULL said:
is anyone that has this skinny?..

Me and I am a twig

troostr · Feb 25, 2017

My weight has a lot to do with my snoring. 255 is my number, over it I snore like bear, under and I'm good. One thing I've found that helps is peppermint oil. A few drops in my mouth at bed time and I'm great. Also like I read in an earlier post, kicking the head of the bed up just a few inches helps.

RitcheyRch · Feb 25, 2017

Will have to look into this one as well

shunter2005 said:
Might also check out the Dream Wear head gear. Much like the wisp but fits under the nose. I have had Apnea for 12 year. On my third machine. The new Dream Wear headgear is much, MUCH better for me than the mask that I wore for over 11 years. It fits up against the bottom of the nose but does not fit like the pillows. Hose attached on the top of the headgear and is out of the way. I can sleep on back, side or stomach with mostly great results. Occasionally, I move wrong and get a little leak that wakes me up, but a quick adjustment and its back to some good sleep. I never use the humidifier, even in the winter. I could never get used to it. Always felt like I was drowning with condensation running into my nose.

Link is only to show what it looks like.

http://www.thecpapshop.com/respiron...vR0q50_DjdMyHYIdDDoAzGxBQjDRgndALwaAswy8P8HAQ

By the way, the new machines are getting much smaller, quieter and easier to travel with. There are a few small ones designed specifically for travel. Insurance has paid for a new machine every five years, so it's easy to see how they are progressing.

This is the one I have and thought it was the pillows type mask. Been using this one for about a year and been pretty happy with it for the most part.

River Runnin said:
What I have and works well! http://www.cpapsupplyusa.com/61529-ResMed-Swift-FX-Headgear.aspx

TomD · Feb 26, 2017

Just started using Dream Wear head gear. I can now sleep on either side some what easier.

rrrr · Feb 26, 2017

.

I've used a CPAP for at least fifteen years. I can't sleep without it now. I first went to a sleep clinic after a friend of mine died when he was 43. The diagnosis? Sleep apnea killed him. I found out my breathing was stopping when I slept...a lot. I had a retest done two years ago when I got a new machine. I stop breathing for 20-30 seconds over thirty times an hour.

If you snore loudly and feel you are not getting restful sleep, have a sleep study done. It could literally save your life, at a minimum you will get real wakeless sleep.

I have read the mouthpieces will stop snoring but can create serious and expensive problems. They work by displacing your lower jaw in reference to your upper jaw, forcing the soft palate to unseat from its resting place and make a passage for breathing air. The displacement can cause severe problems in the temporomandibular joint. I copied the following from a craniofacial surgeon's website:

What Causes Craniomandibular Dysfunction?

The structures that make it possible to open and close your mouth include the bones, joints, and muscles. These are very specialized and must work together whenever you chew, speak, or swallow. Your teeth are inserted in your jaw bone. At the other end of your jaw bone are the temporomandibular joints. These joints attach your jaw to your skull. Muscles attach both the bones and joints and allow them to move. Any problem which prevents the complex system of muscles, bones, and joints from working together in harmony may result in Craniomandibular Dysfunction.

A "Bad Bite"

There are various ways this system can be disrupted, such as accidents involving a blow to the face or a whiplash. Yet the most common cause of Craniomandibular Dysfunction relates to your teeth and your bite. If your bite isn't right, it can affect both the muscles and the joints. What do we mean by a "bad bite"? We mean that your upper and lower teeth do not come together in a way that provides the proper bracing support for your jaw against your skull. This might result from a missing tooth, misaligned teeth, or back teeth, which are too "short."

Jaw Joint Displacement

The position of your teeth can also affect the position of your jaw joints. Each jaw joint is a ball and socket joint. When functioning properly, the ball and socket do not actually touch because a thin disc of cartilage rides between them. The disc acts as a cushion and allows the joint to move smoothly. Each disc is held in place and guided by muscle. If your bite is not right, the joint is pulled out of alignment. Typically the disc is pulled forward. Since it no longer serves as a cushion, the joint itself now rubs against the boney socket and presses on pain fibers. Mild displacements cause a clicking or popping sound in the jaw joint; more severe displacements can be very painful and eventually can cause permanent damage to the joint.

An unstable bite can cause both jaw joint displacement and muscle strain and pain. Many seemingly unrelated symptoms result which are collectively known as Craniomandibular Dysfunction. When this condition is prolonged, the body begins to compensate and adapt by involving muscles in the neck, back, and even sometimes those of the arms, fingers, pelvis, legs, and feet.

Your bite and its correct function are critical to your health. When you use a jaw displacement device, you are intentionally interfering with the natural alignment of your teeth. It can cause long term problems which may not become apparent until the displacement has permanently altered your bite and temporomandibular joint.

Be careful, consider what that $19.99 device might do to you.

HydroSkreamin · Feb 26, 2017

shunter2005 said:
Might also check out the Dream Wear head gear. Much like the wisp but fits under the nose. I have had Apnea for 12 year. On my third machine. The new Dream Wear headgear is much, MUCH better for me than the mask that I wore for over 11 years. It fits up against the bottom of the nose but does not fit like the pillows. Hose attached on the top of the headgear and is out of the way. I can sleep on back, side or stomach with mostly great results. Occasionally, I move wrong and get a little leak that wakes me up, but a quick adjustment and its back to some good sleep. I never use the humidifier, even in the winter. I could never get used to it. Always felt like I was drowning with condensation running into my nose.

Link is only to show what it looks like.

http://www.thecpapshop.com/respiron...vR0q50_DjdMyHYIdDDoAzGxBQjDRgndALwaAswy8P8HAQ

By the way, the new machines are getting much smaller, quieter and easier to travel with. There are a few small ones designed specifically for travel. Insurance has paid for a new machine every five years, so it's easy to see how they are progressing.

Thanks for sharing this, I currently use pillows, and am going to try this. The pillows are definitely better than the mask, but this looks interesting.

As far as smaller machines go, they definitely are getting smaller all the time. My latest machine is an AutoPAP, and it does not hold constant pressure, it raises and lowers pressure matching your breathing, and "learns" as you go. It sure makes falling asleep much easier. Previous machines would start at a lower pressure for 20 minutes and then jump to the higher set pressure. If you weren't sleeping before that jump, you most likely weren't going to be if you didn't restart the process.

When I travel I just pack my machine on top, wrapped in my shirts, so when I got through TSA I can put it in its own bin. It's a pain when traveling with others as it gets flagged all the time and I get to play 20 questions with the TSA agent. If you are nice about it they usually make it go pretty quick.

78Southwind · Feb 26, 2017

2FORCEFULL said:
is anyone that has this skinny?..

I wasn't necessarily skinny but I was 168lbs when I was diagnosed (cardiologist said I was 5lbs over weight). For about three months I was waking up with chest pains daily from lack of oxygen (nocturnal angina) and the struggle of breathing while sleeping. Sometimes I would wake up in the middle of the night with my chest vibrating so bad I thought my heart was going to jump right out of my chest (probably racing because of oxygen desaturation). Though I didn't snore, my girlfriend recorded me one night and it sounded like I was breathing through a straw. Since I wasn't obese the sleep doctor swore I didn't have sleep apnea. My girlfriend was so pissed off that she talked to the manager of the facility to see if I could see the director of the program. Sure enough I have severe sleep apnea.

Sleep Apnea isn't something you want misdiagnosed so for anyone that remotely thinks that they have a sleep/breathing problem go see a sleep doctor. Don't fuck with the over the counter shit and don't even bother seeing your GP (unless it is for a referral only).

BTW...the sleep doctor thought since I was skinny the oral appliance would work for me (it's not cheap either it was a little over $4,000 five years ago). It helped with my oxygen levels but not with my sleep. My brain waves were showing (labored breathing) a movement from Deep Sleep back into Light Sleep. So with the oral appliance it turned my sleep apnea into sort of an upper airway resistance syndrome. To me the oral appliance was a torture device and with that and since it didn't work I use a CPAP.

jet496 · Feb 26, 2017

I tried every CPAP machine & mask out there but could never make it work. I'd just rip it off in my sleep.

Now I get a great nights sleep by sleeping in a Laz-e-boy chair that suits me well & my wife doesn't wake me up constantly to tell me I'm snoring.

I think I'll look into the Grain Brain book & the whole gluten thing. Unfortunately, I love bread & grains though, so..............

Sleep Apnea talk

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