WindOnHisNose
BENEFACTOR
Lino Lakes MN (MY18)
OK, I spoke at the International Federation of Natural Resource Pilots annual meeting on how to become an old pilot...concentrating on things we can do to keep our health good. Spent a considerable amount of time reviewing the issue of sleep apnea and sleep deprivation.
For those of you who snore vigorously (geez, I know this hits home with most of those who camped out at New Holstein this summer), you most likely have a form of partial airway obstruction, which in turn is associated with sleep apnea.
The FAA doesn't like this as a diagnosis, since it is associated with sudden death, so you don't really want to list this on your medical application form! This puts those of us who MIGHT have it at a distinct disadvantage, since the methods of treating it include surgery (a pretty danged painful one at that) or a CPAP machine...both of which require a physician's order...which in turn should be reported to the FAA on the form. Pretty much a catch 22!
So, I happened to get my hands on a CPAP machine a couple years ago, and it makes me sleep much better, makes me feel well-rested, but the price is that you have to have this danged mask on, with it's attendant hose, so you have to sleep on your back, or on your side.
I ran across a dentist friend of mine who told me about a mouth "appliance" that you can be fit for that essentially moves your lower jaw forward, substantially eliminating snoring and it's accompanying sleep apnea! Problem....you have to go to a dentist who does this sort of fitting, and it isn't cheap...plus, it goes into your medical/dental record.
I am watching TV a couple weeks ago, and saw this ad for Puresleep.com, a product which looks pretty much identical to the appliance the dentist fits you for. It is $60, so I ordered one (and a second backup one for $35, to be used for travel...or to give to one's brother, who also definitely has sleep apnea). It came, and resembles those mouthguards we used to use for football....submerge in boiling H2O for a minute, remove momentarily, then put into your mouth (jaw a bit forward) and bite down.
I have used it for 5 days (as has my brother down on the farm in KS), and it is absolutely terrific! Snoring is gone, I wake up refreshed, feeling well-rested! No blasted CPAP machine!
I am recommending it to my patients who suffer from this, and thought it might be a good thing for you folks. Heck, it will quiet down New Holstein a great bit! ...and help make you all live to be old pilots!
for what it's worth.
Randy
For those of you who snore vigorously (geez, I know this hits home with most of those who camped out at New Holstein this summer), you most likely have a form of partial airway obstruction, which in turn is associated with sleep apnea.
The FAA doesn't like this as a diagnosis, since it is associated with sudden death, so you don't really want to list this on your medical application form! This puts those of us who MIGHT have it at a distinct disadvantage, since the methods of treating it include surgery (a pretty danged painful one at that) or a CPAP machine...both of which require a physician's order...which in turn should be reported to the FAA on the form. Pretty much a catch 22!
So, I happened to get my hands on a CPAP machine a couple years ago, and it makes me sleep much better, makes me feel well-rested, but the price is that you have to have this danged mask on, with it's attendant hose, so you have to sleep on your back, or on your side.
I ran across a dentist friend of mine who told me about a mouth "appliance" that you can be fit for that essentially moves your lower jaw forward, substantially eliminating snoring and it's accompanying sleep apnea! Problem....you have to go to a dentist who does this sort of fitting, and it isn't cheap...plus, it goes into your medical/dental record.
I am watching TV a couple weeks ago, and saw this ad for Puresleep.com, a product which looks pretty much identical to the appliance the dentist fits you for. It is $60, so I ordered one (and a second backup one for $35, to be used for travel...or to give to one's brother, who also definitely has sleep apnea). It came, and resembles those mouthguards we used to use for football....submerge in boiling H2O for a minute, remove momentarily, then put into your mouth (jaw a bit forward) and bite down.
I have used it for 5 days (as has my brother down on the farm in KS), and it is absolutely terrific! Snoring is gone, I wake up refreshed, feeling well-rested! No blasted CPAP machine!
I am recommending it to my patients who suffer from this, and thought it might be a good thing for you folks. Heck, it will quiet down New Holstein a great bit! ...and help make you all live to be old pilots!
for what it's worth.
Randy