Anyone use a sleep apnea mouthpiece?

[Full time hunter]

I've been using a custom dentist made mouth piece for 20 years. I used to wake up to pee 3-4 times per night. Little did I know that I awakened because of a huge breath when I would start breathing again. With the mouthpiece I wake up 1 time and almost make it through the night. Which is an accomplishment because I have a very small bladder. My wife sleeps much better also because I'm not waking her with snoring and gasps of breath. I also notice if I get lazy and don't use it my blood pressure goes up to about 160/100. My doctor was very concerned about that. When I use the device my blood pressure is about 125/80. I'm very happy with it, my wife is very happy with it also. It cost about $2000 20 years ago but was worth it. It takes some getting use to but I'm sure it's a lot easier than a c-pap face mask and I can go to the wilds of Alaska, BC, Nunavut and never worry about having power or not.

 

[Full time hunter]

P.s. I've tried the "fits all" versions they sell and it never stays in for me. I wake up with it halfway out my mouth.

 

[338 dude]

I've been using a custom dentist made mouth piece for 20 years. I used to wake up to pee 3-4 times per night. Little did I know that I awakened because of a huge breath when I would start breathing again. With the mouthpiece I wake up 1 time and almost make it through the night. Which is an accomplishment because I have a very small bladder. My wife sleeps much better also because I'm not waking her with snoring and gasps of breath. I also notice if I get lazy and don't use it my blood pressure goes up to about 160/100. My doctor was very concerned about that. When I use the device my blood pressure is about 125/80. I'm very happy with it, my wife is very happy with it also. It cost about $2000 20 years ago but was worth it. It takes some getting use to but I'm sure it's a lot easier than a c-pap face mask and I can go to the wilds of Alaska, BC, Nunavut and never worry about having power or not.

My Dentist quoted me about 500 nowadays and I get up anywhere from 3 to 5 times a night I understand exactly what you're dealing with hopefully I will have good results as well

 

[Tulsa Reiner]

For several years I have worn a "night time dental mouth guard" made by BRIGHT GUARD (Amazon) that works quite well. It stopped my nightly snoring and allowed me to get much better sleep. The moulding of the guard is the tricky part as it is a challenge to learn to do it properly. Three of us in elk camp wear them in camp. Highly recommend, seems almost any brand will do but the BRIGHT GUARD has large breathing slots.

It also is easy to breathe thru the upper and lower plates of the PureSleep mouth guard.

 

[kiwi49]

I have used a CPAP machine since 2008. Prior to that, snored so loudly any time, the snoring kept the rest of the house - dogs included - awake. After a near Miss driving an 800,000lb mining truck, was tested and found to be an obstructive sleep apnoea sufferer. I ride a motorcycle as well as hunt at the time, so a portable machine was necessary (every trophy animal in the vicinity of camp would've moved countries). A self contained unit with separate battery, no humidifier and a charging unit in series with the mini-CPAP machine works great when motelling, and the battery lasts 3 days when camping.

 

[FEENIX]

I've been using a custom dentist made mouth piece for 20 years. I used to wake up to pee 3-4 times per night. Little did I know that I awakened because of a huge breath when I would start breathing again. With the mouthpiece I wake up 1 time and almost make it through the night. Which is an accomplishment because I have a very small bladder. My wife sleeps much better also because I'm not waking her with snoring and gasps of breath. I also notice if I get lazy and don't use it my blood pressure goes up to about 160/100. My doctor was very concerned about that. When I use the device my blood pressure is about 125/80. I'm very happy with it, my wife is very happy with it also. It cost about $2000 20 years ago but was worth it. It takes some getting use to but I'm sure it's a lot easier than a c-pap face mask and I can go to the wilds of Alaska, BC, Nunavut and never worry about having power or not.

IIRC, my insurance paid in the neighborhood of $2500.

 

[18whlsrolin]

Ok, I know this isnt a question about getting fit, but I use a cpap for sleep apnea and I'm MUCH better off when I use it! Obviously, I cant lug it around when I'm camping and hunting without power. Has anyone here used the mouthpiece type devices for their apnea? Any feedback, good or otherwise? Any help is greatly appreciated! Thanks!

I have a mouth piece that was $28 on Amazon and works pretty good. It's called intelliguard pro 2.0. Follow instructions for hot water molding. It has settings between upper and lower pieces so that you can adjust it to pull your jaw forward just enough while still comfortable. Stops teeth grinding as a bonus for a low price

 

[SEGARE]

My wife has sleep apnea. She couldn't use the machines as she turns and tosses a good bit at night. She bought one of the DIY mouth guards off of Amazon and it works well for her. I think it be the ticket for a short-term hunt. I'm blessed that about 15 years ago my dental situation required some very significant jaw surgery. One of the benefits of having my lower jaw realigned was that it was pushed forward. I had been a hard snorer prior to that, but I seldom if ever snore now.

 

[Tulsa Reiner]

I saw my dentist started doing custom mouthpieces for sleep apnea I am definitely going to follow up on this Although this is not a thread I normally see on the hunting or firearm forums but I'm glad I ran into this today the little nudge I needed to get back in the game

Bill, inquire re the price. The ones you order via Amazon work very well, and are ridiculously inexpensive.
(eg PureSleep.com, as referenced above by me and others.)

 

[DJ Morrison]

In regards to a mandibular advancement prosthesis, It can work wonders if it does not bother your tmj joint. There are a lot of different appliances out there. The key is to know what type of sleep apnea you have and what is the limiting factors to your airway. When using an advancement appliance, a lot of people are able to turn down the pressures of their cpap machine which makes them more compliant to wear their mask a full 8 hours of sleep. In the back country along with advancement, another trick that may help is to apply 3m micropore tape accross the mouth to keep breathing thru the nose. This does 2 things: 1 keeps snoring down and 2 keeps you breathing thru your nose which helps to produce nitric oxide which tends to keep us in a deeper sleep and allows us to feel more refreshed in the morning. By being able to turn down pressures of your machine, it will draw less current out of a battery, thus making the battery last longer...just my .02...

 

[AJPERALTA]

I've worked in respiratory for 9 years and this question of camping with a Cpap comes up a lot. Some of the best options came out in the last few years with small travel cpaps that don't use a humidifier. Heating the water uses a lot of electricity so by using a closed system with a special filter allows your own respiration humidity to maintain a tolerable level of humidity and saves electricity/battery time. Here's a good option on the market that utilizes this system. Lots of good, lightweight battery options on the market to go with this.

AirMini portable CPAP

AirMini is a small portable CPAP machine from ResMed that provides quality sleep apnea treatment for travel or home use.

www.resmed.com

Second, I'm not a huge fan of the mouth guards. There is not a ton of data and reputable studies that prove the efficacy of them. The fact that they are prescribed by dentists and not a sleep doctor or Pulmonologist says something. There's rarely (Polysomnogram) testing for these mouth guards that proves any diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea, or any testing post fitting that proves an improvement in a reduction of apneas. Another big indicator that this is not a fix for the problem is that I don't believe your insurance can be billed for these mouth guards, so most pay out of pocket for this treatment.
Talk to a primary doctor if a person feels as though they've got any symptoms of sleep disordered breathing. (Morning headaches, hypertension, chronic fatigue, a-fibrilation, and a host of others, and also snoring being a relatively small part of the picture)

However, in personal experience in duck camp a few years ago my buddy forgot his snoring mouth guard. The entire shack could feel his snores in the floor boards. Next night there was absolutely no snoring with his guard in. (Less booze the second night was a big factor to lol).
If the goal is long term health improvements and better sleep, look into a CPAP. If your goal is respecting your camp buddies, or getting byWithout electricity a few days, a mouth guard might be a nice option.

Does the portable CPAP store data like my home unit. I am required for my CDL to meet a percentage that can be tracked by our health services at work. They are strict. If I'm going to hunt or camp with no power I have to be at higher percentage leading up to the hunt so my average doesn't fall below 70%?

 

[Pbgunrunner]

Thanks for the feedback guys, I think I'll buy one of the mouthpieces and give it a try. I'll still use my cpap primarily, but I'll see if that'll get me thru in the short term trips. Thanks!

 

[kiwi49]

Does the portable CPAP store data like my home unit. I am required for my CDL to meet a percentage that can be tracked by our health services at work. They are strict. If I'm going to hunt or camp with no power I have to be at higher percentage leading up to the hunt so my average doesn't fall below 70%?

I use a battery powered portable CPAP machine, when on two/three day motorcycle trips or camping excursions.
It is set up for my level (severe), and duplicates the same settings as the bigger machine at home. I don't use a humidifier, although there are plugin types available. If we break a trip up by staying in a hotel/motel, I charge the battery up as an inline source when connected to mains power. Never let me down yet.

 

[AJPERALTA]

I use a battery powered portable CPAP machine, when on two/three day motorcycle trips or camping excursions.
It is set up for my level (severe), and duplicates the same settings as the bigger machine at home. I don't use a humidifier, although there are plugin types available. If we break a trip up by staying in a hotel/motel, I charge the battery up as an inline source when connected to mains power. Never let me down yet.

I am thinking of getting a portable unit, just seems it would be easier to travel with. Does yours store a sleep report that I could provide to my employer? They have to be able to track my use, which is why a mouth piece or other device doesn't help me. I mean they might help me sleep but me being in compliance at work is what I'm worried about.