Hello Dr. Tony,
Thank you for sharing all that detail, I'm impressed that you conquered OSA without CPAP. I believe I might be in a similar situation - I was diagnosed with OSA with an AHI of 27. Originally was setup to use CPAP, didn't enjoy it much but ended up tolerating it until my sleep doctor suggested I get a mouth guard due to my anatomy. I have a small jaw and a big tongue since my tongue was probably the problem. Slightly overweight.
So I got fitted with a SomnoMed oral appliance from my dentist. Did some sleep studies - my AHI is now around 4. My dentist thinks that is good but I'm still feeling tired. It was suggested that I lose more weight and do tongue exercises to bring the AHI down further. I've been platueaing on my weight lose a bit lately and not sure if the tongue exercises have made any difference yet - just started that though. Do you get any of your patients to do those tongue exercises:
i.e.: https://www.braebon.com/docs/Daily%20Mouth%20Excercises.pdf
In reading everything else that you did, the turbinate reduction is the one that I'm wondering if that could make a difference for me. I do have some spring time allergies and I am prone to sinus infections when I get a bad cold. I'm wondering if this is the missing link to me feeling better.
After you had this done, do you recall feeling anymore refreshed after your sleeps?
I also noticed you used the Braebon home sleep study - I used that too. My flow limitation breaths was 34% so that was on the higher side. I guess that needs to be 20% or lower. Was your FL% on the high side like mine? Did you notice your FL% go down after any particular procedure?
You also mentioned you felt great after therapy for your cranial nerves, guess that's another area to explore. I like the whole body approach.
My diet is pretty good now but considering a paleo style diet to help reduce inflammation further.
So I will be going to see my sleep doctor soon. BTW, I tried CPAP again recently and did not feel any better. I just wanted to do that to tell myself that I should keep going with the oral appliance and other alternative approaches. I just want to be confident in my appointment with my sleep doctor.
Mark
