CPAPing!..................
I’ve been using a mouth guard for about 18 months and it works great!
I started using a mouthguard a couple months ago - I’ve long refused to get a CPAP. The mouthguard combined with sleeping in a slightly elevated position has meant I wake up far less during the night and feel much more rested every morning.
I’m MAD as he**, and I can’t take CPAP anymore!
The cheapest and most effective solution... Waking up.
That’s how I deal with it and I’ve had it all my life... 61 years, and so far... So good.
I imagine there’ll be a day... Maybe 20 or 30 years down the road when I won’t wake up... And that’ll be it. Until then, I’ll just spend my money on more useful things like cigarettes and alcohol.
Red Badger, do you work for the mouthpiece folk?
Sleep study place in Fairbanks ALWAYS without fail recommends a CPAP machines as a result for all their studies. I have talked to several people that have gotten a study done and it is always the same. They’ve got a link to the company that issues CPAP machines in town, can you believe it!? It is a scam.
My wife uses a dental device, and does just fine without the added expense & hassle of masks and tubes and power requirements. Went to the dentist for it.
I have used both and don’t really agree.
bfl
A lot of CPAP users have trouble breathing through their nose and require a full face mask.
Does a mouthguard force breathing through the mouth or nose, or is it either/or?
I’ve used a CPAP for over 10 years now - started with a Phillips System One, then bought a ResMed AirSense 10 when the System One got too noisy and cranky - they sent me a Dream Machine to replace the System One for the recall, but I had already bought the AirSense out of pocket (thecpapshop.com) without using insurance. I use a ResMed nose pillow mask with Swift headgear, with a chin strap to keep my mouth from flopping open.
I like it - not sure I could sleep without it now. The AirSense machine is really quiet and doesn’t disturb my wife, and I usually sleep well. The air pressure even helps to keep my cranky sinuses clear during the night.
That said, I agree that the sleep doctors don’t seem interested in anything other than a CPAP when sleep apnea is diagnosed. Insurance companies and medical supply houses must be making bank selling an $800 air pump for $2500 insured cost and splitting the swag. I paid about $800 for the AirSense machine out of pocket without claiming on insurance, my original System One was $2500 from the medical supply house through insurance, with about $600 out of pocket cost because I have a device deductible.
I’m fortunate that the CPAP works for me - I have talked to others that struggle to use one.
“... a MAD holds the lower jaw (mandible) and tongue forward, keeping the airway open.”
My sleep doctor wasn’t happy with my CPAP alone, and suggested I get one of these. I’m sure it works for most folks, but I have to make this public service announcement:
Make sure your teeth are in good shape, as these guards put some pressure on them when worn, simply because the guard is pushing against some of them to reposition your jaw. In my case, it cracked a tooth that had been filled decades ago, and that set off a chain of events that hasn’t been pretty.
If your teeth are fine, go for it. If not, just get used to the machine... (I use a BiPAP now, and not a CPAP, and that helps.)