Abandoned CPAPs are Killers!

Sound Scary? Keep Reading…

I couldn’t tolerate CPAP, but then I found this!

I love sleep. Lots of it. But it’s been a hard thing to come by these days.

Just over a year ago I was feeling tired, fatigued, and just out of energy. I was eventually diagnosed with moderate Obstructive Sleep Apnea, which, in layman’s terms, means I stop breathing when I sleep! Who’d have thought!? Well, maybe my spouse… you know, the one throwing the elbows while I snore?

Anyway. After I was diagnosed with sleep apnea, my doctor said I needed to start using this CPAP machine (continuous positive airway pressure). I had heard of CPAP from some friends, some who loved it, others who would throw it against the wall at night. Needless to say, I was a little skeptical about how well it would work for me. But I knew I needed to do something about it.

So I got the machine.

I used the CPAP for just over three months and, well…

• The mask leaked.
• I couldn’t find a mask that fit properly.
• Having something strapped to my head was uncomfortable.
• The machine wasn’t that loud, but the sound kept my spouse up at night.
• Have you ever tried rolling around with tubes attached to your head? Not fun.
• Some nights it felt like the treatment was worse than my disease!
• Claustrophobia is the fear of tight spaces. Is there a word for the fear of CPAP?
• I would take off the CPAP in my sleep. Even my subconscious didn’t want to wear it!
• Being inflated and deflated like a balloon is uncomfortable.
• The mask, headgear, and chin strap were giving me jaw and tooth pain.

Does any of this sound familiar?

I must have tried everything! Different masks, different pressures, different sleeping positions. Nothing helped. I wish I was like my friends and others who wouldn’t think of going a night without their CPAP but…

I. COULDN’T. TOLERATE IT. So I stopped using it. And that didn’t make my spouse very happy… or my doctor.

I knew that I needed to do something for my sleep apnea, but I also knew that CPAP wasn’t for me. So I started looking for other options. After consulting with my doctor I had a couple different options, but all of the options were surgical. I thought to myself, “Are these really my options? CPAP or surgery?” Luckily I found something better.

A friend of mine reached out to me and mentioned that they were also diagnosed with sleep apnea 3 years ago and that they were doing something to treat their sleep apnea without CPAP or surgery. I was put in contact with The Center for Sleep Apnea and TMJ in Taylorsville Utah. There I was informed that there’s an easier way to treat sleep apnea — Oral Appliance Therapy. And the cool thing was it was covered by my medical insurance!

Does this sound familiar? The above story and many more like it are what we hear from our patients every day.

Sleep Apnea and snoring are serious conditions, not only for the person suffering with them but for their bed partner as well (what we like to call “second hand sleep apnea”). If you’ve been diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea and have not been able to tolerate CPAP, an oral appliance might be right for you! Give us a call today to set up a consultation at the only dental practice in Utah accredited by the American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine (www.AADSM.org), and see if oral appliance therapy is right for you!