Ifoundmysolution wrote:

I can empathize with the last thread and those preceeding it. I found myself in a very desperate situtuation - for me cost was not a consideration because I thought I was going to die! I have sleep apnea and was CPAP intolerant. Having been a paramedic for eight years prior I understand quite a bit about the airway and breathing but just could not acclimate myself to the CPAP. After a few terrifying episodes in the night I knew I had to find an alternative. It was then I met Dr. Jonathan Greenburg in Valencia, California. I had not compared different devices and thought that at the time that CPAP was the only thing out there. Fortunetely, Dr. Greenburg's device has been a Godsend. I too was told that my device would be covered 50% by insurance and they were right. The important thing though was that I had less than 10 minutes of actual "face time" with my original sleep doctor, a CPAP that was ineffective, night episodes that had me fearing for my life, and a family to raise - I was in real trouble. Dr. Greenburg and his staff spent an extraordinary amount of time and testing on me. I immediatly realized I was in the hands of professionals. Interestingly, I also have some TMJ issues including a jaw click when I yawn. The Full-Breath Solution doesn't seem to affect it. I've been using it for about one year now and I am completely convinced that it has saved my life.

Yes, I am a real person and this really is my story. I would be happy to talk to any one of you if you want to know more so let me pass this info on to you: I have been invited to participate in a teleconference this Wednesday, November 7th 2007, at 7pm. I will be sharing my experience and I have been assured that those who sign up for the call will be able to submit their individual questions and address them to me or to Dr. Greenburg. At the risk of sounding too much like a commercial, all I can say is that I know there are many of you out there like me who are desperate for a solution. I am extremely grateful to have found one. <link removed>

Again, I am not knocking the CPAP because apparently it is effective for many people. It just didn't work for me. You may not be in such a critical situation like I was. Still, if you care about your health or the well being of those you love, you owe it to yourself to at least get the basic info about any new advancements. Like the previous poster said, there's not a lot of info out there.

<link removed>

One last thing, I'm interested in getting some feedback after the tele-seminar. I've never had the opportunity to give my testimonial in this fashion and I'd like to know that all interested participants get their questions and concerns answered. My name is Jon.  I hope this info is helpful.

To Ifoundmysolution,

Interesting report. There is always interest in new treatments for OSA. Just three questions:

1) Does the device have FDA approval to treat obstructive sleep apnea? Please answer Yes or No.
2) Are there published clinical studies about the efficacy of the device to treat obstructive sleep apnea? If so, please post references and/or links. Peer reviewed studies would be of particular interest.

 

Michelle P. wrote:

In fact, the Academy of Sleep medicine has recommended intra-oral appliances as the first line of treatment for mild and moderate sleep apnea. Hope this answered some of your questions.
Cheers!
~Michelle

Does the Academy of Sleep Medicine recommend this particular appliance? If so please post the link.

I won't be able to attend the seminar, so your answers to above would be appreciated.
Thanks in advance.

Dear Guest MJ,
I will answer as best I can. Yes, the FDA has approved this particular device. That is also one of the questions I had. Yes, there are published studies about the efficacy of the device and I will be happy to provide them should you be patient with me. This is all fairly new to me and I am not a doctor. I am a patient that is very happy with the results of my treatment.
To my knowledge the Academy of Sleep Medicine does recommend this appliance but again, please bear with me - it is late and I don't meet with my doctor until tomorrow. I will request the specific information you are asking about.
Thank you for your questions. I appreciate your thoughtfulness and will do my best to answer your post.

Additionally, thank you to the moderator who has deleted my links but allowed my posts to remain. Deleting everything would have been a disservice to others in my situation.

Sincerely, Jon

Dental appliances have been around for many years to treat snoring and MILD apnea.  They do not work for everyone, and those fitted should return to the sleep lab for verfication that it is adequately treating the sleep apnea.

Here is a link to some other appliances.

http://www.apneadocs.com/pages/Appliances.htm

and here is a link to a dental sleep forum, where apnea patients have posted their experience with many dental appliances and pillar implants.

http://www.talkaboutsleep.com/message-boards/viewforum.php?f=10

Hi Ifoundmy solution and everybody in this forum, i was diagnosed with severe sleep apnea also and wearing cpap mask with humidifier; trying to find new options and very interested in full breath solution which seems to work according to this forum; my doctor recommended klearway appliance, but i am wondering if the full breath solution appliance could work better or not for my case, since i have severe sleep apnea and according to different postings, oral appliances do not work for severe sleep apnea; my doctor also mentioned that my problem is that my tongue rolls back while i am sleeping producing an obstruction of my airways; i open and close my mouth while i am sleeping, as i read some questions about this concern; if somebody here in this forum is already using the full breath solution and can advice me and let me know if it is really working for him/her and also about medical insurance coverage, etc; besides all these questions above mentioned, are you checking your c-reactive protein levels, which tends to raise when you have sleep apnea; thanks in advance for any advice.

Quick question my friend...I have talked with Dr. Greenburg and what a great man and listened to his teleconference that was more informative then my own sleep doc.  I have been on cpap for three months and I wear it for four hours a night and four hours on the floor. I still feel tired and fatigued everyday.  DO YOU FEEL A HUGE DIFFERENCE IN SYMPTOMS WITH THIS DEVICE VS CPAP?

THANKS FOR YOU'RE TIME

SCOTT

Scott sleep wrote:

Quick question my friend...I have talked with Dr. Greenburg and what a great man and listened to his teleconference that was more informative then my own sleep doc.  I have been on cpap for three months and I wear it for four hours a night and four hours on the floor. I still feel tired and fatigued everyday.  DO YOU FEEL A HUGE DIFFERENCE IN SYMPTOMS WITH THIS DEVICE VS CPAP?

THANKS FOR YOU'RE TIME

SCOTT

Hi, i do wear my cpap mask all night and i have felt the difference using it; i feel that i have a good night rest; if for any reason i do not wear it, next day i will feel sleepy;i am looking for some other options because i already got a purple mark on the bridge of my nose, but i haven't contact my sleep doctor to see if what his opinion is about full breath breathing solution; i read in this web site that they are studying a new kind of surgery and that maybe next year they will have the results of that surgery; hoping to find a better solution than the cpap mask.

Make sure you check with a dentist who has a lot of experience treating sleep disorders. A dentist is the only doctor who can legally treat you with oral appliance therapy, physicians can't and therefor don't have much first hand knowledge regarding oral appliances.  Some dentist do it as a side line and others specialize in treating sleep disorders. As with most things those that specialize usually have more experience and better results. Choose wisely.

Jay

Currently I am being fitted with the appliance (FB) and during the initial test - i don't know the actual spelling of the machine but i think it is called farangonomer (?) - i registered a volume of 12 and 46 once the appliance was in my mouth.

I have never worn any other type of sleep or dental appliances before but, despite my young age (21) - I snore a lot and people have been telling me that I stop breathing at times and sound like I am gasping for air.

I was recently watching an episode of UFC for the Holidays and realized that Joe Rogan (one of the commentators and former host of Fear Factor) was there and it prompted me to remember that he was a comic that got into an argument with another comic. So to make the story short: I went to his blog (look for joe rogan since I don't know if the link will be removed: http://blog.joerogan.net/) and came across a heading in his blog, "Sleep apnea and my big fat tongue" - and I started reading. The blog described me completely. I also wake up tired - no matter how many hours I slept, etc. Problem is that he did not say the name of the appliance and he called it a mouthpiece - so like a dumbass I was looking for a mouthguard. Luckily I got the name of it and found a doctor in Los Angeles that specializes in sleep.

Bottom line - I can't wait to start wearing it - but what motivated me to do it was Joe's description.

I have to go do a sleep study first like Joe and then I will ge the appliance in my mouth.

I will keep you all posted - ps - the experience of the doctor is important. I had called others looking for this appliance and they seemed to have outdated info on the older dental appliances.  From what I now understand, the Full Breath does not really move the mandible forward, like all the others, it actually works by moving your tongue. But I do gather that some of the other appliances are also effective and this may not work for you and this is why it is important that you go to a trained sleep dentist. I ultimately found mine by contacting the Full Breath Corporation.

Good luck with it... I went there for a consultation, but was turned off by how much money it cost and the fact that my insurance would only pay for a fraction of it. He wanted to charge me $5100, which I found exhorbitant.

Let us know how it works for you, because if I knew of somebody it actually helped, I would consider biting the bullet for one myself.

hi cinewest, keep us informed about full breath appliance, please; i am using the cpap mask, but i can not tolerate for long periods of time; according to my doctor, my insurance does not cover any kind of dental appliance,which i do believe it is wrong or my doctor might not have so much experience about the codes that they used for the treatment of sleep apnea; it should be included in my medical insurance, since this disorder is not a dental problem but a breathing one; any new input about codes in order to convince the insurance to approve an oral appliance? it would be very much appreciated . thank you.

The Full Breath people in Tarzana, where the device originated with Dr. Keropian, is up to speed on the insurance issues and they can put it through if you're interested. Just tell them you can't buy it until you find out how much they can get your insurance company to pay. Ultimately, they were able to get my insurance company to pay half... I still opted not to buy it though.

cinewest wrote:

Currently I am being fitted with the appliance (FB) and during the initial test - i don't know the actual spelling of the machine but i think it is called farangonomer (?) - i registered a volume of 12 and 46 once the appliance was in my mouth.

I have never worn any other type of sleep or dental appliances before but, despite my young age (21) - I snore a lot and people have been telling me that I stop breathing at times and sound like I am gasping for air.

I was recently watching an episode of UFC for the Holidays and realized that Joe Rogan (one of the commentators and former host of Fear Factor) was there and it prompted me to remember that he was a comic that got into an argument with another comic. So to make the story short: I went to his blog (look for joe rogan since I don't know if the link will be removed: http://blog.joerogan.net/) and came across a heading in his blog, "Sleep apnea and my big fat tongue" - and I started reading. The blog described me completely. I also wake up tired - no matter how many hours I slept, etc. Problem is that he did not say the name of the appliance and he called it a mouthpiece - so like a dumbass I was looking for a mouthguard. Luckily I got the name of it and found a doctor in Los Angeles that specializes in sleep.

Bottom line - I can't wait to start wearing it - but what motivated me to do it was Joe's description.

I have to go do a sleep study first like Joe and then I will ge the appliance in my mouth.

I will keep you all posted - ps - the experience of the doctor is important. I had called others looking for this appliance and they seemed to have outdated info on the older dental appliances.  From what I now understand, the Full Breath does not really move the mandible forward, like all the others, it actually works by moving your tongue. But I do gather that some of the other appliances are also effective and this may not work for you and this is why it is important that you go to a trained sleep dentist. I ultimately found mine by contacting the Full Breath Corporation.

I know it's been a while, but hoping you could post an update if you still follow this forum.  I was also thinking about the Full Breath solution but have found so few people who've actually used it due to its high cost.   I use a herbst device which worked great for a while until my dr. started to fiddle with it and my bite is a little messed up now.  Thanks!

i have the full breath and have had a similar experience.....seems that there is a sweet spot that can be passed in adjustments...with the FB it is even more complex because not only are you advancing the lower jaw, but also the tongue suppressor must be advanced slowly as to desensitize the tongue....at one point i was improving, but then i began regressing...we are now backtracking to find the right spot....my dentist in santa maria, ca.  offers the FB for 1000.00....with all adjustments included.....a pretty good deal compared to what i have read here.

I am new to this forum....and feel so blessed to have found others with SA!  I am sorry that others are suffering like I am....but it is comforting to know that I am not alone!  I felt especially vindicated to hear that others have had problems with their CPAP machines.  I am so miserable, so exhausted and it seems that I just dread going to bed at night!  I have another appointment with my ENT tomorrow, and hope that he will be able to help me in some way.....It's nice to have a support group!  Micki

Micki, welcome to the forum. Not sure what your history with sleep apnea is, but why are you going to your ENT rather than a sleep doc? If you can post information on the results of your sleep study, and any information you have been able to collect since then, maybe some people on this forum can help you. I am new to this and learning myself, so it probably won't be me who contributes the most!

Good luck with your appointment.


_________________
SleepyToo
Philadelphia Area
Diagnosed September 2009, Respironics System One w/ C-flex and humidifier
Opus 360 Nasal Pillows (previously used nasal masks)