I'll start by saying that I initially began with the MAD because I couldn't bear the thought of being hooked up to a machine every night. Now I've changed my mind, as you'll see below.heartchakra wrote: ↑Sun Aug 25, 2019 8:15 amThank you
Were you using a morning positioner since the start of using the MAD ? I had never heard of it - dont know what it means - but will ask the dentist.
What kind of apnea do you have - and can you pls elaborate some more on the effectiveness of your MAD ?
Yes, I used it from the very beginning. My positioner is just a simple plastic piece that my dentist molded to fit over my bottom teeth. Basically it is molded with the bite in the normal position of the jaws, when the top jaw is forward and top teeth in front of the bottom. Like how one would normally have their mouth throughout the waking hours. Wearing it for 15 minutes or so every morning stretched the muscles in the jaw back to their normal natural place.
I have obstructive apnea, so I assume this device would not work for someone who has central apnea.
I initially felt it was pretty effective for me. But it wasn't 100% effective. I was breaking my devices on occasion and concluded that when sleeping on my back, my apnea wasn't being sufficiently treated, so I was clenching my jaws alot which caused my to break them periodically. Because of this I learned that maybe it wasn't working as well as I thought it was.
I think it can be a great option for some. And I believe if I was to drop some more weight (I'm about 30 pounds heavier than I should be) it would be more effective, maybe even enough to not use CPAP.
Now that I'm on CPAP and it seems to be working well, I'll probably never go back to the MAD, at least not permanently.
Feel free to hit me up with any more questions you may have!