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help me interpret my results please!
#11
RE: help me interpret my results please!
(07-27-2013, 11:35 AM)Sleepster Wrote:
(07-26-2013, 09:13 PM)sleepyincanada Wrote: I'm learning a lot from you guys...many thanks!

I wonder what the dentist saw when he looked in your mouth?

$$$ Dollar Signs $$$ LOL Dielaughing

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#12
RE: help me interpret my results please!
(07-27-2013, 01:49 PM)EzDzIt Wrote:
(07-27-2013, 11:35 AM)Sleepster Wrote:
(07-26-2013, 09:13 PM)sleepyincanada Wrote: I'm learning a lot from you guys...many thanks!

I wonder what the dentist saw when he looked in your mouth?

$$$ Dollar Signs $$$ LOL Dielaughing

Ha! Yeah, I'm sure that's true. However, I will say that this dentist was the only one who thought of apnea, and I have been suffering with this exhaustion, and been checked out by many docs, for almost 2 years!

I *think* what he said he saw was that my headgear had forced a collapsed palette. There were a few other things too, do to with the condition of my teeth and gums.

Thanks again to everyone for your input and help. A few things I'm hoping to clear up before my appointment next week:

It sounds like people on this board haven't had such great success with the mouth positioner. Are these people with systemic apnea, or both systemic and obstructive? (Another thing the dentist told me was that as long as my apnea was only obstructive, I could use a mouth guard.)

If I can get the tennis ball to stop me from rolling onto my back, with my 2.9 index on the side position, would that be a total fix? Or are there other things I'm not thinking of?

Has anyone had luck with tongue exercises, tightening up the throat tissue with singing and playing instruments etc? (Can you tell I've been obsessively searching the Internet? I'm a bit claustrophobic, and those mask pictures are scaring me!)

Thanks again!
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#13
RE: help me interpret my results please!
Quote:If I can get the tennis ball to stop me from rolling onto my back, with my 2.9 index on the side position, would that be a total fix? Or are there other things I'm not thinking of?

Thanks again!

Thats the $64000 question. You will only know if you start feeling better.

ps I am claustrophobic too, and had observed my ex husband with a very loud machine and contraption nearly 10 years ago--so I was very tentative about CPAP. all my fears were for naught. the mask is small and the machine is super quiet. Sleep-well
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#14
RE: help me interpret my results please!
My sleep doc (also a pulmonologist) thought that an oral device might not be effective for me because there wasn't one single thing that he could point to as the cause of my OSA. Sometimes it's a combination of things:

* neck size / weight
* jaw structure
* tongue / palate / uvula size & structure
* genetics
* muscle tone
* etc.

With surgery I would be taking not-very-good chances on success, while going through a difficult recovery and risk of complications. With an oral device I'd be taking risk-free chances on success, but wouldn't know without additional (expensive!) sleep studies. With CPAP I'd get risk-free success as long as I did my part.
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#15
RE: help me interpret my results please!
I know there is a lot of anti-dental appliance sentiment in the forum. I defer to the wisdom of the apnea board crowd on the subject, but I want to mention that my allergist, who has no monitary interest in my apnea treatment has recommended that I look into a dental appliance. According to him, they have improved over the years.
I may (or may not) look into it in a year or so, but for now, I'm sticking to my CPAP.
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#16
RE: help me interpret my results please!
The "sentiment" is based on the data. Your chances of success with a CPAP machine are much greater than with a dental appliance.

If you have mild apnea a dental appliance may be the better choice for you, but the other advantage to CPAP is that the better CPAP machines can tell you how well the therapy is working. Something a dental appliance can never do.

You could set your data-capable CPAP machine on the lowest possible pressure and see if you still experience apneas with your dental appliances. If you still have a significant number apneas you know the dental appliance is not working.

I've invested 21 months getting adapted to CPAP therapy, and I'm still improving. So I think I'll stick with it!
Sleepster

INFORMATION ON APNEA BOARD FORUMS OR ON APNEABOARD.COM SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED AS MEDICAL ADVICE. ALWAYS SEEK THE ADVICE OF A PHYSICIAN BEFORE SEEKING TREATMENT FOR MEDICAL CONDITIONS, INCLUDING SLEEP APNEA. INFORMATION POSTED ON THE APNEA BOARD WEB SITE AND FORUMS ARE PERSONAL OPINION ONLY AND NOT NECESSARILY A STATEMENT OF FACT.
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#17
RE: help me interpret my results please!
(07-27-2013, 03:03 PM)sleepyincanada Wrote: It sounds like people on this board haven't had such great success with the mouth positioner. Are these people with systemic apnea, or both systemic and obstructive? (Another thing the dentist told me was that as long as my apnea was only obstructive, I could use a mouth guard.)

Hi sleepyincanada,

Systemic Apnea is usually called Central Apnea. It is when the central nervous system fails to try to breathe.

I think your dentist is either uninformed or is not being forthright. There are lots of people with OSA which dental appliances have not able to adequately treat (such as both me and my spouse). I don't know what the success rate is for the newer models of mouth guards, but I am sure it is no where near 100%, and for patients with severe obstructive apnea I am sure it is UNLIKELY to provide adequate treatment.

Thank goodness for tennis balls! But if that does not work (if after a month when you know you have never been sleeping on your back, yet you are still greatly fatigued) then I would recommend obtaining a unit like an S9 AutoSet (not Escape Auto) or a Philips Respironics System One 60 series Auto machine. Supplier #2 has "gently used" models which are relatively inexpensive.

Take care,
--- Vaughn
The Advisory Member group provides advice and suggestions to Apnea Board administrators and staff on matters concerning Apnea Board operation and administrative policies.  Membership in the Advisory Member group should not be understood as in any way implying medical expertise or qualification for advising Sleep Apnea patients concerning their treatment.
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#18
RE: help me interpret my results please!
Thanks for the latest posts, everyone!

Update: I saw the pulmonologist today, and she suggested I try the tennis ball trick to start. She said give it two weeks to get used to it, and if i can tolerate this method, continue for another month, and then come back for retesting. If tests show I'm not experiencing apnea with the tennis ball method, I'm good to go! Otherwise, we can explore other options.

She did say that I have an extremely high palette, and that was causing everything to narrow in my throat. So on that front, she agreed with the dentist on what was causing the obstruction. She didn't know whether a headgear, which I wore as a kid with braces, could have caused a collapsed palette, as the dentist said, but she thought a dentist should know, since they see the before and after. Anyway, thought I'd throw that out there. Also, much to my disappointment, she said that mouth and tongue exercises haven't proven to work for people in the long run.
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#19
RE: help me interpret my results please!
I think you are to new to CPAP TO BE WORRIED ABOUT ALL THIS NUMBER/data stuff. Forget the numbers. You have bigger fish to fry. Once you are comfortable, using it every night, getting 8+ hours a night, have found the perfect mask, ( it does not exist), ha, have solved your leak problems, can deal with little issues that come up during the night with ease, I.e. adjustment of the mask on your face when it moves, once all that is done, maybe you worry about numbers. Wow, that was a run on sentence!

The point is this. Numbers are not for new users. Use your machine. Numbers will become important when you are a Pro User!
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#20
RE: help me interpret my results please!
(07-30-2013, 07:22 AM)Mark Risley Wrote: The point is this. Numbers are not for new users. Use your machine. Numbers will become important when you are a Pro User!

The power level on a microwave is not for new users. Use your microwave. Numbers will become important when you are a Pro Reheater!

I think there is value for a new user to look at their data, at least for leaks and flow limitations. It helps to know if adjustment is needed, which I believe contributes to a better experience / higher acceptance rate with CPAP.

That's just me.
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