Goodbye CPAP Two

Kenv, thanks for posting to the group about this device and your results with it. I need and appreciate all the information people bring to this board. This new device may indeed be helpful to some, and I'm glad it has helped you. Notice, in the USA it requires a prescription to get one, so a person would have to consult with their doc prior to trying it. This is a good thing and should be reassuring to those concerned about how effective it is for OSA.

I have severe sleep Apnea and have been on CPAP since April '05 and it has not been the miracle cure for me that it has for some in here. While overnight oximetry tests have shown I no longer have desats, I have not reached the point of feeling fully rested, and my AHI numbers are not consistently low. My point for stating this, is to explain that I am still searching for answers, and including a device like this, or some other yet to be discovered treatment may in the end help me tremendously. I encourage you and anyone else to continue to bring this type of information to this board. I, and others, likely would not be aware of it otherwise.

As far as the concern some have expressed about people reading this board, and making drastic changes to their physician prescribed treatment, i.e. dropping cpap altogether, based on a brief message posted to this board, it just should not happen without consultation with one's sleep docs. This board is not a replacement for your direct local professional medical experts. It is only a place for us all to come, talk about a tough situation, share tips and ideas, and in general get help and ideas in how to deal with and cope with this condition. People reading this board should please be careful, and discuss any ideas for changing your treatment with your doctors prior to doing so.

Lori, I'm so happy for your progress. I too have been emphasizing diet, exercise, and weight loss and have seen some improvements. It has helped me a lot but I don't think I will be as successful as you are with it. It's just part of the overall combination of things I need to do for overall treatment. Also thanks for being a voice of reason and sanity throughout this thread. As I was reading through the posts, you invariably added the thoughts I was having at each step through this saga. We seem to think alike.

Peace everyone,


Ron

[quote="Kenv"]Mikesus - thankyou for that information. I must admit that for me how I feel is important but I take on board your warning that not all may be well. I am seeing my specialist on the 25th of this month and I will discuss it with him - however the problems I have had with the CPAP would probably make me stick to the TSD in any case. I am almost 72 and have other health problems so that I don't think I will be around for ages anyway. I understand that the guy who designed the TSB had a lot of experience with other oral devices held by the teeth - my understanding was this this device is much better. The testing that was done covered both Snoring and OSA and far as I know so the 90 percent success rate may well cover both of these problems. I contacted the Sleep Clinic at my hospital last night and spoke to a Sleep Technician - she told me that she knows of three other people who have transferred over to the TSB. The bottom line for me really is how much energy I have during the day and the TSB seems to be doing a good job for me. Once again thanks for your input - nice to talk sense in a while.
Regards Ken

Mikesus,
Very well stated. That's a great way to write your opinion and I admire your ability to put forth yours in a non-confrontational, polite way. You got your point across. Good job.

Linda,
I agree that guests should be, and are, in my opinion, welcome on this site. No one HAS to sign up. I was just citing a distinction I've seen in six months that it seems that people who are don't care how they say things as far as hurting people's feelings who don't deserve to be hurt seem to usually be guests, hiding behind anonymity. And if anyone had a reason to be snippy last night, it would have been me. I don't think hiding behind, "I have OSA" is a proper excuse for rudeness, sorry. I had it for years and have I ever been rude to anyone on this site that didn't deserve it? I don't think I have. I had found out that one of my best friend's mothers since I have been 11 (38 years) underwent emergency surgery on Sunday and when they opened her up, found her infested with cancer, almost lost her on the table and is now on a respirator fighting for her life. So please don't tell me people who don't sleep well or who have OSA have a tendency to be snippy. If you are raised right, you can control your attitude with people regardless if you have OSA or not. Yes, it can make you tired and stressed and over-fatigued (been there, done that-yes, I had OSA), but it is not a license for inappropriate behavior, I'm sorry. If I was able to conduct myself with what I was carrying, and still am, on my plate, and not saying that is my only problem in life, I think our "guest" could have controlled his tone in which he spoke on this site last night.

I am not going to debate it any more. I don't feel it's worth the effort, actually, and I agree that everyone is entitled to their opinon. After all, this is America. But I feel that I was spoken down to because of my good fortune to be able to have lose the machine and it was uncalled for and, yes, rude IMHO.

Ken,
I still wish you the best. I am glad to hear you're going to discuss a new PSG with your doctor, as I had stated from the first post. I hope you will keep us all informed as to how you did with it. I am hoping the best for you.

Whoops that was me, got guested

Mikesus wrote:Whoops that was me, got guested

And what a pleasant "guest" post it was .

Lori wrote:

I agree that guests should be, and are, in my opinion, welcome on this site. No one HAS to sign up. I was just citing a distinction I've seen in six months that it seems that people who are don't care how they say things as far as hurting people's feelings who don't deserve to be hurt seem to usually be guests, hiding behind anonymity. And if anyone had a reason to be snippy last night, it would have been me. I don't think hiding behind, "I have OSA" is a proper excuse for rudeness, sorry. I had it for years and have I ever been rude to anyone on this site that didn't deserve it? I don't think I have. I had found out that one of my best friend's mothers since I have been 11 (38 years) underwent emergency surgery on Sunday and when they opened her up, found her infested with cancer, almost lost her on the table and is now on a respirator fighting for her life. So please don't tell me people who don't sleep well or who have OSA have a tendency to be snippy. If you are raised right, you can control your attitude with people regardless if you have OSA or not. Yes, it can make you tired and stressed and over-fatigued (been there, done that-yes, I had OSA), but it is not a license for inappropriate behavior, I'm sorry. If I was able to conduct myself with what I was carrying, and still am, on my plate, and not saying that is my only problem in life, I think our "guest" could have controlled his tone in which he spoke on this site last night.

I am not going to debate it any more. I don't feel it's worth the effort, actually, and I agree that everyone is entitled to their opinon. After all, this is America. But I feel that I was spoken down to because of my good fortune to be able to have lose the machine and it was uncalled for and, yes, rude IMHO.

Lori,
I appreciate all the info you supply with your posts and have certainly noted even when you disagree with another poster you always do it in a very diplomatic way and display a finesse in your approach. With a forum like this and so many varying opinions I think that is the key. Different ideas and approaches are good exposure and gives each of us ideas to toss around and either try or not try depending on our feeling about the source and/or suggestion and not to be squelched as this is indeed intended to be a learning place for us to share our experiences. At the same time each poster should extend the same liberty he/she takes without being rude to the preceding poster that he/she may disagree with.
Keep up your good work as there is much more positive resulting from your sharing than the bit of negativity that crops up from others on occasion.
Remember the old saying--"No good deed goes unpunished!"

Hi All, there could be one drawback with the TSD that I have noted. If you develop a nose infection so that you are unable to breathe through at least one nostril then it would be difficult. Whilst it is possible to open the lips and breathe through the mouth when wearing the TSD I don't think it would work too well if you were asleep. I think in such a situation one might feel it necessary to fall back on a cpap machine. The problem there is that the cpap machine causes me to make more mucous, one would end up going round in circles. Nevertheless I would prefer to use the TSD given a clear nose.
Kenv

Lori wrote:

I don't think hiding behind, "I have OSA" is a proper excuse for rudeness, sorry.

Lori please don't apologize, you are so right in what you say. No one should use their condition, whatever it is, as an excuse to be rude. People may disagree, but that's no excuse to treat people inconsiderately. I've been trolling this board for a little over a week now and have found your advice to be very helpful. Even though you've gotten off CPAP, congrats by the way, I hope you stick around to help us that are trying to figure out the pesky problems the crop up.

Melinda

Carley,
As always, you are very diplomatic yourself and said some very true comments in your reply. Thank you for your expression of caring. I appreciate your kind words and can always count on you to step up and say something sweet. Yes, we do all have a right to express our opinions, albeit right or wrong, but hurting people's feeling for no apparent reason is not acceptable, at least not how I was raised. Thanks for your reply.

Melinda,
We've never spoken before, I don't believe, but I thank you for standing up and saying what you did. If I have been of any help to you, I'm so glad. And thanks for the kind note about my getting off of therapy. Good luck to you, too.