Medibyte Jr. and Oral devices

[victormiller]

About 3 weeks ago I saw Dr. Steven Park at his office in NYC. During his examination of me he used a device inserted into my nose to allow him to visualize my throat and the back of my pharynx. He did this while I was sitting up, lying down, and thrusting my jaw forward. Not surprisingly, he found that when I was lying on my back there was almost no room in the back of my throat, but when I thrust my jaw forward a lot of room opened up. As some readers of this site may know I've been attempting to get some benefit from CPAP/APAP for the last 17 years, with no positive results. Dr. Park and I discussed my using a dental device to advance my jaw. A few days later I went to a dentist near where I live who specializes in this. Before doing this he wanted me to have another sleep study at home with a monitoring device called the Medibyte Jr. This consists of a rather small plastic case secured around my chest with a strap, and fitted with a nasal canula and a finger pulse oximeter. He found that I had an AHI of about 11 (which was almost exactly the same value that I got as a readout from my auto bipap the night before and the night after), and so decided, along with Dr. Park's examination of me, that I would be a good candidate. I got the device about a week ago and have been using it since then. I've had very little trouble getting used to the device. The first two nights I slept a bit better. The last 5 nights I've been on a business trip, so the time change (3 hours) and the different surroundings may not be helping. Tonight I'm scheduled to put on new bands to advance the device a bit more, so I'll see if it makes a difference in the morning.

[bdp522]

I hope the dental device works for you. Keep us posted!

Brenda

[VVV]

Victor, That MediByte is amazing http://www.braebon.com/products/medibyte/index.php

Which oral appliance did you get?

Not surprisingly, he found that when I was lying on my back there was almost no room in the back of my throat, .... As some readers of this site may know I've been attempting to get some benefit from CPAP/APAP for the last 17 years, with no positive results. ...

During all those years did you try to stay off your back while sleeping by using tennis balls or devices designed to prevent backsleeping?

[victormiller]

Victor, That MediByte is amazing http://www.braebon.com/products/medibyte/index.php

Which oral appliance did you get?

Not surprisingly, he found that when I was lying on my back there was almost no room in the back of my throat, .... As some readers of this site may know I've been attempting to get some benefit from CPAP/APAP for the last 17 years, with no positive results. ...

During all those years did you try to stay off your back while sleeping by using tennis balls or devices designed to prevent backsleeping?

No I didn't. Give me a a pointer to these things. I just looked at the report from the Medibyte Jr. Here's the excerpt from the report:

[victormiller]

Victor, That MediByte is amazing http://www.braebon.com/products/medibyte/index.php

Which oral appliance did you get?

Not surprisingly, he found that when I was lying on my back there was almost no room in the back of my throat, .... As some readers of this site may know I've been attempting to get some benefit from CPAP/APAP for the last 17 years, with no positive results. ...

During all those years did you try to stay off your back while sleeping by using tennis balls or devices designed to prevent backsleeping?

The oral appliance doesn't have a particular name -- the dentist first took panoramic x-rays. Then he made a detailed impression of my mouth. About 2 weeks later he got it back from the lab. The dental tech spent almost an hour with me filing off little bits to make the fit better. The device has two pieces -- one for my upper teeth, and one for my lower. They both have little posts on them to which elastic bands are attached. First the first week I used the yellow bands. Now I'm using the blue (which are shorter, so push my jaw further forward).

[VVV]

During all those years did you try to stay off your back while sleeping by using tennis balls or devices designed to prevent backsleeping?

No I didn't. Give me a a pointer to these things. I just looked at the report from the Medibyte Jr. Here's the excerpt from the report:

When we sleep on our backs gravity works directly to pull our tongues and soft palates into the airway. Sleeping on the sides or stomach the effect of gravity is significantly reduced. Gravity is a big part of the problem for many but not all.

In your study you slept 55% of the time on your back and had an AHI of 14. You slept 45% of the time on your sides and the AHI was about 6. This is an indication that gravity is a part of your problem. It is for me to an even greater degree and I taught myself to sleep exclusively on my sides or stomach (while still using CPAP - it makes CPAP much more effective).

It is likely that your oral appliance will be more effective if you avoid backsleeping. Some sew tennis balls into the back of a t-shirt or buy pocket tees to wear backwards with the tennis ball in the pocket. If you search member Roster's posts you can find how he wears a small backpack to bed. You can also use Google to find products sold for this purpose - various belts, pads, etc.

Once I learned this I made a pledge to never sleep on my back again. Why don't our doctors tell us about this?

If I were in your case, I would want two more studies with the MediByte. The first would be an all-nighter without the oral appliance avoiding backsleeping. The second would be an all-nighter with the oral appliance avoiding backsleeping. Any idea what your cost would be to have these two studies?