Thank you GuestMJ for the kind words and Jon for the apology.


Linda


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Mroizo,

I had that very same question about sleeping with the mouth open, but didn't think to ask it when I was in for my consultation. I also breath through my mouth about as often as through my nose... I don't see how the Full Breath Solution could be helpful in that case., but I can't say it wouldn't for sure.

My sleep specialist doesn't recommend Full Breath and I am very skeptical of them.

I haven't had a new sleep study done, but the TAP-3 and weight loss have left me feeling much better over the last six weeks. I'm hoping continued weight loss (I've lost 20 pounds with another 25 to go) will take care of the problem completely.

Scriptdog wrote:

Mroizo,

I had that very same question about sleeping with the mouth open, but didn't think to ask it when I was in for my consultation. I also breath through my mouth about as often as through my nose... I don't see how the Full Breath Solution could be helpful in that case., but I can't say it wouldn't for sure.

My sleep specialist doesn't recommend Full Breath and I am very skeptical of them.

I haven't had a new sleep study done, but the TAP-3 and weight loss have left me feeling much better over the last six weeks. I'm hoping continued weight loss (I've lost 20 pounds with another 25 to go) will take care of the problem completely.

Congratulations on feeling better!

As for your sleep specialist's non-recommendation of Full Breath, did they mention a specific reason?  Were they a dental sleep specialist or an ENT or other?

Thanks for your feedback.

If anyone is in the LA area, there is also a fantastic dentist who specializes in sleep disorders in Ventura who has also developed his own system which includes a bite plate.  It is very well made and is working great for a friend of mine.  PM me for his name if you are interested.

Vicki



Last edited by Vicki on Thu Nov 08, 2007 4:14 pm; edited 1 time in total
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That which does not kill you makes you stronger-Friedrich Nietzsche
Friedrich must of had apnea.

How can I contact you about your post.

moorejr12

My sleep doctor is a pulmonology specialist. I have a follow up with him this week and I will ask specifically what he recommends and why he doesn't refer to Full Breath.

For about four months, Sleep Apnea was the only thing I thought about. I felt terrible all the time and couldn't get on to anything else, including work... Now, with the weight loss and TAP, I'm returning to normal. My energy is way up, I'm coaching my son's basketball team, am able to go out to dinners with friends and to movies at night. I can actually be social again and don't have to squirrel away in my bedroom unable to keep my thoughts together or put forth the energy to carry on a conversation or enjoy anything.

I know I'm still not 100%, but I'm content to continue with the current plan of weight loss and TAP-3 as I appear to be headed in the right direction. My life is getting back to what it was, except I'm more careful about food and I rarely drink... On those occasions when I do have that second glass of wine, I feel a very immediate and negative impact the next day...

If I should go backward, I will once again consider Full Breath as an option.

It was strange with the weight loss. The first 15 pounds didn't seem to help at all and it was discouraging. But after keeping it off for a month, it finally started to kick in. I've learned to consider my recovery in very small increments.

Yes that would be great if you could ask him/her and let us know.  There is so little info on this thing--any info especially MD opinions would be very useful.

I saw my doctor yesterday and I asked him about the full breath solution. He was familiar with it, but doesn't endorse it or refer patients there. He didn't want to say anything specific about it, but when I related my experience with the device and voiced my skepticism, he told me my skepticism may be well placed.

He has refered me to another dentist.

I had also told my orthodontist, who did my TAP-3, about full breath. When I told him about it and told him the price, he winced in exactly the same way my sleep doctor did.

Not sure what else to say. No one has said, "Stay away. Full breath won't work," but there is a high degree of skepticism, at least from the two professionals I've talked to about it. If my insurance paid for most of it, I'd probably still give it a try... But it's not something I'm going to pay for out of pocket. The one thing I'm certain of about it... It's over priced.

It's also not something I'm going to consider again.

Which oral appliance is used is important because not one appliance will work in every situation but even more important is finding a highly trained and experienced dentist with a good track record. They should know which appliance should work best for you and of course should be able to prove that the appliance is doing it's job with a baseline sleep study(without the appliance) and follow up sleep study after any needed titrations (using the appliance). Easily done with a ambulatory take home sleep study, you sleep in your own bed. That way you can compare apples to apples instead of just going by how you feel. Choose wisely, you are dealing with a life threatening condition.

Jay



Last edited by Jay F. on Fri Jan 04, 2008 7:16 pm; edited 1 time in total

S Dog:

Forgive me if you have already answered this.  I FOUND YOU'RE POST AND ANSWERED  MY QUESTION, BUT ANY ADVICE WOULD BE GREAT!

Did you try Cpap first and not tolerate it?  I am looking for other alternatives to Cpap because I can't keep the mask on and still feel fatigued and tired.  You're story of sneaking off to the bedroom and coaching you're sons team hit home.  I ve two boys and I know it kills them to see Super Dad before sleep apnea to the dad I am now!  Let me know what lead you to seek out the Tap appliance.

Thanks

Scott

Scott,

Yes, I tried CPAP... It didn't work for me for many reasons... I actually listed them in the third post of this thread...  The short answer is, after a month of trying CPAP every night for an hour or more, I never once fell asleep with it on. Not for a minute... I would end up taking it off and falling asleep within ten minutes.

The loss of energy that I experienced over the summer was terrible. It was like I was a different person. I had always been a very involved dad in my son's and daughter's lives, coaching youth leagues, etc.

Battling Sleep Apnea and trying to restore my life to where it was just a year ago has been my primary endevour of 2007. Since CPAP was a nightmare, I've been fighting it in other ways. I've lost 25 pounds (20 more to go). That by itself has helped quite a bit. I trained myself to sleep on my side (my AHI goes from severe to lower moderate by this alone) I got a TAP-3 ( I sought it out simply because a dental appliance was the next logical step after the CPAP failure and many people had endorsed the TAP-3). I believe it is also helping to a degree (but not fully)... I quit drinking. I've seen more doctors in the last year than I have in my life previous combined... 2 GPs, 2 ENTs, a sleep specialist, a pulmonary doctor and a variety of techs. Like I said, battling Sleep Apnea has become the primary concern of my life.

I felt like between the weight loss and the TAP-3 and side sleeping, I was 50% of the way home. I've got enough energy to coach again. I rarely sneak off to my room to be alone, etc... Life had become tolerable. I can go out with friends (and not drink) and be sociable again, but I feared a setback to where I was and also knew that I still wasn't all the way back. There was more to be done.

Eleven days ago, I took an even more drastic step. I had a tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy. Everything is still too swollen to measure any possible benefits. My GP put the possiblity of relief at 50/50 and the ENT who did it put it at 60/40. Both my tonsils and adenoids where abnormally large. There was also a threat of lymphoma, so... Anyway, it's a safe, albeit painful, procedure that most have done as children, so I wasn't as worried about the possibility of negative effects as with some other procedures for Sleep Apnea. I was pretty sure no harm would come of it, so it seemed like a safe decision.  Also, since having it done, I haven't used my TAP-3, so evaluating the success or failure of it will take at least another month.

If I get another 25% benefit or so and that will make it worth having done it.

We'll see.

SD

Wow our story sounds the same.  I just got fitted for the Tap appliance and also talked with the Full Breath Appliance people and will go that route if the Tap does not work.  My life has been a struggle for two years and since being diagnosed in Sept 2007 have tried Cpap and can't tolerate it.  The docs also want me to take my oversized tonsils and adenoids out.  I just want to get back at being a husband and father.  Before these symptoms crept up on me two years ago...I ran about 5 miles a day,lifted weights,and played in my two basketball leagues.  Now I can barely get to the gym and be around anybody as I too sneak off.   Please give me updates on you're progress as I am starting on the same path as you...THANKS THANKS THANKS   HAPPY HOLIDAYS

Scott
Portland Oregon

I definitely noticed some improvement on the TAP-3. However, it is like CPAP in many ways. It's an unpleasant encumbrance, but after CPAP, it was a piece of cake. It hurt my teeth the first two nights, so I brought it back and the dentist ground it out a bit making it fit better.

Each night I lasted a little longer with it in and by the end of the week could sleep through the night with it, no problem. I was even able to dial it out for maximum opening and that was well tolerated for about four weeks. Then, I started getting some pain in the back of my jaw. I had to dial it back in and could feel the difference in energy the next day. It didn't work as well.

I was in the process of slowly working it back out when an MRI revealed a growth at my adenoids. The T&A surgery was a necessity. I had it done and the growth turned out to be just very large adenoids. No cancer.

I have to tell you, the surgery is rough. At least the recovery is. I'm a week and a half out and I still haven't made it through the night where I wasn't awakened by a severe sore throat and needed to gobble down some Codeine. It takes about a half hour to 45 minutes to feel the relief, so that's a rough time where I just sit up in bed and wait.

Can't tell how much it's helping yet, though I'm optimistic.

I'm now almost 4 weeks out... My recovery is largely complete. I'm eating what I want and only have a mild scratchy feeling in the back of my throat from a little remaining scar tissue.

I feel optimistic. My energy level is up and my wife reports my night-time breathing is much better. I'm going to go another couple weeks, then start wearing my TAP-3 again and see if that improves things still further.... I've lost 20 pounds with another 20 to go.

Once I feel like I'm getting close to where I want to be, I'll go back for another sleep study and see where I'm actually at.

But at the moment, I'm glad I had the surgery. It certainly did no harm and likely has done some good... How much, time will tell.

I'm now six weeks out from the tonsillectomy, adenoidectomy and turbinoplasty... The results have been really good... I recently retook the five question preliminary test that most of you have seen.

1. Do you regularly feel un-refreshed, even after waking from a full night's sleep?
  
2. Do you fall asleep easily during your waking hours, while at home or at work?
  
3. Are you a loud, habitual snorer?
  
4. Has your bed partner witnessed you choking, gasping, or holding your breath during sleep?
  
5. Do you often suffer from poor concentration or judgment, memory loss, irritability and/or depression?

Prior to the surgery, I answered "yes" to 1, 3, 4 and 5... Now, I answer "no" to every single one. My wife says I don't snore even a little bit anymore and I haven't pulled a number 4 since the surgery either. She thinks this may have done it, though I make no claim to have beaten my apnea... I still think I'm only 75 or 80% back... When and if l I feel completely like my old self I'll have another sleep study done and see if the science matches the gut feelings.