When I wrote the first blog on Sleep Apnea, I was not intending for this much time to pass until the second, actually third. A short one about nasal mask liners was the second. I am a confirmed CPAP user, but I want to explore the area of oral appliances.
Yes, people do use oral appliances for sleep apnea. Oral appliances for sleep apnea have now existed for about 16 years. At one time oral appliances were only for mild to moderate sleep apnea. Now even severe obstructive sleep apnea can be handled by some dentists. Not all dentists are trained for treating sleep apnea, or I should say trained in sleep medicine.
Also be careful of dentists, and doctors, as well, that prescribe sleep apnea equipment without a sleep study. A sleep study tells the doctor or dentist the severity of your sleep apnea so that it can be properly treated. There are some of each on the internet where I would seriously wonder about their ethics. Some do have you do the home sleep study which is now accepted by most insurance companies.
For a discussion about oral appliances, read this. Oral appliances work very effectively for many sleep apnea patients. If you are interested, use the following link to find a qualified dentist, or try this link.
You will need to investigate oral appliances and talk to a qualified dentist as I have no experience other than having communicated with the dentist about two hours distant from me. She is very experienced and it was her advertising on the radio station I listen to, that woke me up to know that there were dental appliances for treatment of sleep apnea.
Oral appliances and oral appliance therapy is helpful for those that snore and have mild obstructive sleep apnea and do not respond to behavioral modifications such as weight loss or sleep-position changes. It is helpful for those with moderate to severe OSA who can not or will not tolerate nasal CPAP and those who are not open to tonsillectomy, adenoidectomy or other medical procedures.
Please research carefully any medical procedure as often they can make the condition worse and not solve the problem.
Currently there are about 70 different oral appliances available. They are classified into two main categories of oral appliances. The first is tongue retraining appliances and works by holding the tongue in a forward position by means of a suction bulb. This prevents the tongue from relaxing or collapsing during sleep and obstruction the airway in the throat.
The second category is the mandibular retraining appliances which reposition and maintain the lower jaw in a protruded position during sleep. This also opens the airway by indirectly pulling the tongue forward and stimulating activity of the muscles in the tongue and making it more rigid. It aids by holding the lower jaw and other mouth parts in a stable position to prevent the mouth from opening.
Dentists with training in oral appliance therapy and sleep medicine are familiar with the various designs of appliances. They can determine which oral appliance is best suited for your needs and will work with and consult your doctor as part of a medical team in your diagnosis, treatment and continued care.
The initial evaluation can several weeks or months to determine the most effective oral appliance, the fitting, adaptation of the appliance and function of the appliance. Continued care will include short and long-term follow-up to assess the effectiveness of the treatment, the condition of your appliance, how you are adapting to the appliance, and check the comfort of the appliance.
Oral appliance are generally comfortable and easy to use. Many find that in a couple of weeks they have become accustom to using it. Oral appliances are small and easy to carry when traveling.
Please check out these sites: Site 1, Site 2, and Site 3.
There will be more blogs about sleep apnea.
September 30, 2010
September 27, 2010
Natural treatments for diabetes. (Not a cure) Part 4
Because of some of the problems and people that won't read labels or follow their doctors directions, I feel that the following is in order for all natural remedies.
The following information is for your reading and is not a cure. I am not endorsing any of these herbs, supplements, or natural remedies.
This is important!!! WARNING If you are taking supplements or anything that is not prescribed by the doctor, please make sure that the doctor is informed. Some of the supplements when taken with oral medications and/or insulin can cause hypoglycemia or have toxic results, even cause death.
This is important enough to tell you to maintain a Supplement Diary of every herb, vitamin, and supplement you are taking and give a copy to your doctor. I am aware that many people do not feel this is important, but the consequences for persons with diabetes can have severe medical implications.
This discussion is about natural treatments known as Naturopathy. This is a system of healing (not curing) in which diseases are assisted by natural remedies. I am not sure I agree with their reasoning, but I do find it interesting. I find their claims not backed by science, however, while they do claim a multitude of healing, some may have short-term benefits and very little is likely to cause serious harm, except make your wallet lighter.
Then they start to make some sense when they say that the various type of natural methods – normally the natural method aims at educating people about adopting the type of lifestyle which promotes good health.
First is treatment based on nutrition and diet in which the dietitian decides a menu for healthy diet for diabetic patients. You may read about this here.
The next discussion is about hydrotherapy. This I can understand and agree that there can be some very real benefits for type 2 diabetes. Just the relaxation can reduce stress since it is done in hot tubs of various sizes and shapes.
Then they cover detoxification. Short periods of fasting, controlled diets, and supplements to help the body rid itself of toxic substances. This is then followed by methods to control and reduce stress.
The next item of natural treatment takes some gumption. I am not sure that I can handle mud therapy. Read about it yourself down the page on the first link above.
Massage is something that I have had done to me by my wife, and it is very relaxing, reducing stress and relaxing muscles. Here there may be some short-term benefits when the person giving the massage can do the many types of massage. The deeper manual techniques can really assist in helping the body relax.
Herbal medicines has been around for years and have some minor benefits. I also have my doubts about chromotherapy. I know people believe in color therapy and the use of certain colors for enticing people to eat and for other functions, but I still have my doubts.
There are many other web sites selling home remedies which doubtfully will not do anything other than make your wallet lighter or drain your bank account.
While some of the home concoctions do contain some of the herbs and spices in the first two blogs (Part 1 & 2), they are not FDA approved and manufactured in often less than ideal or sanitary conditions and with little or no quality control.
There are many more articles, blogs, and snake oil advertisements, but these are basically repeats of the information I have given you. Most do not warn of the side effects or medication conflicts that can occur. Most do not encourage or even advise you to talk to your doctor before taking. Those I would advise strongly against using.
This will be the final in this series for now. Part 4 of 4.
The following information is for your reading and is not a cure. I am not endorsing any of these herbs, supplements, or natural remedies.
This is important!!! WARNING If you are taking supplements or anything that is not prescribed by the doctor, please make sure that the doctor is informed. Some of the supplements when taken with oral medications and/or insulin can cause hypoglycemia or have toxic results, even cause death.
This is important enough to tell you to maintain a Supplement Diary of every herb, vitamin, and supplement you are taking and give a copy to your doctor. I am aware that many people do not feel this is important, but the consequences for persons with diabetes can have severe medical implications.
This discussion is about natural treatments known as Naturopathy. This is a system of healing (not curing) in which diseases are assisted by natural remedies. I am not sure I agree with their reasoning, but I do find it interesting. I find their claims not backed by science, however, while they do claim a multitude of healing, some may have short-term benefits and very little is likely to cause serious harm, except make your wallet lighter.
Then they start to make some sense when they say that the various type of natural methods – normally the natural method aims at educating people about adopting the type of lifestyle which promotes good health.
First is treatment based on nutrition and diet in which the dietitian decides a menu for healthy diet for diabetic patients. You may read about this here.
The next discussion is about hydrotherapy. This I can understand and agree that there can be some very real benefits for type 2 diabetes. Just the relaxation can reduce stress since it is done in hot tubs of various sizes and shapes.
Then they cover detoxification. Short periods of fasting, controlled diets, and supplements to help the body rid itself of toxic substances. This is then followed by methods to control and reduce stress.
The next item of natural treatment takes some gumption. I am not sure that I can handle mud therapy. Read about it yourself down the page on the first link above.
Massage is something that I have had done to me by my wife, and it is very relaxing, reducing stress and relaxing muscles. Here there may be some short-term benefits when the person giving the massage can do the many types of massage. The deeper manual techniques can really assist in helping the body relax.
Herbal medicines has been around for years and have some minor benefits. I also have my doubts about chromotherapy. I know people believe in color therapy and the use of certain colors for enticing people to eat and for other functions, but I still have my doubts.
There are many other web sites selling home remedies which doubtfully will not do anything other than make your wallet lighter or drain your bank account.
While some of the home concoctions do contain some of the herbs and spices in the first two blogs (Part 1 & 2), they are not FDA approved and manufactured in often less than ideal or sanitary conditions and with little or no quality control.
There are many more articles, blogs, and snake oil advertisements, but these are basically repeats of the information I have given you. Most do not warn of the side effects or medication conflicts that can occur. Most do not encourage or even advise you to talk to your doctor before taking. Those I would advise strongly against using.
This will be the final in this series for now. Part 4 of 4.
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