Anyone use a sleep apnea mouthpiece?

[Stringstalker]

I have a mouth piece. It was $6,000 and insurance didn't help much. It does seem to help with me sleeping. Want pictures, of the device, I can share them. Had elastics on both sides

 

[Old Rooster]

I have been using a cpap machine since 2004 and can't sleep without it.
People many people die every day from sleep apnea.Here is an article that gives a figure:

How Many People Die From Sleep Apnea? | Sleep Apnea Control

sleepapneacontrol.com

 

[Coyote Shadow Tracker]

I have had sleep Apnea since being in the Corps (50 years ago). Guys used to throw their boots at me in the squad bay to get me up because I snored so loud.
Back in 98 I had several operations in my nose and throat. They never worked. Could not use the CPAC because it was so loud. Several years ago from gaining a lot of weight due to my neck injury I went back on the CPAC. Only problem is that I sleep for a few hours taking Ambien and then pull the mask off while sleeping. Can't put it back on and go to sleep.
Wish there was a better option because I know that it is a big health issue.

 

[Old Rooster]

Len I hope you are off Ambien.I used it too and was told more people die from Ambien than world war 1 and 2 combined.
Read this study.

https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2012/02/27/study-popular-sleeping-pill-ambien-linked-to-increased-death-rate

 

[Jamun69]

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.

I'm glad this device seems to be working for you and your hunting partners. But….. I have worked in the field of sleep medicine for nearly 30 years and have seen oral appliances work to reduce apnea, and I've seen it make apnea worse based on the anatomy of the user and type of apnea. It is best to have an oral appliance made by a trained professional and have a simple home test to validate efficacy.

 

[Coyote Shadow Tracker]

Len I hope you are off Ambien.I used it too and was told more people die from Ambien than world war 1 and 2 combined.
Read this study.

https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2012/02/27/study-popular-sleeping-pill-ambien-linked-to-increased-death-rate

OMG
Jill has been on it for so long that she can't sleep with out.
I started using because I could not fall asleep with the CPAC on. I thank you for this info!

 

[Wanashoot]

Ok have not read all the entries so this might have already been covered. I use a c pap and either take a trolling motor battery and a 350 watt inverter with me if I camp at the bottom of the mountain and can either charge off of truck or solar panels. I have also taken 100 ft extension cord and connected inverter to the truck battery and ran cord to tent and never had a problem, I just start truck every two or three days. I also have 100 watt solar panels from Harbor freight that I use to keep battery charged if not using truck. If I pack in I take two lead acid sealed batteries for electric wheel chair. I can get at least three nights out of a battery and they only weight 21 lbs each. I roll them in a blanket and put one on each side of the horse. The batteries are only about $50 each on amazon. I turn the heater off on c pap or it will eat a battery in about 6 hours. I used these on my last hunt and stayed on mountain for 5 days. I know it would be a pain if we did not have horses I would probably have to stay in main camp. This also keeps the wife from spending a lot of money while I am gone since her chair is inop until I put the batteries back.

 

[Trangieboy]

I stumbled across this and have been taping my mouth ever since. I don't cut any holes in the tape. Just breathe through my nose. Soooo much better than the annoying cpap.
Works for me. Lots about it on utube and google.
Oh,and I always wear disposable ear plugs when I'm sleeping. Helps let my brain switch off.
Mal

 

[Wanashoot]

My bad. Ment electric scooter not wheelchair batteries.

 

[SEGARE]

My bad. Ment electric scooter not wheelchair batteries.

Glad you cleared that up, I was thinking you were pretty ruthless.

 

[WYO300RUM]

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.

 

[Coyote Shadow Tracker]

Len I hope you are off Ambien.I used it too and was told more people die from Ambien than world war 1 and 2 combined.
Read this study.

https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2012/02/27/study-popular-sleeping-pill-ambien-linked-to-increased-death-rate

Thanks

 

[WYO300RUM]

Yes, stop smoking. How? Stop putting them in you mouth.
Reformed smoker who likes to annoy people.

I know, I know.

@ DJ Morrison.
She says I snore on my back. Pre CPAP.

I think I have always been restless,tossing and turning.

I still try lay on my side, back, stomach.

I use a nasal pillow mask. It works for me.

I twist my pillow up in my sleep. I kill one a year.

I think the machine helps, if nothing else the numbers are better. Apneas below 5 generally below 3 and they say that's good.

Drink is not my friend, if I enjoy a few the numbers rise and I wake after about 4 hrs. I blame the sugar from drinks.

I reckon I could do well if I lost 30lb, I'm not big but I'm conscious of my weight and it's affect on snoring.

On that note I walked my dog today, been a while.

I can relate to a lot of what you said.

 

[comfisherman]

Mine was way up when I first got it, was a nightmare. Dr let's me adjust settings to manage my own numbers and I've dialed it in to almost perfect numbers and not pumping me up like a dad gummed puffer fish. Still messing with humidity (missed last night) but that finesse will come with time.

Buddy is giving me his goal zero power supply to test, he wants to see how it does in actually solving a situation. Gonna put it outside on the porch and run a cord through a taped window and see how long it pushes it.