I am surprised that no one mentioned that mouth, tongue and throat muscle exercise have been proven to significantly improve snoring and apnoe.
For sleep apnea, a mouth guard may be a good alternative to CPAP
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Re: For sleep apnea, a mouth guard may be a good alternative to CPAP
#52I'll get my medical advice from a board-certified MD who specializes in sleep medicine, thank you very much.
If you're putting blind trust into an institution that's open to lots of manipulation and bias then you might want to wake up a little more to understand outside the GIN (gated institutional narrative; a term coined by Eric Weinstein) there may be very valuable if not critical information to be learned.
I get what you're saying, but gaining the required level of expertise for something like this is very time-consuming.
In my case (not the OP), my sleep has improved completely since getting on a CPAP, and I don't consider sleep a problem in my life any more. What value is there for me to question what you call the GIN? None, as far as I can tell. For me, they've done exactly what they needed.
It's true that there are other who's situation is different. But I wouldn't be so quick to write off what is currently accepted knowledge.
Re: For sleep apnea, a mouth guard may be a good alternative to CPAP
#53The danger in this article is that less people might be willing to get a proper sleeep study after reading it and having a false sense that CPAP is terrible. For sleep apnea CPAP WORKS and everything else is a hack. We need more articles encouraging people to try CPAP instead of: here, take this nose clip on Ali Express it might work; or here put this ointment or use this mouthguard. If you snore loud or people say y…
I think sleep studies are over rated and expensive compared to just giving them a CPAP and seeing if symptoms improve. For many, the sleep study takes a long time to schedule, doesn't always work, and as I mentioned terribly expensive.
Re: For sleep apnea, a mouth guard may be a good alternative to CPAP
#54The danger in this article is that less people might be willing to get a proper sleeep study after reading it and having a false sense that CPAP is terrible. For sleep apnea CPAP WORKS and everything else is a hack. We need more articles encouraging people to try CPAP instead of: here, take this nose clip on Ali Express it might work; or here put this ointment or use this mouthguard. If you snore loud or people say y…
I use a CPAP; I hate it. I can’t wear appliances because of orthodontics, and I am very wary of costs & long recovery times for surgery. However, neither of those two things are ‘a hack’ in any negative sense. They both can offer significant life improvement.
I love my auto tritating cpap resmed airsense 10. I assume you've tried a number of different masks?
Re: For sleep apnea, a mouth guard may be a good alternative to CPAP
#55CPAP isn't anywhere near as awful as people make it out to be. I suspect many of these "CPAP sucks" stories come from people who (for whatever reason) are given a cheap, shitty mask and a cheap, shitty & loud machine. Masks used to be really bulky and unpleasant. Machines used to be pretty loud. These days, machines are nearly whisper quiet and masks come in more varieties than I care to list. I mean sure, there is a…
It's been 10+ years since I tried CPAP, but I could never get to a place where I'd sleep through the night with it on. I'd always take the mask off in my sleep. I tried more than a half dozen different masks and I could never get one comfortable enough to sleep with. It always felt like it made the situation worse. Over the years I think I've been to 4 different doctors for sleep apnea. Had 3 in lab sleep studies and…
> I only have mild sleep apnea
Disclaimer: I don't want to rain on your parade, and I'm happy that you feel better. But for everyone who isn't you: the way I understand it, there's no such thing as mild sleep apnea. I mean sure, everyone gets a couple of apneas every night, that's fine. But "mild" apnea is defined by 5-15 apnea/hypopnea events per hour. That's an average over the whole night. Usually apnea is worse during REM sleep. And each event comes with a (micro-)arousal. If you're waking up 5-15 times (or more) during REM sleep, you're not getting much actual REM sleep, and your sleep quality is destroyed anyway. Reglardless of the "mild" diagnosis. REM seems to be an important part of sleep.
As an aside: I wish it were easier to get a deviated septum fixed. Seems like the Russians have a laser treatment which can (non-invasively) increase the plasticity of the cartilage so it can be straightened, but AFAIK it's only available in Russia.
Re: For sleep apnea, a mouth guard may be a good alternative to CPAP
#56Earlier quoted context omitted.
I've had a mouth guard before, for bruxism, but that thing 100% prevented me from falling and staying asleep, it was effectively a torture device in my experience. How is falling asleep with this device? Is it easy to adjust to? How heavy is it on maintenance?
My dentist told me to get a "mold-it-yourself" bite guard for bruxism that only covered the upper jaw. This stopped the damage right away and helped my sleep right away. I still have some TMD symptoms that may improve further. (I make my own "meal replacements" by grinding up a bag of frozen vegetables, maybe some fruit or nuts or a piece of pork into a soup and don't feel bad getting a shake at Burger King.)
That was the type of thing I had. I was essentially forced to choose between taking care of my teeth and to be able to sleep at all. The choice was very easy, at the end of the day.
Re: For sleep apnea, a mouth guard may be a good alternative to CPAP
#57CPAP isn't anywhere near as awful as people make it out to be. I suspect many of these "CPAP sucks" stories come from people who (for whatever reason) are given a cheap, shitty mask and a cheap, shitty & loud machine. Masks used to be really bulky and unpleasant. Machines used to be pretty loud. These days, machines are nearly whisper quiet and masks come in more varieties than I care to list. I mean sure, there is a…
The problem starts with the doctors. Regardless of who paying, if your doctor says "here's a thing, use it" you assume (because they are a knowledgeable specialist) that it's the "right thing". Most people don't/won't know if they've actually been prescribed the best option. Not too long ago I went through this adventure and my experience with the ENT was terrible. Fortunately I was in a position where I could do an…
I agree. You pretty much have to be your own doctor. With sleep apnea at least, it's pretty easy. There are tons of great resources out there. The CPAP machine captures a lot of useful data which you can use to tailor your experience (insert big fat disclaimer here).
When my allergies act up, I increase my pressure. When the air is dry, I decrease my pressure. When I've got a cold, I use a full face mask. When I'm feeling fine, I use a nasal mask. These are super simple things for me now, but these are non-obvious for someone who just got sent home with a CPAP machine -- and who is often told to never touch the pressure settings.
Re: For sleep apnea, a mouth guard may be a good alternative to CPAP
#58I sometimes wake up in the middle of the night noticing that it's trouble breathing that wakes me up, it happened the last weeks and months more often than before. However, I also feel this has a lot to do with how much I weigh. Due to corona I did a lot less sports (because I like team sports much more than running etc.) etc. and gained a few pounds. It feels like weighing a few pounds too much (maybe 10 or so) have…
It's not a "however," overweight can be a contributing factor for sleep apnea. More soft tissue, more restriction. Weight loss sounds like an excellent first action.
It is much easier to lose weight if you can get restful sleep. My manager lost 20 pounds after he got the CPAP machine with no other lifestyle changes. He had more energy and improved metabolism when he wasn't constantly tired and subjecting his body to low blood oxygen for 1/3 of the day.
So this isn't an either/or situation. Sleep apnea can also be a contributing factor in being overweight. So do everything: take steps to eat better, sleep better, and exercise more. Small steps in a number of areas are often better than a big step in just a single area.
Re: For sleep apnea, a mouth guard may be a good alternative to CPAP
#59Started 2 years ago with an OTC boil and bute, sleep quality is night and day (no pun intended),l. In fact it annoys me greatly if for whatever reason I don't sleep with it because I know I'll be yawning, nodding off, and generally low energy all day. Highly recommend it at least as a low cost experiment (mine was $70), no issues so far with bite or jaw soreness.
Boil=and-bite only provides cushion between teeth. Sleep apnea mouth guards are designed to thrust the jaw forward, so as to mechanically assist in keeping the airway open. They're so very different in effect and structure that if you feel you're benefiting from a boil-and-bite, you've almost certainly mis-attributed something somewhere.
My boil and bite has a hex key lower jaw adjustment same as OSA nightguards, many (but not all) of them do
Re: For sleep apnea, a mouth guard may be a good alternative to CPAP
#60Started 2 years ago with an OTC boil and bute, sleep quality is night and day (no pun intended),l. In fact it annoys me greatly if for whatever reason I don't sleep with it because I know I'll be yawning, nodding off, and generally low energy all day. Highly recommend it at least as a low cost experiment (mine was $70), no issues so far with bite or jaw soreness.
$70 for a mouth guard??? A Benlee Bite only costs $6 where I live.
Not the same thing at all, here's mine
Vitalsleep.com