Hi all, i had my first sleep study done about 3 years ago where i stayed over night and was told i had mild apnea and went back to spend the night using cpap. After 3 hours i left study as i could not tolerate the cpap. About 7 months ago i had an at home sleep study done and was told i had moderate apnea. This time i had a dental appliance made and found that to be like sticking a brick in my mouth and has not helped as i find it laying on the bed when i wake up. I'm thinking of re-trying cpap as i have to do something. Thinking of buying an airsense 10 machine and skipping going back to doctor as i have bad health insurance(high deductible). I don't understand and this is my question, if i have sleep apnea wouldn't i feel tired every day? Some times a feel so tired i don't know how i'm going to make it through the day and the next day i feel really good. It can be every other day or i have 2 or 3 really bad days and then can have 2 or 3 good days??? The bad days aside from feeling really tired i have a headache , trouble concentrating, nasea. Most off the time it is every other day. It is like on the bad days my body is so wiped out that it shuts down and i sleep good and feel better the next day. I also some times suffer from insomnia. Any feed back would be appreciated.
Thanks Bob
Hello BZ. I am a dentist working in dental sleep medicine. Remember that your sleep tests record only one day in your sleep life. That doesn't mean that every single day your condition will be identical to that one night. Every one has good nights and bad nights. When you have a bad night you feel lousy the next day. If you have a better sleep night, maybe not so much. What you do each day can make a difference. If you drink heavily before bedtime, your sleep apnea will be worse. If you take certain medications, your sleep apnea could be worse, etc. To get back to the oral appliance. If it felt like a brick in your mouth, it could have been improperly selected for you. There are over 100 designs of oral appliances in the USA. Some of these designs are quite bulky and heavy. Others are quite thin and feather light. Maybe the one you got was too bulky for you, especially if you have a small mouth. It might be prudent to seek out an experienced dental sleep medicine dentist in your area to review and evaluate your appliance. It might just have been the wrong one for you. Arthur B. Luisi, Jr., D,M,D., The Naples Center for Dental Sleep Medicine. Practice partner, dental sleep medicine, NCH Healthcare System. Practice Partner, dental sleep medicine, The Millenium Physician Group.
Thank you sleepDent for your input. I am not sure if i should seek another dental sleep doctor or retry the cpap? I only went to this doctor because he was a medical doctor/dentist and my insurance covered it. My actual dentist said his appliance is smaller and lighter but my insurance would not cover it and it was quite expensive. You mentioned drinking before bedtime, i stopped drinking for 2 years and it was the same. I always push myself and stay active but some days its really hard.Thanks again for your input.
Given the economics of your situation, it might make sense to give CPAP another try. Really, what do you have to lose? There have been some substantial improvements in the masks and machines recently, and maybe you could get by with a new type. Anyway, if it bombs out again, you could feel better about laying out the money for a more comfortable appliance. Arthur B. Luisi, Jr., D.M.D.
I appreciate the helpful info buy all. Its nice to hear from people who understand how hard it is to deal with the problem and our poor health care system. I am leaning towards cpap as sleepdent and my primary care doctor said a lot has changed in the last 3 years. I will let all know my out come and hope i can help others as a result of my own experience. Thank you doctorlulu for your response and comment.
