Wednesday 22 February 2012

Me Not Healthy: Always Tired (Part 5)

Does anyone still remember this ongoing arc of mine? I've lost and gained a lot of followers since the last post so for those of you who are just joining here's a link to Part 1 for my story on dealing with sleep apnea.

And for those who just need a refresher, I've finally been able to see that doctor, months after the appointment was booked.

Damn those long wait times.

The guy was apparently really high in demand. I'm not sure if there was a scheduling issue or if the last patient was taking too long but I sat there for about an hour until he finally showed up.

But no matter, I still got to see the guy and he takes a look around. He suggests that maybe I get the special mouth guard that the other specialist mentioned. A lot of people do not have the correct jaw structure for it but I was one of the few lucky candidate so yay for me?

Awesome.

And then I see what the mouth guard will look like. And, it's kind of bizarre. I can't remember the exact name so use your imagination here. Basically, it's two mouthpieces (one for the top and bottom) and on the top there's like a hook that fits into a slot in the bottom mouthpiece.

The purpose of this is to keep my jaw from falling onto my windpipe (and thus causing me to choke, gasp for air, briefly wake-up, ruin my sleep, etc. etc.) and also prevents me from grinding my teeth together because well, now they can't even touch.

And if your imagination (or my description) sucks, here's a picture.

So we'll see how this goes. I'm going for the fitting in a few weeks so expect hopefully a conclusion to my sleeping problems.

Link to Part 6 here.

69 comments:

  1. hope it works for you derp..

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  2. I did remember this series and was wondering how things were going. I hope the mouth guard goes well, and here's hoping it doesn't come off in the night.

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  3. Good luck - I can't imagine not being able to sleep!

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  4. That's some piece of kit, Hannibal Lecter would think twice.....good luck though.

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  5. good luck with the mouthguard. I used to wear one for a while (to see if it helped with migraine) but I hated the way the mouthguard trapped saliva inside it

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  6. blimey, good luck with that. I find that drinking heavily helps me sleep ;)

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  7. Sounds like a pretty annoying thing to have, but good luck!

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  8. Congrats on being one of the few lucky ones that this mouthguard will work on. Hopefully it does work for you and you're able to get a full nights sleep and not feel so exhausted!

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  9. i cant imagine your condition. hope it helps, this mouthguard.

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  10. Hopefully this works and ends your sleeping woes.

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  11. oh, my, Demian, that sound scary :(

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  12. I remember reading this and being able to empathise a lot with what you're going through so at least there's a couple of people now mate. I had a special mouth guard a while back for my bruxism (teeth grinding), and it ended up being almost completely useless because of how poorly shaped it was so be careful of that during the fitting buddy.

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  13. good luck that thing doesn't look too comfortable

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  14. I don't like being tired too!

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  15. Sounds like a decent enough solution. Hope it works out and it won't cause any other problems, or have more show up one way or another.

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  16. I hope it works!! Good luck!! My daddy has sleep apnea. He sleeps with some face mask and a breathing machine. He says that he never slept better than when he started using that machine.

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  17. Take care of yourself, health is #1 on the list of importance

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  18. Good luck with this...sounds interesting? I hope it helps.

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  19. lol vic toews isnt my mp, hes that douche thats been on tv and all tat shit last few weeks. as for your health, eat veggies and fruits. serial.

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  20. Love the skeleton pic, hate waiting rooms for docs. Glad you will get to give this a try!

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  21. Dude, I had like 2 cases of sleep apnea (at least I think they were) and I vomited once on my sheets. Those were when I was a kid, so I thought someone was trying to choke me when I was asleep. Scary thought huh?

    At least you're getting treatment for it. All I got were nightmares and reassurances. T_T

    Good luck buddy!

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  22. Yeah. Bizarre is a good word for it. Uhm.. Hope it works!

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  23. Wow. I think I would panic if I had my mouth screwed shut. Because, basically, that's what this sounds like! Hope it helps...and that you don't panic.

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  24. I remember the other posts! Hope this works for you! Good luck!

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  25. Oh no! I am sorry to hear that you had to wait so long for the appointment. I hope you'll be able to find a resolution soon!

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  26. I actually know that feeling. :/

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  27. Hello! Take care of You! I hope everything will OK!

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  28. I do remember this. I hope everything goes well.

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  29. That looks hellish. However, at least you don't have to wear the gas mask, right? Or do you? I haven't read the first part.

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  30. I shadowed a dentist for a summer and he used to recommend the mouthguard for people with jaw pain/headaches and teeth grinding. The results are usually pretty mixed at best. Never really heard of it for use with sleep apnea though. I thought the norm there was a CPAP machine.

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  31. Sleep is very important. I have heard of the mouth guard but I have not come across any one who has used it. I would like to know how they work, not that I need one, but to know. I hope that they are doing what is best for you and not for the money.

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  32. i hope that works for you :) i seem to have a problem grinding my teeth during the night because i wake up with jaw pain

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  33. My Lord that mouth guard looks fun :/ hope it works though!

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  34. I hope the mouth guard works out

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  35. Sometimes just relaxing for a day makes everything better

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  36. Man, I don't know. You talk doctors and show me a picture of a thumb pointing up. My butt cheeks just clench right the frik up.

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  37. Oh, good luck with this! I'd take this route over the breathing mask any day. For one thing, I've already got the bottom teeth guard because I started grinding my teeth about ten years ago rather than tell my bosses off. I miss the guard if I forget to put it on. My jaw starts aching before I fall asleep without it. Also (in relation to the post of mine that you just read) guess who's claustrophobic? Yeah. I don't think I COULD sleep with a mask on, which defeats the purpose. LOL I hope this solves the problem for you!

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  38. wow, hope that the kit works for you

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  39. I just got better from being ill...

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  40. I have a friend who has to use one of those breathing machines every night. It makes a lot of noise, but he never really sleeps without it.

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  41. I hope it works out for you

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  42. Yeah, good luck. That mouth thing does look pretty crazy.

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  43. I dunno what to tell you exactly..drink milk and then sleep? haha

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  44. Never really knew about this condition, know whats its to have trouble sleeping though.

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  45. Ah I hope that helps, not being able to sleep doesn't sound fun at all :( Good luck

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  46. Best of Luck!!

    Take care

    Sam..

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  47. It's been a long while since you blogged about this issue (feels like half a year or something) so I thought that your problem's fixed. I hope it works this time. Can't they operate on your jaw so it wouldn't choke you or is that option too expensive?

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  48. good luck
    hope it will solve all your problems

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  49. Not to be indelicate, but make sure to remove said guard prior to pursuing any romantic activities. In fact, if you suspect anything might commence, just forgo it for the night. It's a tad offputting to have to stop and deal with it.

    Sadly, I speak from experience.

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  50. my dentist told me to bite my tounge a lot, coz i grind my teeth and its bad for me :L

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  51. I hope you get everything sorted soon, sleep apnea can be horrible. And I'll try and send some sunshine your way :P xxx

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  52. For sale mouth guard at ebay.com lol

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  53. that mouth guard looks pretty gnarly. Hopefully you'll get back to normal sleep patters also.

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  54. That looks really uncomfortable.

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  55. keep us posted! I want to hear if the mouth guard works :) i bet it will make a big difference in your amount of energy

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  56. Yikes. It doesn't really look friendly, I guess. But I do hope it helps.

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  57. Hope this is the answer to your sleep troubles! Glad you finally got your appointment~

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  58. I always seem to have insane wait periods inside the doctor's office. Last time I sat in there for two hours before the nurse even called me back in.

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  59. Get well soon buddy, if this makes you feel better; I love your blog.

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  60. Just take some Dinosaur vitamins!

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  61. I hope you can stay asleep. i hate sleep issues

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  62. I have a mouthguard just for the bottom to stop me grinding my teeth. It took quire some getting used to and with the top guard as well no doubt it'll take longer for you. Bear with it, it will help in the end :)

    Laura x
    http://firstclassramblings.blogspot.com

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