My experience with AveoTSD

[chairmango]

Hi all,

I wanted to share my experiences using the AveoTSD - it has been great for me. This is not meant to be an advertisement for it, just my honest experience. This tongue retaining device may not be for everyone. It works by suctioning your tongue, preventing it from slipping back and obstructing your airway during sleep.

Before purchasing, I first did extensive research on this forum. Here are some past posts about AveoTSD, including Snork1's super informative posts:

Aveao TSD vs dental device
viewtopic/p3348%20...%2042#p135042

Somnoguard AP vs Aveo TSD
viewtopic/p3348%20...%2009#p144209

AveoTSD tongue flange
viewtopic.php?p=351122#p351122

It didn't look positive. But then there was also a user who was selling us CPAP because AveoTSD was working well enough for him: viewtopic.php?f=1&t=63689&p=599224&hili ... sd#p599224. That encouraged me. I asked my dentist about it, who greatly discouraged me from buying this. She recommended Somnoguard instead. When I persisted, she said "Well, you can't blame me when you get it and it doesn't work for you!"

Why did I get it then?

A few reasons:

- I was about to spend 2 weeks backpacking abroad and didn't want to lug around my CPAP.
- I didn't like the idea of moving my lower jaw forward a few mm, which would impact my bite in a noticeable way.
- CPAP also hasn't completely worked for me. Even though my AHI always came out around 1 according to my S9, I always felt tired. My sleep doctor looked at this and suggested that other things may be arousing me in my sleep -- perhaps it's my teeth grinding. See my earlier post here about my sleep data and quite good AHI numbers: viewtopic/t62050/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=70 ... 38#p653614.
- My sleep doctor also told me I had a large tongue. In Snork1's post about the AveoTSD, he says that he has a small tongue. My guess is that this plays a role when it comes to success with the the AveoTSD. The larger your tongue, the easier it is to gain suction with the device, and the less painful it'll be with your tongue sticking out all night.

My results:

- After getting used to AveoTSD (the same way one must get used to CPAP), I feel alert almost all day, in a way I haven't felt in years. It's an amazing feeling. I also wake up a lot less at night. I don't have any oximetry results, just the way I feel.
- My frenelum (tissue attaching tongue to mouth) is sore everyday, but I feel that's a small price to pay.
- In the morning, my tongue sometimes feels asleep (kinda the same way your leg can fall asleep), but it feels fine soon. I do worry that it'll have a long-term impact on my taste buds, but who knows.
- My front teeth sometimes hurt because I clench down when I sleep. However, since my tongue is between my teeth, I no longer grind my teeth!

My recommendations for those who have been struggling with CPAP:

- Ask your sleep doctor or dentist if you can borrow one of these devices. The AveoTSD site talks about sizing kits, so hopefully you can try before you buy.
- The device cost me $150. To be honest, I didn't expect it to work - I just felt desperate to have something work and treat my apnea. I just hope that this device some day becomes covered by insurance companies.

Please feel free to let me know if you have any questions about my experience. The AveoTSD definitely isn't for everyone, but hopefully this post helps some people out.

[Lizistired]

I've considered trying it. I thought it was priced at $129. I hadn't thought about it stopping grinding but that would be an added advantage. It also hadn't occurred to me that they came in different sizes but that only makes sense. I can't imagine that there would be a trial period. Have you discussed your experience with your dentist? I'm wondering about the pressure it puts on your teeth...
I also hadn't considered that I could use it with my swift pillows and lower my pressure to monitor the data.
How long did it take you to get used to it? I've had a hard time with mouth guards because they are to big and I take them out.
Thanks for bringing this up again.

[chairmango]

Hmm, not so sure about the pricing. Maybe my dentist took a few dollars.

I haven't discussed my experience with my dentist, though I should. Some days, I wake up with very sore front teeth, the "this isn't a good time to bite into an apple" feeling. It goes away after a few hours. I don't know how many others would experience this. When I used CPAP, I also used a mouth guard to protect my teeth from all the grinding.

The first time I put the device on, it felt super strange. I was just sitting and walking around with it, and salivating like crazy. I never knew I could drool this much! Anyways, it probably took me about 5 nights to get used to it.

Let me know if you have any other questions!

[Lizistired]

Increased saliva was the problem I had with the mouthguards. I have been using the lower portion of a whitening kit(very thin) that my dentist gave me. That's the only thing I've been able to keep in all night.

[Burkebang]

I just had an idea. What if someone was to have a couple of small tongue piercings, placed on both sides and as far back on the tongue as possible, them it would be easy to device some sort of way to use the piercings as anchorpoints for keeping the tongue from falling back during the night. With a nice and firm attachment way back on the tongue, two places to spread the load, I don't think much force would be nessecary to do the job. What do you think?

[Lizistired]

Burkebang, there was a video awhile back of a procedure being done in germany(I think), where they basically pulled the back of your tongue forward with a stitch. I'll post the link if I can find it.
Let us know how your tongue piercing goes though.

[wildman 2]

I have a hard time keeping my tongue in contact with the roof of my mouth to prevent air from going down my throat. Would this device help in this situation?
Thanks,
Wildman 2

[chairmango]

Burkebang and Lizistired - I'd love to see that video too. Sounds hilarious.

Wildman 2 - are you asking if the AveoTSD will prevent mouth breathing? I'm not sure really. I know that with CPAP, I used to swallow a lot of air. That manifested itself in my flatulence. Now that I'm not using the CPAP, I hardly have any flatulence. That should really be one of their selling points.

[wildman 2]

Yes. I guess that is a better way to word my question.
Thanks,
Wildman 2

[Burkebang]

Burkebang, there was a video awhile back of a procedure being done in germany(I think), where they basically pulled the back of your tongue forward with a stitch. I'll post the link if I can find it.
Let us know how your tongue piercing goes though.

NOTHINGS gonna go through my tongue (or any other part of my body) without GENERAL anastesia!!!

I'd love to see that video.

[Lizistired]

Here is the link to the that thread which started about an oral device, and the link to the video.

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=65108&st=0&sk=t&sd=a&hilit=tongue

by Lizistired on 23 Jun 2011, 08:40

I was looking for videos for this and stumbled across another procedure.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFirzmiM ... re=related
Looks like a hook in the back of your tongue. Wait til the vid gets to about 1:18. Wish I understood it.

[Burkebang]

That looks very similar to the Hyoid suspension surgery I just read about and revived a link about:
viewtopic/t33535/Hyoid-Surgery-Questions.html

I would think that wireing two bones together would be a better way to do it than just using a "meathook" in the tongue. The Dutch video also shows that it is possible to tighten up the tongue with a screw later on. Bith surgerys seems to be minimally invasive and easily reversible, which is a really great plus.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VwlY5z9 ... re=related

[Lizistired]

Here is a link to an older review of the aveotsd.
Might be worth a try.
http://www.talkaboutsleep.com/message-b ... hp?t=14358

[smalito]

Are you able to breath through your mouth or only nose?

[Charleygirl303]

I'm an average weight woman and I snored...loud, window rattlers! Sleep study showed I had moderate sleep apnea. Although my doctor recommended CPAP, he also discussed other options. I travel quite a bit and couldn't imagine toting a machine around. I asked if I could use the AVEO for part of the second night of the study to see if it would alleviate the apnea and thus the snoring. In the morning, my doctor came in and told me he was amazed that my scores were about equal with AVEO and CPAP, so easy decision for me! That was November 2012; we left the following day for a two week trip and I've slept with it all night, every night since.

It does take a little time to get used to...excess saliva at first and my mouth, teeth and tongue felt "different" in the morning, but it was so worth it...snoring is absolutely gone, I have vivid dreams and I sleep all night with out periods of wakefulness I had experienced for years. My husband is thrilled and it's such a tiny little thing to toss in my suitcase.
I'd rate it a 10 out of 10 and have no hesitation recommending it!