Dental appliances versus CPAP

[Imasnorin]

My sleep clinic has a dentist that sells the Tap 3's and I did at least look at his literature. A friend at work uses Somnadent. The big issue is that they rarely are covered by insurance and they have a hefty price tag. Both are nearly the same in price, 2200-2500 dollars. So it is not something to consider without doing your homework, crossing your T's and dotting your I's and any other due diligence comment I can think of.

[Pugsy]

Pugsy, I'm curious how you know this. Despite reading many articles that suggested that "sites of obstruction" need to be identified to more appropriate choose a surgery for a particular patient, I haven't seen any evidence whatsoever that even the best of the best can identify where the site of obstruction is.

Educated guess along with my history and anatomical features.
None of the classic "small airway" stuff.. nice big open oral cavity.... no huge tongue..no huge uvula.....tonsils shrunk to non existence...nice open airway for all practical purposes...skinny neck (so no abundance of adipose tissue in there...just my butt )... though I have history of major trauma and surgery through the anterior throat up near the jaw line. Lots of trauma to that area.. and with any trauma there is soft tissue damage..potential for scarring, etc.
And all OSA symptoms began approx 4 to 5 years after the trauma and surgery just about the time that scarring and adhesions would likely rear their ugly head.

Of course don't know for "sure" but the doctors (sleep doc and PCP) think that there is a real good chance that the trauma and surgery played a significant factor either causative or making plain old menopausal saggy tissues worse. It sure didn't help things in the soft tissue department. I still have some numbness in that area.

Surgery of any kind to manipulate my jaw structure or tongue or uvula wouldn't like help me one iota. Everything is already pretty wide open in there. That's the main reason I never really thought about oral appliance and for sure never considered surgery. There's really nothing hugely wrong with my teeth, mouth, or the other things someone would want to move or cut on to open up the airway at the mouth level.

[klutzo]

Hi sleepingugly,
I DO intend to ask my doctor about the Tap 3 as well as well as Provent and any other ideas he has. I have read the link to the other forum and several other posts there by Dr. Luisi. It seems like Tap 3 would cause me problems with getting my mouth open and taking my meds during the night, might reactivate my TMJ, and costs a fortune. I'd haveto remove it and put it back in and lock into place several times per night. I watched a video on how to use it on YouTube. Provent costs a lot too and I'd still need a chin strap. But, I will ask about it for sure and see what he thinks in my case.

I am also calling my DME tomorrow to ask about having my machine retitrated and the fan cleaned, after reading today that this should be done once a year. I've had 3 DMEs but nobody ever told me that and it's been 7 years. No wonder it's making noise when it's turned on. Maybe I can salvage it and avoid having to start paying rent I can't afford all over again.

I do take vitamin C and biotin and a whole truck load of other supplements. I can't afford to take as much as I should, esp. of COQ10, which is needed in huge amts. in Lyme. Lyme steals 2/3 of your nutrition and you need water soluble vitamins and minerals, esp. Magnesium, in large amts. to make up for it. Vitamins have not helped my hair, but I am glad they are helping yours. Pantotheine (vit. B5) is also supposed to be helpful with hair at around 125 mgs. daily.

Yes, my thyroid could be causing me to sleep too much and I have recently tripled my dose, which has helped. I think the hair thinning pattern may just be the baldness gene, which one in six women inherit, though the pattern is different than for men. Men on one side of my family are bald. It could be thyroid too, since the hair loss began when my thyroid went bad. There are so many things wrong with me thanks to Lyme that it's hard to figure out what is causing what.

You asked about the drugs I take. No narcotics here, but I've had them in the distant past and they don't come close to knocking you out like Clonidine does. At 10 pm I take 0.3 mgs. of Clonidine, a whopping dose, AND 240 mgs. of extended release Verapamil, AND 1.5 grams of L-tryptophan, plus a teensy bit of Xanax, .125 mgs. I get up again at 3 am and take the same high amt. of Clonidine and L-tryptophan all over again, plus a Librax for cramps because I have bile reflux that starts about 4 am or so, which is precancerous. I get up at 5 am and take another 0.1 mg. of Clonidine plus .25 mgs. xanax to help deal with abnormal morning cortisol fluctuations.

BTW, I eliminated a long-standing precancer in my stomach using vitamin C and L-glutamine, a Chinese cure. American medicine says it is impossible to get rid of an intestional metaplasia, but the Chinese proved vitamin C and L-glutamine would do it 82% of the time. Just goes to show what can be done when making money is not more important than helping sick people. Both my father and grandfather died of stomach cancer, so I was highly motivated to look for an answer and it turned out to be simple. It only took 2 months, but I still take both substances, since the bile reflux and family history keep me at risk.

Thanks for your opinions!
klutzo

________________________________

Hi Pugsy,
I also have a skinny neck, but I do have a small chin, which I think I read is a risk for apnea. It is not receeding, just small. I also have a major occlusion of my bite on the right side, which caused the TMJ I used to have. There are just so many variables to consider. It's confusing to know what to do, and the more I read, the more confused I get.

Thanks for all your contributions to this discussion!
klutzo

Klutzo