essential oils

So Pat posted a similar thread as this one on apneasupport.org. A certain Daniel has posted various things about essential oil dangers. I responded and now he has posted this:

SleepGuy,

The more you post, the less I like what I see.

You admit being the peson behind purr sleep, a commercial concern, and IMHO are using this board to further your product. You are also posting links to another board where you are also pushing the product......or clearing up some information items. I believe this to be contrary to the conditions attached to partaking in these public forums.

Your research and information lacks proper foundation, mainly because there are no medical reports available. You have also failed to contact/quote the manufacturers (and researchers) of CPAP equipment for their opinions. By your own admission pur sleep products labelling complies with 'regulations governing cosmetic products sold in the United States', and you accuse me of misleading people. At least I quote facts.....they may be negative, but I have been known to change my mind when confronted with superior facts.

On this same subject, who is Dr. Bandage ? What is his speciality ? I have googled his name, using his initials 'S.S' and can find no reference to him. I can google my own name and get references to it, even my own GP.

I think it highly disingenious of you to use this support forum to promote, what are in effect, cosmetic products (by your own admission) and would ask you to desist immediately. This forum is to support those who are suffering from a debilitating condition, which can be life threatening. In the early stages of treatment quite a lot of them are in denial, confused and can be open to suggestion. You should not take advantage of this. You should do the decent thing.

Daniel.

It's not every day that I am accused of preying on fragile people who are open to suggestion. I also don't want to let the discussion devolve into rounds of personal attacks back and forth....

Suggestions anyone?

SleepGuy wrote:Suggestions anyone?

Talk to your lawyer

Seriously, when you choose to post on public forums, you become a very large target. This guy, Daniel, has made what he feels are valid points. So have you.

I don't buy the " preying on fragile people" part of his argument. You are selling a legitimate product that needs (beyond health concerns) no defense.

I personally use your product. A large part of my decision was based on the fact that you only use FDA approved ingredients.

Stand behind your product. Let the FDA and the glowing testimonials speak for themselves. As for the nay-sayers; water off a duck's back.

Bret,

Your product has help me get to sleep and I do not feel you should have to defend yourself. I will continue to use it no matter what anyone tries to say. I have used incense for many years. So I have always slept with some kind of scent. So your product allowed that pleasure to return and without all the smoke. I truly appreciate your desire to help create a product that helps not hinder. Thank you again.

Becky

Rabid1 wrote:Talk to your lawyer

Actually...I'm trying to talk myself out of that option....

Thanks a lot Rabid! Water off a duck's back--discretion is the better part of reason. I needed to hear that.

I received my starter kit last week-I tend to be rather non-compliant with my cpap, but this gives me a little extra push to use it! Great Idea!

Bret-

You saw a need for this product (even for yourself) and filled that need. It's hard for me to believe that anyone, let alone a lawyer would not only use, but also suggest to other people that they use, this product nightly. However, yes, there ARE plenty of people whose behavior I would consider reckless, so I read all the information, like others here I love scents and use them in many different ways, and I made up my own mind.

As suggested in the post above and many other testimonials, this product promotes compliance, again, even by you. This is a very good thing

If you make money from this, good for you! In fact, I sincerely hope that you do. Provide a service or goods, get paid for it...that is how the economy works.

And if you help people in the process, even better.

All people who come here, as well as people who surf on in via the Internet have a choice to use this product or not, just like any other purchasing choice they make. The people who don't want it shouldn't buy it.

IMHO, all you need to say is, "Sorry you feel that way. I disagree. Please, don't buy it." Your info and research speaks for itself. It is an exercise in futility and bad for your blood pressure to try to change most people's minds, I've found.

I'll not be convinced that your sole purpose for being here is to make a buck. That's just silly. YOU are not the one doing most of the promoting here....satisfied users are.

God Bless you and thanks again for the improved quality of sleep.

-Mary

I have been using the pur-sleep diffuser too, and I love it. I got the deluxe starter kit. I haven't seen anybody mention the Deep oil (lime and sweet basil), I think that is my favorite so far. I like clear, but wasn't so crazy about comfort. I haven't tried the spice yet, but it looks like I need to from the positive comments on here.

As far as Daniel goes, he has the right to ask you not to post commercial links, and I can understand why. I love your product, but there are some who would post a product that is a scam (not that I think yours is at all). However, the part about taking advantage of people who are open to suggestion goes a little too far IMHO. You claim nothing about it being therapeutical, you just make the claim that it may make your experience more pleasant, and that is exactly what it does.

WifeIsHappyNow wrote:Sounds like a lot of folks like this system and I am considering it, but have some questions.

I have read on several other websites that Clary Sage should not be used by women who are pregnant or nursing...obviously, I hope, I am not a woman, nor am I pregnant, but does this warning apply to using these oils in the Pur-Sleep system?

If anybody could answer, it would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Mike

Good question! My curiosity is piqued regarding the pregnant/nursing thing. (We're not yet but maybe by next month....) I've tried to avoid reading this darn thread because I would like to try this but I don't need it... All I have to do is practically think about putting on my mask and I am sleeping. (I can't even read in bed anymore.) Mind you, I am not complaining, but I sure have returned a lot of books to the library that I haven't had a chance to read.

Kimberly

It's not every day that I am accused of preying on fragile people who are open to suggestion...

YOU ANIMAL!

Don't sweat it man. Your product speaks for itself... and so do it's users! There are all sorts of Safety Nazi's out there, and they seem to migrate to Internet forums - better target saturation I suppose. I've been known to get into it, from time to time, with these guys/gals and I have to keep reminding myself that arguing on the Internet is like arguing with a 3 year old... even though you will most likely win (I mean they're 3), they still won't get it, no matter how clear you are or how simple you make it.

Ignore these Aroma Nazi's! My daughter's Twinkies are the real danger... I think most of the chemicals in them have a half-life!

Anyway, got my deluxe kit yesterday - Fast shipping. Great packaging. Quality Product! Slept using Spice last night - really nice. Looking forward to trying the others!

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a.k.a. The Voices
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Hi,

I use essential oils regularly, and am very impressed by the inline diffuser offered by pur-sleep. (plan to buy one soon to help with my own adjustment to xPAP treatment!) just as an additional bit on the use of various oils to support SA treatment, I am passing along this email I received from a friend who networks with others on topics of healing with oils. They trade anecdotal evidence, and collect success stories. i am not sure if they collect failure stories or not...

DISCLAIMER!!!!~~*~*~*~ I am not in any way personally suggesting or endorsing the apparent claim that use of these oils will cure sleep apnea. Please do not flame me on that point, but consider whether some of these individual oils or blends (oregano, lemongrass, and peppermint being single oils, clarity, raven, purification, and valor being blends - all from the youngliving collection) might be helpful for your personal quest for rest and healing. I will repeat that I use essential oils regularly and feel that they are powerful and helpful for me and others. I would not suggest "sending back the machine" on the basis of getting some oils diffused in my bedroom. Not for a minute. !*!~*~*~*

all best wishes in the quest for rest!
el

here's the quoted text:

1. The oils that have worked best are Peppermint, Raven and Oregano. Put the Peppermint on the forehead and Oregano on the feet around the toes before retiring. The Raven goes in the machine. Another thing that has helped is doing a cleanse.

2. What helped and virtually stopped sleep apnea was Valor on the feet at night and a diffuser with Peace and Calming running in the bedroom. At first diffuser ran all night, now it just comes on (with a timer) 4 times a night for 15 minutes at a time.

3. Someone had sleep apnea from weak lung muscles (he's quadriplegic). We put Peppermint and Lemongrass oils on his feet. The sleep apnea ended.

4. Clarity Oil in the mask has helped a few people we know get over the sleep apnea and not have to even use the mask. Also apply it before going to bed to the temples and feet.

5. A friend began by diffusing Clarity on a timer set to go off every 15 minutes at 2 hour intervals during the night. She set it to start diffusing about ½ hour before she went to sleep because she loved going off to sleep with the Clarity already in the air. After a week she noticed no more dry mouth or being startled out of sleep. This is when she returned the machine. Since she lives alone she did not know if she was still snoring. She had snored so loud the house would vibrate - really, no joke. She slept over my house one night and I was shocked that there was absolutely NO SNORING! Now two years later she is still diffusing her Clarity every night and no return of the apnea. She also puts on Valor morning and night on her feet.

6. I take about an eighth or so teaspoon of almond oil mixed with about 4 drops of Purification. I swirl a cotton swab around in it (it's in the palm of my hand) and then gently swish the mixture on the insides of his nostrils, as far up as feels safe. My son's sleep apnea happens when his nose is blocked. Because of extremely low muscle tone, his tongue flips back when he sleeps and blocks his airway. If his nose is at all dry and/or blocked, he begins to experience sleep apnea. The Purification works wonderfully, and stops the episode immediately.

Raven is for respiratory issues for the most part, and Clarity works on many levels, but the physical use for Clarity is for mental clarity and alertness. It works for clarity on the deeper level as well. Oregano is great for warts and moles and other viruses, if you are starting to get sick, you can put oregano in your water (it smells just like pizza!)

bast wrote:just as an additional bit on the use of various oils to support SA treatment, I am passing along this email I received from a friend who networks with others on topics of healing with oils. They trade anecdotal evidence, and collect success stories. i am not sure if they collect failure stories or not...

Thanks Bast. I am quite familiar with the company that is behind the information you have posted (Young Living). They are based just a few miles from where I live. I know people who distribute for this company and actually have purchased at least 50 of their products.

Gary Young, the founder of Young Living, who calls himself a Natureopathic Doctor (ND) has spent many years promoting essential oils for almost unlimited therapeutic purposes. He is behind the publication of a book called the People's Desk Reference for essential oils (though his company is not listed as being the publisher/author). This book makes all kinds of claims as to the therapeutic use of essential oils, and his company's proprietary blends in particular, for the treatment of almost every imaginable medical condition (STDs, shingles, respiratory ailments, skin disorders, cancer, etc.).

While certain essential oils have been proven to have therapeutic value (such as lavender in sleep, lowering heart rate, blood pressure), there's precious little evidence to back up the Young Living claims.

In addition, a great number of the essential oils used in the Young Living blended products are NOT on the FDA list of oils generally recognized as safe for human consumption. That doesn't necessarily mean thay are harmful. It just means that they haven't yet been proven to be harmless to the satisfaction of FDA. I would not recommend using Young Living essential oils in the pur-sleep diffuser unless you've verified that all of the oils are on the FDA list.

Bast, I don't mean to flame you or Young Living in the least. Young Living is an exciting and growing company. They have excellent products and have obviously found a lot of people who believe in them. I'm just saying that I think Gary Young has gone a bit overboard in the therapeutic claims and wanted to make sure people know about the FDA issues.

KimberlyinMN wrote:

WifeIsHappyNow wrote:Sounds like a lot of folks like this system and I am considering it, but have some questions.

I have read on several other websites that Clary Sage should not be used by women who are pregnant or nursing...obviously, I hope, I am not a woman, nor am I pregnant, but does this warning apply to using these oils in the Pur-Sleep system?

If anybody could answer, it would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Mike

Good question! My curiosity is piqued regarding the pregnant/nursing thing. (We're not yet but maybe by next month....) I've tried to avoid reading this darn thread because I would like to try this but I don't need it... All I have to do is practically think about putting on my mask and I am sleeping. (I can't even read in bed anymore.) Mind you, I am not complaining, but I sure have returned a lot of books to the library that I haven't had a chance to read.

Kimberly

Kimberly, I posted a response to this question but it bears repeating. It's certainly a fair question. Unfortunately, when it comes to essential oils there's a lot of folklore out there, things that are repeated and restated just because some source may have said it once upon a time. There's a very good internet article (that I haven't found just now) to the effect that most of the health warnings associated with essential oils are just as unfounded as most of the therapeutic claims.

As for clary sage, it is on the list of essential oils generally recognized as being safe by the FDA (GRAS). There is no mention of any pregnancy precaution. The FDA does not include anything on the GRAS list unless there is affirmative evidence of safety; hardly every oil is on the list.

On top of that, the source that many people consider to be the definitive word on this subject, Essential Oil Safety by Robert B. Tisserand and Tony Balacs (Publisher: Churchill Linvingstone; Copyright: 1995; ISBN: 0-443-05260-3) contains NO such precautions for clary sage. In any event, the pur-sleep oils contain only 1-2% clary sage, an extremely small amount.

The clary sage plant has been used as a medicinal herb for thousands of years. The pregnancy precautions seem to have something to do with the traditional use of clary sage during labor and delivery. I don't believe there's evidence to support the precaution (though I suppose one can find almost anything on the internet thanks to Google).

Brett, I tried the diffuser last night with the clear blend, and I absolutely, positively, supercalafragilistexpialadociously loved it (that's from Mary Poppins for those of you youngsters out there!)

Thank you so much for this product. I almost did a separate post because I don't know if people reading this thread have burned out on it yet! But really, I have alot of health issues associated with my apnea--weight gain, exhaustion, depression, insomnia, and God knows what else. So I am already in not as good a shape as I used to be. It is truly wonderful to have a product that makes going to sleep with cpap a little adventurous. I had really interesting dreams last night, pretty much slept through the night once I fell asleep, had clear sinuses when I woke up, and really enjoyed breathing.

I am also familiar with young oils as mentioned in the previous post, it's a great product but the oils are very, very expensive (multilevel marketing), and if you are sleeping with a mask, you can't really smell oils from the diffuser (I know, I have one.)

Anyways, I just want to thank you again. In addition to Clear, I particularly liked the scents of Pure and Deep. I do think you should experiment with adding fennel to a blend--I'm going to do it myself since that one is supposed to help with appetite conrol, and I'd just like to see if it does!

The oils of yours I don't use for sleep, I'll try in my diffuser. Thanks so much again. I wish you ever success in your business. Honestly, I wish I could help you with it somehow, but I'm not a lawyer and certalinly hope you don't end up needing one until you become a gazillionaire and it doesn't matter.

I am also posting my rave review on talk about sleep. Thanks again.
Take care, Rosanne (awaken)

I was excited when I stumbled on Pur-Sleep because I'd already been seriously trying to figure out a way to use essential oils with my CPAP machine. I had thought about putting a drop in the humidifier water and had other ideas, but worried about harm to the equipment, etc.

The Pur-Sleep may prevent some people from experimenting on their own in ways that might've caused harm to their equipment or themselves.

It just seems a better more reasonable way of doing things. Sure, it'd be cool if there was even more research to back it up or studies etc, but I'm comfortable using Pur-Sleep based on the info out there now and feel it's saved me from possibly making a blunder with my own treatment, if that makes sense.

Hi Bret,

I saw my sleep doc yesterday (he is a sleep physician at the Woolcock Institute of Medical Research in Sydney) and showed him the diffuser. He said he had never seen anything like it, and said he would ask his colleagues about it. He took down the name of your website to look at later. I took the Clear vial to show him and he said that Peppermint is useful for reducing bloating also.

In answer to my question as to whether the product in his opinion was safe to use, he said, as long as it's not affecting the pressure, and it's producing results he was fine with it. I mentioned that in my brief experience it seems, (at least with me and my particular breathing physiology) to be lowering my AHI by a couple of points. He was more interested in how I felt, and how long I was able to remain compliant ie The number of hours I was able to use the machine each night.

So while not having heard of the diffuser he couldn't recommend it, he certainly wasn't against it.

I also mentioned cpaptalk.com and he was in favour of my learning from an internet forum.

Peter