Live data from Hacker News

Sleep apnea pill shows striking success in large clinical trial

science.org

161–170 of 226 posts

Re: Sleep apnea pill shows striking success in large clinical trial

#161

I am a fattie (BMI 36.5). I also have sleep apnea. Wearing a CPAP, I couldn't ever get any sleep (toss&turner). Things that've helped: 1) Using body pillows to force sleeping on side, which straightens the neck (versus face-down) — also lessens low-back pain 2) DENTAL GUARD (a 3D-printed plastic insert which form-fits my teeth, slightly opening jaw-angle/mouth) 3) Losing weight — YES, sleep apnea is worsened by exces…

What kind of dental guard did you get? One from an actual dentist, or one of those pre-made ones off of amazon/etc?

I've been wanting to try one from the dentist, but they're pretty pricey.

Re: Sleep apnea pill shows striking success in large clinical trial

#162
post #11
post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We have numerous good options to deal with high blood pressure, I wouldn't say this is really a problem. Many people take medicine for high blood pressure and live the rest of their lives completely unhampered.

Virtually any pill you have to take for life has negative side effects. Medicine made serious progress in all kind of ways but we don't have magic pills yet, even simple things like fixing a broken bone "only" has a 90-95% success rate without complications. Stay in shape, eat clean an exercise, once it's gone it's gone for good

> Stay in shape, eat clean an exercise, once it's gone it's gone for good

No, not at all. Getting rid of your hypertension through lifestyle doesn't mean it's gone for good. You have to maintain that lifestyle. And, even if you do, if your hypertension is genetic you're probably just delaying the inevitable.

Re: Sleep apnea pill shows striking success in large clinical trial

#163

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Many people don’t take them nor do they want the side effects, so of course it’s a problem. Every heart attack story I know of off the top of my head involves a man who didn’t want to take his blood pressure meds.

This is a good example of survivorship bias. You're fixated on the few heart attacks you do know and overlooking the vast troves of people who never developed issues once treated.

No, the survivorship bias is having high blood pressure and being fine. It greatly increases your risk of heart attack, stroke, and heart failure. Hypertension is dangerous in the long-term. Most smokers don't die of lung cancer - they die of hypertension.

Re: Sleep apnea pill shows striking success in large clinical trial

#164

Earlier quoted context omitted.

this won't solve all your problems, but replacing the sports guard with a rubber one that is meant for bruxism, or even better, paying the $400 and getting a custom one from your dentist, will help a lot. the sports guards aren't soft enough to prevent damage to the surface of your teeth. My custom dental guard has lasted for several years, and although I was skeptical at first, the cost was worth it.

You can get a custom fit one by mail for like $200.

Do you have a recommendation on where? I think my dentist said the cost was > $3,000 so I never went through with it.

Re: Sleep apnea pill shows striking success in large clinical trial

#165

“Atomoxetine also increases heart rate and diastolic blood pressure a little bit,” This reminds me of some studies I read about weird uses for nicotine. Trials have been run where people with sleep apnea wore nicotine patches with a reduction in episodes. The theory is it keeps the brain stimulated allowing, paradoxically, people to get better sleep. Things like this: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/3965253/ Doctors…

That study is from 1985; subsequent studies have found no such utility for nicotine.

Nicotine harms sleep quality. People wearing patches to bed typically experience bizarre nightmares. Then factor in the cardiac risks.

Moreover, the pharmacology of atomoxetine and nicotine are very different.

Clinical effects of locally delivered nicotine in obstructive sleep apnea syndrome https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12756424/

Effects of nicotine on sleep during consumption, withdrawal and replacement therapy https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19345124/

Polysomnographic sleep disturbances in nicotine, caffeine, alcohol, cocaine, opioid, and cannabis use: A focused review https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26346395/

Impact of Nicotine and Other Stimulants on Sleep in Young Adults https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30461442/

Re: Sleep apnea pill shows striking success in large clinical trial

#166

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> letting my partner have a proper night's sleep I’m interested in this: how’s the CPAP noise perceived by the partners? I don’t snore and usually wake up quickly when doing the "apnea noise", stopping before waking her up. In the meantime I read that CPAP produce a a constant sound + an inconstant sound from the air coming in and out. She needs quietness to sleep and disturbing her sleep refrained me to try it out.…

Different ones have different sound profiles. Even the quietest isn’t my favorite so I use a https://getsnooz.com which are pricey but easily the best white noise machines I’ve used. The noise machine even on very quiet is enough to mask the inconsistent breathing sound. That’d be my best advice on it.

I have one of these, I believe I got the first batch from Kickstarter when they first came out. It's still working flawlessly on my nightstand. It's not just a digital white noise maker, that's why I really like it. Authentic sound.

Re: Sleep apnea pill shows striking success in large clinical trial

#167
post #7

I swear CPAP wouldn't get such a bad rep if the media would stop using pictures of men with obscenely large full face masks. The most commonly used CPAP mask is probably the minimalist Resmed P10 [1]. It looks a lot less intimidating than a bulky full face mask. And in most cases, full face masks aren't needed (no sources to cite, but titrating to the correct pressure allows most people to breathe through their noses…

CPAPs have a bad rep?

I love mine (wearing it as I type this actually), and I'd say my girlfriend loves it more than I do since I no longer sound like I'm dying in my sleep and gasping for air every 20 seconds

Re: Sleep apnea pill shows striking success in large clinical trial

#168
post #156

I must be in the minority of CPAP users who would use it even if I stopped having OSA. Why? A few reasons: 1. Sometimes I hardly notice it. Newer models are very quiet and portable. I'd even go as far as saying the mask is comfortable to wear, like a security blanket for the face. 2. Practically nothing filters out dust and cat hair better than my CPAP. An N95 mask might do better, but would be ridiculously uncomfort…

I wouldn't use it without sleep apnea because of the annoyance with the hose. But I agree that otherwise my nasal mask is hardly noticeable.

Yeah same. If a tubeless variant were to somehow be invented (portals?), I'd be a happy chappy

Re: Sleep apnea pill shows striking success in large clinical trial

#169

People using a CPAP - have you looked at Inspire? [1]. My pulmonologist friend highly recommends it. The device has very high success rate and is now in the 5th generation of development. https://www.inspiresleep.com/en-us/

My problem is that I want to avoid surgery at all costs, and the inspire only has a 10 year battery life after which they have to open you up again.

Also the idea of having something implanted in me that zaps me just feels... Weird, compared to just have a regular old tube glued to my nostrils

Re: Sleep apnea pill shows striking success in large clinical trial

#170
post #19

Or try, no booze, lose a bit of weight, increase cardio activity and sleep on your side. This works pretty well for obstructive but sadly not central apnea.

I suspect I've had apnea since I was a kid, and that was when I was swimming 9x a week and doing swim comps all the time.

Some people just have fat tongues (Ladies, 1 at a time please!) unfortunately

Post reply on HN