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I had my annual physical just yesterday and of course told my doc about what I had done. She had never heard of it. I sent an email to the doc at the sleep center and have yet to hear back. I too would like to get some numbers from another sleep study to get a baseline comparison with the study done a couple of years ago. I was really disappointed with my experience at the sleep center. They wanted me in a CPAP and weren't interested in considering any alternatives after I told them that the CPAP wasn't working for me. I haven't heard from them in two years. I am certain that I'm breathing better, even now when awake. I'll pick up an O2 monitor and get some of my own numbers in the meantime.
The other question is how long this lasts? The dentist recommends a single session each year. I've read the three session treatment may be effective for up to two years. It's a new treatment, we'll see how it holds up over time.
I was diagnosed with sever obstructive sleep apnea a couple of years ago. I never noticed any effects during the day, no droziness etc.. I'm generally in very good health. My wife and son told me I snored, and that sometimes it sounded like I stopped breathing. I recorded myself overnight using an iPad and what I heard was troubling. I brought it up with my doctor at my annual physical and he scheduled me for a sleep study. After being diagnosed I was prescribed a CPAP. I used the CPAP every night, all night, as prescribed for a month. This was required by the insurance company to ensure compliance. It was awful. I'm a side sleeper and I would keep knocking the mask out of place. I seemed to spend the whole night wrestling with it. By the end of that month I knew what sleep deprivation felt like. Scary. At my follow-up visit with the sleep center at the end of that month I told them I was going to try staring out the night wearing the CPAP, but if became a problem in the middle of the night I was going to take it off, just so I could get some sleep. My thought was maybe I could ease into it, go a little longer each night. That didn't work. After a couple months I gave up.
Last month at my regular dental check up my dentist told me about a new procedure he's offering called NightLase for treating snoring and OSA. He said he's seen good results with the patients he's tried it on, and looking in my mouth he thought I might be a good candidate. There are three treatments, spread out over six weeks, and he zaps the back of my throat with a laser. Each treatment takes about twenty minutes, no pain, no anesthesia. I felt like I had a mild sore throat for about a day after each treatment. All I can say is, WOW! This has made a huge difference for me. Snoring is gone. I must be sleeping a whole lot better now too because I feel noticeably more rested and alert. It's like a fog lifted that I didn't know was there. I'm amazed that this isn't being talked about, or offered as an alternative to CPAP by the sleep center.
