Does the $500 version have a money back guarantee?
They have a refund policy but it's pretty conditional (and vague). You can see it here. The clunky version has a trial period as well, so I expect to be out about $20 for giving their product a preliminary look.
Wow those sleep apnea devices look like the idea is to keep your mouth open, keep your jaws spread apart?
That doesn't look comfortable.
Can you please elaborate on this "chip"?
omni
Can you even use CPAP if you almost always sleep on your side?
I toss and turn all night. Back to side. Side to back to other side. I probably turn 20-30 times a night. Can someone use a CPAP that moves around a lot?
I'm not even sure I have sleep apnea. I don't snore that much and I'm rarely sleepy during the day. I've never in my entire life fallen asleep in a chair. But, I do have 19" neck. Used to be 21" before losing some weight. I just can't see myself wearing something hooked up to a hose. I'd probably strangle myself.
I flop around all night. I do best with a hose that comes out of the top of the headgear rather than out of the front. But I don't flop around as much as I used to, and I no longer have to get up several times during the night. I'm not exhausted any more. I stopped breathing 89 an hour and my oxygen levels were dropping as low as 51%. When I heard all that I was motivated to use the machine if I wanted to stay alive. I have no trouble adjusting to it at all. Been using it three years now and doing well with it. If you think you might have apnea, the only way to know is to have a sleep test.I toss and turn all night. Back to side. Side to back to other side. I probably turn 20-30 times a night. Can someone use a CPAP that moves around a lot?
I'm not even sure I have sleep apnea. I don't snore that much and I'm rarely sleepy during the day. I've never in my entire life fallen asleep in a chair. But, I do have 19" neck. Used to be 21" before losing some weight. I just can't see myself wearing something hooked up to a hose. I'd probably strangle myself.
I travel all the time with mine. Just got back from England and Ireland with it. It is surprisingly easy to travel with. The snoring is not my focus in using it, the focus is on preventing the oxygen level drops that cause health issues-stroke and heart disease among them. I was very motivated to use it.I am a female, normal weight, side sleeper and I snore unbelievably loud. I used to use an oral appliance called Silent Night which I got from my dentist. I primarily used it when I was sharing a room for travel, etc. I think it was $400-$500 10 years ago. It worked pretty well but could be a bit uncomfortable. I’m actually in the market for a new one as this one degraded over the years and I will be sharing a room on an upcoming trip. I have no intention of spending thousands of dollars on one. I’m sure the expensive one your dentist recommended is better made than the Silent Night. I did eventually have a sleep study and have mild to moderate sleep apnea but even my doctor was surprised at how loud my snoring is. I have a cpap now and have tried several different masks and comfort accessories but I just can’t get comfortable with the cpap. Plus it’s unrealistic to travel with one. So I have given up on the cpap and just sleep in my own room now. I am hoping to get an over the counter one that will work but have no idea which ones are effective and tolerable.
Anecdotally, in my social circle, nearly al of the men and many of the women use a cpap. Additionally, I've not heard of a single person who's gone through a sleep study and was not subsequently diagnosed as needing a cpap. It's interesting that humans have so quickly evolved to require an apparatus to sleep safely. (I jest.)
I use several type of masks, one similar to the above link which sits below the nose, one that covers the nose only, and a full face mask that sits below the nose but covers both the mouth and the nose. My favorite is the nose one, but it leaves a red mark on the bridge of the nose so after a few days I switch to the one that sits below the nose. During allergies or colds I switch to a full face mask so I can breathe through my nose. Nasal pillows were terrible for me, lasted one night. In concentrates the air too much and was like a hurrican in my nose. I've never had any issues. If people use a nasal mask but open their mouth their are chin straps to prevent that.Does anyone use only a small mask, like the nose mask linked earlier?
As opposed to a full mask that seems to be what most people think of when they think of CPAP?
OK read up on it, guess there are nasal pillows, nasal masks and full face masks.
Complications are dry mouth or nose bleeds depending on type of mask and type of breathers.
Do you have to have forced air or can some people get by with a device to mostly prevent obstruction of airways?
Interesting website. Very carefully worded not to make any claims about actually treating sleep apnea.
One of the most difficult things about sleep apnea is that the person who has it usually doesn’t know. Because we are in deep sleep when it happens. That’s why sleep tests are used. My question is how will you know if it is working to prevent apneas? Cpap machines monitor breathing and generate detailed reports to prove whether they are working or not. Obviously this is not possible with a mouthpiece.
Sleep testing with the device would probably be the gold standard. A much weaker diagnostic tool might be a wearable pulse oximeter that you wear like a bracelet (Amazon) and it looks for the tell tale signs of oxygen desaturation caused by sleep apnea. Of course you would have to know what to look for in the reports generated. And weakest of all, but cheapest, is to ask whomever you are sleeping with. And results would then depend upon how well they sleep.
Glad yours was comfortable.
DH should be getting his mouthpiece from the dental specialist office soon. Once he has it, they will schedule another sleep study to see how effective it is for him.
We are hoping it works well. He has very high apnea spells but just can't tolerate the mask any more. He has tried several types over the years.
I have a follow-up appointment with the sleep lab where I had my original testing. At that time I will request another home test. I should be accustomed to wearing the mouthguard by then.
Let us know how it works out.