Post
by Laughing Jaguar » Tue Apr 28, 2009 8:07 pm
For years I attributed my fatigue to stress. I was constantly falling asleep at the most inappropriate times. Finally, around 2002 I went to a hospital for what said to be a sleep study but the circumstances were so bad that they severely damaged the credibility of the hospital and the report that followed.
Several years later, I finally underwent a new sleep study and this time, a pulmonoligist corroborated the first study and prescribed a Cpap machine with humidifier. There was no followup however and his office seemed to be geared to simply processing bodies through the insurance companies, little else. The Cpap machine's contribution was margional at best,
I tried yet another pulmonologist and found him to be the most unprofessional, and inept doctor I'd ever been to.
The company that supplied my Cpap machine and renewables told me of a doctor not far from where I lived and I have been with him ever since.
A trial visit to the Pulmonary wing of Robert Wood Johnson Medical Center was a waste of time.
At the heart of all this is the fact that my mouth opens while sleeping and, in so doing, the pressure that is supposed to keep the wind pipe open, escapes out my mouth compromising the cpap machines effectiveness.
Special head gear designed to keep the mouth shut failed because of inadequate tension. In addition, the Velcro fasteners use to secure the strap would get tangled in the Velcro fasteners of the head gear used to secure the mask.
I got in touch with the offshore manufacturer of the mask, Fisher and Paykel (Sweden?) and while they are aware of the open mouth symptoms, they acknowledged that they had no mask design that would prevent the mouth from opening at night.
So I made my own!
I found a stiff but rubbery material in a molded soap dish at my local supermarket. Cut it to fit and secured it to the lower "chin" of my existing full mask. It worked! Not 100% but there was a marked improvement. However, while the mask was sealed in the early, low pressure stages, the lip I'd created allowed air to leak from the rubber cushion while I was asleep and the pressure ramped up.
The resulting leakage caused the rubber gasket to flutter at and make a loud sound (like flatulence) and the noise woke me up!
A trip to an orthodontist in Allentown offered promise. A device resembling dentures was custom made at considerable expense. The device was adjustable by me so as to extend the lower jaw forward while I slept. The theory was that by so doing, the tongue would be pulled forward some reducing the fleshy part in the back of the throat. At first it appeared to work however, over time it failed to resolve the problem. In addition, it affected my bite to where I had difficulty eating. The worst part was that my jaw ached terribly, especially in the morning when I first awoke. If I clenched my teeth even the slightest, the pain in my jaw was excruciating!
I have suspected for some time that the use of ordinary masking tape, placed properly, would keep my jaw in place and my mouth closed and, when I first discovered this site, I saw evidence that my suspicions were correct.
I tried it using that blue masking tape sold in 2 or 3 inch widths and eventually learned that only one strip across my mouth was sufficient. However, a bronchial condition accompanied by coughing and sneezing frustrated these efforts.
When the bronchial illness abated, I returned to using the blue tape and have succeeded in getting more restful sleep.
All these machinations however, deal with the symptoms of sleep apnea. They do not solve the fundamental problem. I am not obese, not even close. However, the truth is that I am 30 pounds overweight. I did not have trouble sleeping when I weighed 175 pounds.
That's the target weight and I am getting there at the rate of 2.5 pounds a week. I am watching my diet and eating less. The exercise that is helping me achieve that has consequential benefits too.
I am going to lick this Sleep Apnea!
