Sleep Apnea

Treating my Sleep Apnea

Sleep Apnea: Mandibular Advancement Device, Didgeridoo Practise, Vocal Training, Nose Cones and Throat & Neck Exercises

I’ve been using a combination of a Mandibular Advancement Device (MAD), Vocal Training and Didgeridoo practice to treat my severe sleep apnea for about 4 months now and I thought it was time for an update.

I wear the MAD all night every night, and most of the times that I have the occasional afternoon nap. During this time I have gradually adjusted it out by 6mm, when I hit the point where my temporomandibular joint (on which the lower jaw pivots) started to ache too much. I don’t find the MAD particularly uncomfortable to wear during the night.

It took about a week or so to adjust to sleeping with a chunk of plastic in my mouth but after that I didn’t really mind. I use the repositioner that came with my Somnomed device each morning to reposition my jaw. I notice some pain in my teeth eating crunchy foods particularly in the morning, but figure it will be worth it if it restores my health.

I’m definitely never getting laid again.

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By Graham Stoney, ago

Gum Disease (Oh, Gross!)

As I mentioned in my last post, the treatment I’ve chosen for my Sleep Apnea is a combination of didgeridoo playing, vocal training and a Mandibular Advancement Device (MAD). However the treatment plan has been delayed somewhat because the dentist I attended to get the MAD fitted identified that I had gum disease.

It’s not sensible to use an MAD if you have gum disease because it relies on a stable foundation of teeth in order to hold the bottom jaw forward. But besides that, gum disease alone turns out to be really bad for your health. I used to think that because I brush my teeth every day and don’t have any cavities at age 50, my dental maintenance approach of avoiding dentists altogether was working.

Turns out I was dead wrong, and without intervention my teeth were likely to start falling out early. (more…)

By Graham Stoney, ago

Update On Sleep Apnea

It’s about 3 months since I was diagnosed with severe obstructive sleep apnea, after spending a sleepless night in hospital wired up to a monitoring machine doing a sleep study. Since that time I’ve been trialing a Continuous Positive Air Pressure Machine, which is the front-line treatment for sleep apnea.

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By Graham Stoney, ago

I Have Severe Obstructive Sleep Apnea

I haven’t posted in a while as I’ve been doing Dan Neuffer’s ANS Rewire program and decided to focus on just doing that rather than providing updates on my progress. He even suggests not blogging about the illness as part of the program and I’ve been following his advice.

However, something significant happened part-way through the program: I did a sleep study in hospital during November last year and the results showed that I have severe obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). The sleep specialist believes this would explain why I’m tired all the time.

I had put off doing a comprehensive sleep study because an overnight sleep oximetry test I did at home shortly after falling ill over 10 years ago showed no abnormality in my blood oxygen level. The test involved sleeping with a machine which measures blood oxygen via a sensor clipped on my finger. In someone with sleep apnea, you would normally expect their blood oxygen level to dip significantly each time they experience a blocking of their airway, called an apnea. In my case the result was sufficiently normal that my doctor at the time didn’t recommend any further action.

I’m also not in a high risk group for sleep apnea since I’m not overweight, I don’t drink and don’t smoke. However I have noticed that when I lie on my back I wake up choking, and a partner recently noticed that I wake up in the middle of the night wheezing. On this basis, the sleep specialist I saw in November suggested doing a full sleep study. (more…)

By Graham Stoney, ago