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Jen,

I also look forward to hearing about your experience. I'm not considering an oral appliance at this point, but I have a lot of curiousity about the choices and options members of this forum research and try. I read your posts about your tonsillectomy, not because it personally affected me (I had my tonsils out when I was a kid), but simply because I was interested in how it would work for you.

I wish you the best with the TAP and would be thrilled if it either allowed you to quit cpap or made cpap more comfortable. If it does not, at least you will have given it a try.

Janna

Rose, that was a big concern of mine and I asked about it. Because I have in the past (teenager--stress grinding caused severe jaw pain) experienced tmj or similar symptoms. He took a few momentst to make more measurements of my jaw and my range of motion and he said he doesn't know for sure how I will react, but he thought it would be ok. He stressed how critical the jaw exercises they recommend are to prevent such problems.

I guess I will find out first hand. I doubt I will be able to dial the lower jaw out very far--as he noticed I have very low range of motion of the jaw. And I always thought I was such a big mouth!

jen

socknitster wrote:.... He stressed how critical the jaw exercises they recommend are to prevent such problems.

I guess I will find out first hand. I doubt I will be able to dial the lower jaw out very far--as he noticed I have very low range of motion of the jaw. And I always thought I was such a big mouth!

jen

I cannot emphasize enough how important the jaw exercises are!
Do them every morning and it doesn't hurt to pick up a habit of occasionally working your jaw around during the day. Maybe even leaning on your hand while doing something to flex the jaw back.
That is definitel one "price of admission" for dental devices, and compared to all the hassle of CPAP, seems like a small price to pay, to me.

Also do not rush dialing the lower jaw out. It should take weeks to get it out, and then you may find you may want to fine tune it a bit further than that, after another long period of time. Rushing the adjustment seems like one of the major failure points for people that do not have success. (along with skipping the jaw exercises)

YMMV

I just found out there is a whole thread on another forum about how awful and rude I am in this thread to jla930. I am utterly mystified.

I thought I was just supporting my opinion and having a discussion about the pros and cons of the TAP device. I didn't know that in order to get along we have to cave in our personal opinions in order to make others happy.

I never insulted anyone's intelligence. I never called names. I never even THOUGHT anything rude. I just made it clear, as pleasantly as possible, that I thought the doctor jla930 quoted was perhaps not current with the research in this vein. I know my personal dentist wasn't. I had to go to a specialist to get the TAP appliance.

And if the FDA recently approved the TAP for use in moderate and even severe sleep apnea, obviously someone thinks it has possiblities for some people.

It is nice that someone is trying reversible technologies for this disorder instead of trying to get us all into surgery.

Obviously if I just went thru all the trouble of getting and paying for the TAP I am going to give it a try no matter what this poster says to me. Medicine can't come up with new ways to treat OSA unless people are willing to try them.

So, I apologize to jla930 if I typed anything remotely offensive. In going back and re-reading I can't imagine what it would possibly be!

ANYWAY,

I have had the TAP for a few weeks. But Harry's surgery and something else significant has happened since then and I have been pretty sleep deprived and unwilling to try anything new at bedtime.

It feels a bit clunky in the mouth and I have a little trouble disengaging the top and bottom pieces. I'm not sure if I'm going to like it at all. But I will eventually give it its proper trial when things calm down around home and I've had some good sleep for a while.

Jen

I just found out there is a whole thread on another forum about how awful and rude I am in this thread to jla930. I am utterly mystified.

I'd say: "take no notice" regarding what other people think on the other forum. For that matter, I would not get too upset about what folks on this forum think either.

No matter how carefully we write our comments, someone, somewhere, will get his/her knickers in a twist and feel offended. Some of them will pitch an academy award-winning hissy fit while others will just be upset and vent this upsettedness through sniping.

If you re-read your comments and can honestly say to yourself that what you wrote was honest and, well-intentioned, then simply take no notice of what the others say. All that matters is what you think of yourself, not what they think of you.

Stay the course, Socknitster!!

I am positive I wasn't offensive enough to be called a "bad apple."

I have to laugh. Yes, no one likes to be talked about behind their back, and maybe I got a bit miffed. But now, like 5 minutes later, I just feel bemused that words have such power. That someone could get so worked up as to start a jen-bashing thread. I get daily emails and pm's from folks praising me for helping them. Once I realized that I got perspective.

jen

[quote="socknitster"]I am positive I wasn't offensive enough to be called a "bad apple."

I have to laugh. Yes, no one likes to be talked about behind their back, and maybe I got a bit miffed. But now, like 5 minutes later, I just feel bemused that words have such power. That someone could get so worked up as to start a jen-bashing thread. I get daily emails and pm's from folks praising me for helping them. Once I realized that I got perspective.

jen

I think jla930 is the one who needs to apologize to YOU!

Best wishes, Jen.

Den

Jen! ... You ignorant sl ... err, I mean rude bad apple! (just kidd'in)

Hey, if jla930 has to go to another forum ... then that is jla930's personal problem ... and yes, Snoredog can take care of that.

Hope your recovery has gone well.

Take care!