[auggy]

I have considered having my teeth pulled, but, as of now, I haven't done so. Any suggestions?

[LadyDoc]

You need to get rechecked. The CPAP or BiPap machine usually cures sleep apnea, and most of my patients improve and feel better on the machine. Your mask might not fit properly. Also, there is surgery that helps: surgery of the palate, and also tracheostomy in severe cases used to be done in the old days(not used much nowadays, since other means work).

Tongue biting suggests epilepsy. Tests for epilepsy are not very accurate.I've had patients with major brain injuries who had several seizures a week yet had normal EEG's and CT scans. Sometimes a course in treatment will be done: you treat it to see if it gets better. This needs a good neurologist (a lot of neurologists aren't helpful, you might need to see another one).

[buffyt]

I had an 80% overbite. I had braces from age 37 - 40. It fixed my problem. It caused me to bite and even grind my teeth in my sleep. I no longer do that. The overbite had caused the muscles in my neck, jaws, and all the way down my back to be hard as a rock. My dentist noticed it before I did. Now I sleep in two retainers and no longer bite my teeth together real hard in my sleep. You might even be able to get a plastic thing to wear over your front teeth or all your teeth, as you sleep. It may keep you from biting your tongue. But you might bite through the plastic thing, too. I would see if a dentist could help.

[YaYa123]

I bet you've already been here,

http://www.sleepapnea.org/

but maybe others haven't. What a wealth of information!!!

American Sleep Apnea Association
1424 K Street NW, Suite 302
Washington, DC 20005
202/293-3650
fax: 202/293-3656

asaa@sleepapnea.org

[Robert Lomax]

Actually, I have a problem with EMOH waking me up. And even once it a while they won't let me go to sleep. But I think that would be referred to as LEHO.

Bob

[prisoner6]

Sleep apnea takes many forms, or so I've heard. I have it but don't bite my tongue. Usually what happens is I just stop breathing...for quite a long time sometimes. So far everytime it's happened I've awakened (obviously), but It's funny as heck when I do. The only way I've found to start breathing again is to jump up, and run around. If that doesn't work I jumping up and down REALLY HARD. As a last resort Wife hits me in the stomach, which she takes great pleasure in doing since all the commotion wakes her up too.

As far as treatment I was told to just live with it and I'd outgrow it. I'm 52 now and still haven't grown up I guess.

Or maybe the oxygen deprivation (augmented by copious amounts of beer) has caused too much brain damage.

Hope you find some help!

prisoner6

[Bill Rice]

I have Sleep Apnea, and must use a c-pap. I've had my sleep machine for about 3 years, and love it. I snored so bad without it, the neighbors were complaining.

I've never heard of the tounge biting problem, what does the sleep doctor say about it?

[LoneGOPinCT]

I have a friend who had severe sleep apnea and was waking up about the same 49 times per hour that you are, but he didn't have the tongue biting problem. He started on a weight-loss regime (was as high as 300 lbs. now down to 185) and started using the breathing machine. Things got better but he was still "waking" up over 20 times per hour. His doc recommended throat surgery (I don't remember exactly what was done), which he had, and has been almost back to "normal" for 9 months now.

[RAY]

God Bless You! Unfortunatly, it seems these type problems get worse as one grows older. However, thanks to modern medical help many of us are alive today with a decent quality of life. Keep working on the problem in a very systematic way -- there is no magic.

[ReaganCowboy]

There is no hell on Earth like sleep apnea.

I've had my soft palate cauterized, to stiffen the skin and reduce the snoring/apnea. It helped, but it's not 100%. Still, it was worth the (intense) pain I experienced during the recovery period.

Unfortunately, the effect fades over time. I'll get a CPAP once I'm out of the military.

[Tennessee_Bob]

I bite my tongue.

Thank goodness then that you're not a knee-biter.

/arcane reference mode off

In all seriousness though, here's hoping that you find an answer here..

[LiberalBassTurds]

One thing you may also want to consider to help your tongue, once you get all the medical tests suggested above, is a a mouth/tooth guard. It is a small plastic protector, like the ones used in football or hockey, which covers your lower teeth. I use one now and never grind my teeth or bite my tongue. Don't know whether it keeps your tongue out of the way,or just eliminates one set of sharp surface, but it works.

You can get them from your dentist but they are pricey. A cheaper way to do it is to buy one of those teeth whitening kits that come with two clear plastic mouth pieces and the peroxide solution. For $10.00 you will have two guards which you dip in boiling water and form to your teeth.

Hope this helps and good luck.

[steamroller]

I had a real bad case of sleep apnea.I tried a CPAP,but alays had a problem with the mask.I was switched to a "nasal pillow"device which makes the CPAP much less confining and I have had excellent results.I've travelled overseas with the machine which has an internal dual voltage device and never had a problem.Good Luck!!I know how you feel,except for the tongue biting,which I never had.

[gogov]

I am not sure if I have sleep apnea or not. I kind find myself dozing off in the late hours of the night, then waking suddenly, hitting the refresh button, typing a few lines then doz off again.

I don't bite my tongue when I sleep but I find that I sometimes have to when I am awake. Not sure if this is realted to the tongue things, but I also keep having dreams about loose lips and some sinking ship.

Now, where is that POST REPLY button....Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

[Grampa7030]

I woke up 159 times on the night of my sleep apnea test. The doctor had a five step program before getting to the BPAP equipment. He gave me a prescription for Nasacorte (sp?) and something amazing happened. I had a full night's sleep with an actual dream. I could not remember the last dream. My desire to fall asleep at all times has gone away. My wife says I still stop breathing occasionally, but this happens to people considered normal. Sleep clinics have popped up all over the place in the last three years and you may want to see a specialist at one. There is a long wait, though.

[RnMomof7]

Yea they tell me I stop breathing every 20 seconds or so.I have a Cpep machine..to be honest the cure seems worse than the problem.

This is a common disorder..since I got my machine I have met tons of folks with it...now if I could just get used to the thing!

[Charles Henrickson]

My name is Charlie, and I'm an apneatic.

I used to snore very loudly and get drowsy during the day. I had my dentist make me one of those mouthpieces that cover both the lower and upper teeth and pull the lower jaw forward a bit. That helped some. (Maybe it would help with auggy's tongue-biting). I also tried BreathRight strips. These things helped, but not enough. (My sleep apnea is not that severe, so when I travel, sometimes I just take the mouthpiece and BreathRight strip, instead of the whole CPAP breathing machine.)

What really helped:

1) Nasal surgery to increase my airway. My doctor cut back the too-large "turbinates" (sp? no "turban" jokes, please) at the area where the nostrils meet the sinus cavity. He also straightened out the deviated septum, the result of having broken my nose a couple of times. (Although the doctor had also suggested the palate/back-of-the-throat surgery as a possibility, I did not have that done--it sounded like it might cause more harm than good.)

2) CPAP machine. This is what did the trick. I don't like it--the annoyance of having to wear the darn thing, getting the mask just right so the air doesn't leak, having to lie in a certain position--I don't like it, but it works. I don't snore, I get better sleep, and I'm not as tired during the day. The mask I have is clear and lightweight, it's just a little larger than my nose, and the headstraps go above the ear and near the earlobe.

Losing weight helps, especially if you're very overweight. I'm only slightly (10%) overweight, though, and I snored heavily even when I was in great shape.

Sleep apnea especially affects men, especially as they enter middle age, especially if they are overweight. The symptoms often include snoring (ask your wife) and feeling tired/drowsy during the day. Sleep apnea can be dangerous, even fatal--you stop breathing! (That's what the Greek word a-pnea means: "not breathing".) So get thee to a sleep clinic. See an ENT doctor. It can get better!

[RaceBannon]

One thing that helped me is I learned to sleep on my side. You have to force yourself to do it, too. Take some natural sleep aides to force yourself into sleep while on your side, then time will make the rest available.

What I also had done last March, when I had my tonsils out, I also had a partial uvulectomy. That thing that hangs down on your throat? Mine's gone. So is some of the attaching skin. Hurts like you cannot imagine. Pain killers became my friend for 2 weeks, so did Popsicles. But, snoring stopped, and I sleep much better.

[LostThread]

definitely more info than I need to know...*sigh*..

[withteeth]

Thanks for starting this discussion, Auggy.

[Maurice Tift]

Afraid to go back to sleep

I know the feeling. After throat surgery and nasal surgery (to fix my broken nose), I am now completely cured and sleep very deeply. It's something I don't even think about anymore. Don't lose hope. Even though one doctor tells you that there is nothing he can do, there is often another doctor who can do something.