old64mb wrote:
Comment and then a question.
One comment on this was that when I did my own research for probiotics a few years back (when all I thought I had was IBS - and as it turned out, treating the apnea and UARS fixed a good deal of that problem too!) the sheer hucksterism and miniscule confirmable testing in the industry kind of discouraged me from listening to most recommendations. I did end up finding one study (not the Bastyr one, unfortunately I've forgotten where I found it) that had a guy actually do stool samples to test for which brands of probiotics made it all the way down. The vast majority didn't, so I ended up going with one of the two or three that did, Theralac.
I've had pretty good results. Too good in some senses, as it turned out - dentist ran a bacterial test and my oral Lactobacillus count was close to the highest they'd ever seen, which is probably good for your gut but definitely not so good for your teeth, so I dropped down to 2x a week for maintenance they recommend rather than the 7x I was taking it. Expensive stuff but at least I know it's got in it what it claims it supposed to have. I'm sure there are other, probably cheaper brands that do the same.
Dr. Falcon, do you happen to have any particular opinions on the Leukotriene inhibitors when it comes to UARS in particular? I know there's been some commentary on how they're not particularly cost effective compared to the corticosteroids, but I was more interested in results.
Thanks for sharing these insights, as well as your experiences regarding probiotics. I found the comments in your post to be very helpful. (Also, what you’ve written helps to confirm the Bastyr study which I mentioned above.)
That’s one of the beautiful things about the internet, and forums like cpaptalk.com….the capability for people to share information and anecdotal experiences like this, which can help to expand our knowledge base on a topic and to learn about different responses people have had to various remedies and treatment approaches. [Of course, I hope the readers of this forum know that it’s necessary to always use common sense, as well as a healthy degree of scrutiny, and not place too much trust in any *one* particular on-line patient testimonial, or on-line ‘expert.’]
Regarding your question about my opinions regarding Leukotriene inhibitors, in relation to UARS… I touched on this briefly in a previous thread (it’s the third post from the bottom of the page, on the following thread):
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=36738&p=320243&hili ... on#p320243
Singulair (Montelukast) is one of the commonly known Leukotriene-Receptor Antagonist class of medications. Singulair is usually taken at bedtime, for the purpose of relieving asthma symptoms the following day.
The cpaptalk poster on the above mentioned thread named “Guest tried username” mentioned that he/she found Singulair to be helpful for asthma and reducing sinus issues, when he/she took it 1-2 hours before breathing cold outdoor air.
A few years back I underwent a trial of Singulair myself, at bedtime, over the course of a several nights, as an experiment (along with the guidance of another physician who is a colleague of mine). I wanted to see if Singulair would help relieve my sleep-disordered breathing symptoms, the way that Claritin or Allegra-D at bedtime did. However, I didn't experience any relief of my sleep-disordered breathing symptoms during this trial period of taking Singulair at bedtime.
Results with various medications vary among individuals, of course, however. Therefore, it’s possible that there may be some individuals who experience relief of their UARS or night-time sinus/nasal blockage with the use of Singulair. (Of course, always check with your medical provider regarding medication usage.)
