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What are the alternatives to CPAP?
#1
What are the alternatives to CPAP?
I have been snoring the house down since I was a kid. I remembered going to school camps and everyone would tell me that that I snore so loud that they couldn't sleep. I remembered going on overseas trips with my mates and they would have to constantly kick my bed cause my snoring was so loud. My gf would also wake me up thinking I was choking to death and even my parents was concerned.

After putting it off for many years. I went through the whole sleeping test and so forth. I have been on the machine for nearly 6 months now but within the last month, I have been quite slack and have managed to sleep with the machine for only couple of hours before ripping the mask off my face to get into that comfort groove.

Reading through the different threads and posts. I see people monitor their sleep via sleepyhead program which I have done too. My AHI on average is <5.

I was in BKK about 5 years ago and had to take my dad to the doctor and at the same time, I asked the doctor about my snoring problem, she took one quick look down my throat and reckon a quick snip to make my throat wider should do the trick but I wasnt ready for an operation then.

Couple of years later in Brisbane, I though I go see a doctor about it again and he reckon my adenoids were massive and was recommended to a ENT. He felt my throat and look inside my mouth and simply said i dont need an operation and that was that. No further solution or explanation.

I guess my question is, are there any other solutions or alternatives?

My machine does great wonders but I find it so hard to sleep with it and find it so inconvenient. And yes, it is for my own health and i understand it but with today's medical science, surely there must be something in the making?

HuhHuhHuh

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#2
RE: What are the alternatives to CPAP?
(02-24-2014, 08:59 AM)boar Wrote: I have been snoring the house down since I was a kid. I remembered going to school camps and everyone would tell me that that I snore so loud that they couldn't sleep. I remembered going on overseas trips with my mates and they would have to constantly kick my bed cause my snoring was so loud. My gf would also wake me up thinking I was choking to death and even my parents was concerned.

After putting it off for many years. I went through the whole sleeping test and so forth. I have been on the machine for nearly 6 months now but within the last month, I have been quite slack and have managed to sleep with the machine for only couple of hours before ripping the mask off my face to get into that comfort groove.

Reading through the different threads and posts. I see people monitor their sleep via sleepyhead program which I have done too. My AHI on average is <5.

I was in BKK about 5 years ago and had to take my dad to the doctor and at the same time, I asked the doctor about my snoring problem, she took one quick look down my throat and reckon a quick snip to make my throat wider should do the trick but I wasnt ready for an operation then.

Couple of years later in Brisbane, I though I go see a doctor about it again and he reckon my adenoids were massive and was recommended to a ENT. He felt my throat and look inside my mouth and simply said i dont need an operation and that was that. No further solution or explanation.

I guess my question is, are there any other solutions or alternatives?

My machine does great wonders but I find it so hard to sleep with it and find it so inconvenient. And yes, it is for my own health and i understand it but with today's medical science, surely there must be something in the making?

HuhHuhHuh

I'd suggest trying a different mask; that could change your comfort level immensely. Or mask liners. Mask liners made all the difference for me in getting through the night, and I have been on cpap for less than a month. If you google "cpap mask liners" you should come up with several to try. Good luck.
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#3
RE: What are the alternatives to CPAP?
You don't say what you AHI is without the CPAP?

Some people with moderate sleep apnea can benefit from a dental appliance (which at this point sounds worse to me than my AirFit P10 nasal pillow mask).

My dentist was the one that told me his own "bite returns to normal by the time he finishes breakfast" on the nights *HE* bothers to wear his appliance. (And he makes and sells them.)

Some people get surgery -- the surgery works for some of those people.

My CPAP nasal mask helps eliminate my nasal congestion as much as it opens the rest of my airway.

I like my CPAP, actively enjoy using it.
Sweet Dreams,

HerbM
Sleep study AHI: 49 RDI: 60 -- APAP 10-11 w/AHI: 1.5 avg for 7-days (up due likely to hip replacement recovery)

"We can all breathe together or we will all suffocate alone."
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#4
RE: What are the alternatives to CPAP?
(02-24-2014, 08:59 AM)boar Wrote: I have been snoring the house down since I was a kid. I remembered going to school camps and everyone would tell me that that I snore so loud that they couldn't sleep. I remembered going on overseas trips with my mates and they would have to constantly kick my bed cause my snoring was so loud. My gf would also wake me up thinking I was choking to death and even my parents was concerned.

After putting it off for many years. I went through the whole sleeping test and so forth. I have been on the machine for nearly 6 months now but within the last month, I have been quite slack and have managed to sleep with the machine for only couple of hours before ripping the mask off my face to get into that comfort groove.

Reading through the different threads and posts. I see people monitor their sleep via sleepyhead program which I have done too. My AHI on average is <5.

I was in BKK about 5 years ago and had to take my dad to the doctor and at the same time, I asked the doctor about my snoring problem, she took one quick look down my throat and reckon a quick snip to make my throat wider should do the trick but I wasnt ready for an operation then.

Couple of years later in Brisbane, I though I go see a doctor about it again and he reckon my adenoids were massive and was recommended to a ENT. He felt my throat and look inside my mouth and simply said i dont need an operation and that was that. No further solution or explanation.

I guess my question is, are there any other solutions or alternatives?

My machine does great wonders but I find it so hard to sleep with it and find it so inconvenient. And yes, it is for my own health and i understand it but with today's medical science, surely there must be something in the making?

HuhHuhHuh

if you aren't using your machine consistently, it is hard to know what your AHI is.

From what I have read, there are surgeries out there but most still have to use a machine, there are dental appliances and there is the machine and without the machine, the possibility of poor health, damage to organs and/or death is very real.

I will take my machine over the other options and possibilities.
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#5
RE: What are the alternatives to CPAP?
Google UPPP surgery. It doesn't always work and most people still have to use CPAP.

The muscles of our throat and our tongue are considered voluntary muscles which means we have control over them. We don't think about how to swallow, we just do it just like we don't think about how to walk, we just do it. When we sleep, those muscles relax. When we snore, that's those muscles and the tissue around them flapping in the breeze. If you have extra tissue, they can remove that and lessen the chance of an apnea event but those muscles will still be there.

While you research it, work with your supplier (we call them DME) to determine the best mask for you.

Yes, it is a pain in the ass. Yes, it is annoying, ugly, noisy, disruptive, and the concept of using it for the rest of your life is depressing as hell.

But the best alternative to CPAP? Death. Slow death from a myriad of illnesses and conditions ranging from various organ failure to heart issues. No, it isn't a scare tactic. It's a fact. Google that, too.

See, an apnea event isn't considered an event unless breathing stops for more than 10 seconds. And the diagnosis of sleep apnea isn't given unless this happens more than 5 times an hour. So at its mildest, that means every 12 minutes, a person stops breathing for at least 10 seconds. Doesn't sound too bad except CPAP is used for those of us who have Obstructive Sleep Apnea. That means we aren't just passively laying there as we suffocate. Nope, we're struggling. Sometimes just a twitch. Sometimes a full jerk of a leg or arm. Our chest is tight, muscles trying to pull air in but it's not getting any. Our brain is screaming WAKE UP and we finally do, just enough to regain control over those muscles in our throat and we gasp in a breath. All is fine until 12 minutes later.

And yes, that was a scare tactic.

My AHI when I was first diagnosed was 68. That means that at least every minute I was going through this. Sometimes twice a minute. All night. I don't see the CPAP as being a problem. I see it as being a life saver. Yeah, it's a pain to travel with. And yes, the mask can mess up my hair and leave marks on my face that often last all day. Who cares?! I'm awake and alive.
PaulaO

Take a deep breath and count to zen.




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#6
RE: What are the alternatives to CPAP?
Hi boar,
The first thing I would suggest is to try a different mask. Sometimes it takes many different ones 'til you find what works for you. Just keep trying, don't give up.
There are dental appliances and there are several surgeries which are pretty painful from what I have read.
In both cases, (surgery and dental appliance,)most of the time, people have to wind up using CPAP to treat their sleep apnea.
Edit: There is another alternative called provent, but that, if memmory serves, is for mild sleep apnea. End Edit.

Then, there are a couple other newer alternatives, such as some sort of implant, and something called the Winx, but they are pretty new and I don't think enough is known about those newer alternatives yet.
Hope this helps and make sense, hang in there for more suggestions and information, best of luck to you.
trish6hundred
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#7
RE: What are the alternatives to CPAP?
Yes, I didn't mention those other alternatives: DEATH or BAD HEALTH then DEATH.

Part of the damage comes from the little burst of adrenaline your body excretes to "wake you up" since you are suffocating, 5, 10, 30, 40, 60 times per hour.

Your heart and other organs are supposed to be resting, recuperating, and recovering during sleep. You heart especially cannot stop breathing and is especially susceptible to adrenaline so it never gets the rest it needs.

Apnea is know to contribute to, or even cause, high blood pressure, AFib, and other heart disease.

AFib itself can lead to heart failure.

(You know, the BAD HEALTH then DEATH choice above.)

Get a new mask, get a new machine, get whatever it takes, or get back to the doctor and get help.

You came here wanting us to help so the best thing we can tell you is: USE YOUR MACHINE.

Find a way to make it work -- all of the time.

Just do it!

You might even feel better day to day, but your long term health and life depend upon it.
Sweet Dreams,

HerbM
Sleep study AHI: 49 RDI: 60 -- APAP 10-11 w/AHI: 1.5 avg for 7-days (up due likely to hip replacement recovery)

"We can all breathe together or we will all suffocate alone."
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#8
RE: What are the alternatives to CPAP?
No reason to give up hope...some day there will likely be some kind of surgery, implant or less intrusive device that works as well as CPAP. That day hasn't come yet though and for the vast majority of us the procedures that exist now are quite a lot of pain for very little (if any) gain.

My Doc told me that he couldn't recommend any of the current surgical procedures to treat OSA and that was good enough for me to put the thoughts of a quick, easy fix out of my head and focus on adjusting to CPAP, for now...but I haven't given up hope for the future. After all, he did say "current".
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#9
RE: What are the alternatives to CPAP?
You know what really cracks me up? The question or comments surround the fact that someone really does not want to use a CPAP. Now Boar, please don't think I am picking on you, but maybe if I explain the view from my side you might understand. I have Diabetes. I have medication to control my diabetes (not insulin, thankfully). If I quit taking that medicine and slowly but surely died one piece at a time, people would call me irresponsible for not treating my condition. Because I am diabetic my blood pressure and cholesterol are measured far more strictly than a non-diabetic person. This means I have blood pressure and cholesterol med to take. If I quit taking them and had a heart attack, again, people would, rightfully, say I was negligent in my care. But for some strange reason when people stop breathing at night, they seem to think it is okay to use or not use a therapy that has been prescribed them. Granted, it is not a pill, but that does not make it less than a pill and not using it is no less negligent than refusing to take a pill. I'm not trying to point fingers at all. There are a lot of folks, here and not here, who want to know how many days they have to use it a night or worry about compliance issues for their insurance or whatever. This is a lifesaving piece of equipment. Use it! Okay, sorry to pick on you Boar, that was more for everybody and I just put it on your thread!
Good luck with your therapy, and if you have questions or need help, Please speak up! I promise, despite my rant here, no one will yell at you!
Mike
As always, YMMV! You do not have to agree or disagree, I am not a professional so my mental meanderings are simply recollections of things from my own life.

PRS1 - Auto - A-Flex x2 - 12.50 - 20 - Humid x2 - Swift FX
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#10
RE: What are the alternatives to CPAP?
+1

Another useful analogy that is not a pill: If you threw off your cervical collar while possibly having a cracked or dislocated vertebrae, cut off you broken leg cast hours after it being put on, or climbed up on the house to straighten you lightning rod while a thunder storm raged, people might suspect your good sense.
Sweet Dreams,

HerbM
Sleep study AHI: 49 RDI: 60 -- APAP 10-11 w/AHI: 1.5 avg for 7-days (up due likely to hip replacement recovery)

"We can all breathe together or we will all suffocate alone."
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