Can't sleep with CPAP? Watch this!

Tips and advice to help you use CPAP from an ENT Sleep Surgeon.

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** Disclaimer - The information in this video is not intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. All content, including text, graphics, images, and information, contained in this video is for general information purposes only and does not replace a consultation with your own doctor/health professional. **

[peggy]

It’s so brilliant that you examine patients when they are asleep because that’s when the actual problem occurs. I wish more sleep docs would do this

[thelevicole]

I know it's your job, but it blows my mind how simply you explained why I have congestion when I use my cpap, and for some reason my sleep doctor doesn't know why. It seems so simple.

[davidbarnes]

I lay down and try to go to sleep and then I wait to the last second and put my mask on before I fall asleep. That is the easiest way for me instead of having it on for an hour or so waiting to fall asleep. Works for me

[usaman]

22 years since first diagnosed with severe sleep apnea here. 4 sleep tests, 3 or 4 sleep doctors, and not one single nights relief since being diagnosed in late 1999! CPAP never helped so its sat in the closet for most of these years. I made it to 60 recently and am very surprised I have. I completely believe that stat about life expectancy being 59-62.

Shame on this industry, at least here in the USA. Bunch of tests, bunch of money, same old story...."Here, wear this and good luck". None can explain the why of it all, none have cared enough to identify the WHERE the obstruction is, and none gives you more than 15 minutes to explain anything. And good luck if you have MIXED apneas with centrals. They seem clueless at that point.

Wish I could find a Dr. like you here in the USA. You'd no doubt save a life. Thanks for your videos.

[NathanielRises]

Using CPAP felt like I was being waterboarded, no variation in settings worked sufficiently. I’ve had a custom MAD made and it has changed my life. I had severe obstructive sleep apnea at over 80 events per hour and I can’t wait to see how much that’s improved. I can’t tell you how awful it was to be functioning on no quality sleep, I felt like I was dying in slow motion, I probably was.

[HotTakeAndy]

One of the few videos on YouTube that’s actually helpful and explains a lot. Thank you!

[Eponim]

This is beyond wonderful. It's like the first person ever understanding that sleep apnoea is causing overweight. Every doctor I visited told me otherwise which frustrated me the most. Families dont get it and blame thei loved ones for being lazy. You should be given a medal or sth.

[Littrell]

I had my sinuses cleaned up, and my uvula, tonsals and adnoids out along with my soft pallet raised. It was a rough recovery but I would do it again in a heartbeat!!! It has been 7 years and I sleep great with no snoring!

[doctorf]

Use CPAP gradually and often for short periods whilst trying to remain awake. Do not aim to sleep if you cannot wear it while pleasantly distracted; that’s never going to happen. Wait until you build comfortable acclimatisation, most patients can get established if they about fighting with it and take things gradually.

[colubrinedeucecreative]

OMG a Apnea Doctor that doesn't blame it on weight and act like if you just ate a little better and worked out a little more. I swear to god. Thank you. I am a wide gentleman. I always have been. A lot of my anatomy is just big. This includes my tounge. One of my problems is and has gotten worse is I move too much in my sleep. I root in my pillow. I kick my legs. I twitch. Last sleep test I had I failed. Why they haven't recommended Inspire is beyond me. Maybe state medication doesn't cover it. Like WTF. This makes so much sense, it is a tried and true technology used for ages on other things. I am wasting away Doc. I will write them.

[diyshorts]

I've been struggling with CPAP for four months. Some nights are okay, some are exhausting. But I'm staying in the fight. This video is so informative, I just want to give you a hug. Thank you Dr. Veer

[marthamontgomery]

You really have a lovely delivery of fairly complicated information. Thanks for all these videos - no info videos on the cpap life come close to your content - thank you

[mvabdyke]

I was diagnosed with mild-moderate sleep apnea 4 years ago. I had honestly tried to use the prescribed CPAP nightly … but I felt smothered and no matter how much I tried I inevitably woke up having pulled the mask off. My Veteran’s Affairs ENT said my sinuses were fine and mentioned that there is a non-CPAP and non-Surgical option - given my mild-moderate diagnosis: ie., she called it an “oral appliance” which required a specialty dentist who oversees the custom creation and fitting of the appliance.

I was referred to a V.A. dentist who specialized in the creation of a custom oral appliances. It required an initial visit to make a mold of my upper and lower teeth. The molds were sent to a lab which created the device to be worn during sleep. When the custom oral appliance was ready I returned to that dentist to check the fit and receive instructions on how to use it. The device has two parts which looked like “bite guards” which fit very snuggly over all of my upper teeth and the other fit snuggly over all of my lower teeth. Additionally, there were two bands which connected the upper “bite guard” part to the lower “bite guard” part. The bands are a certain length (I started at 27 mm I think) and together they restrict how far I can open my mouth. At the same time the two bands pulled my lower jaw forward just a tiny bit. It was not exactly super comfortable but actually much more tolerable than feeling smothered. Apparently, by preventing my mouth from opening while also advancing my lower jaw forward a bit the appliance prevented my tongue from sliding back toward my throat while asleep … preventing my slack tongue from blocking my airway. The appliance came with 6 additional sets of bands (27 mm, 26.5 mm, 26 mm, 25.5 mm, etc) each shorter set of bands restricted how far my mouth opened while advance my lower jaw a little more. After one month I returned to this dentist and he showed me how to change the original bands (27 mm) to the next shorter band (26.5 mm) . Again, when I wore the appliance that night my jaw was pushed another .5 mm forward which … with a little discomfort again to get used to. FYI, so, the monthly .5 mm advancement of your lower jaw is to allow you to get used to the slight discomfort of the unnatural forward position of your lower jaw.

Luckily, I tolerated the advancements pretty well so that the dentist allowed me to skip the smaller .5 mm adjustments and adjust the full 1 mm each month. Saved me a couple of months time and dental visits. After about 3 months (instead of 6 months) my jaw was advanced to the prescribed distance forward. The dentist ordered a new sleep test for me. Instead of 5 up to 12 AHI hourly events the sleep test logged 1 AHI event. I was blown away at the improvement … I was told I no longer needed the CPAP … only need to wear Sleep Apnea Oral device EVERY night and I’ll need to have another sleep test in another year … during which, the sleep test didn’t log a single AHI event.

No more CPAP-related stress for me. I’m a Navy Veteran with some service-connected injuries which means I have VA medical coverage and have no co-pays so I don’t have any idea what the dental visits or the custom appliance creation costs in everyday civilian $ … however, my brother (travels a lot for business and has to drag his CPAP machine everywhere) and he was interested (& a little jealous of me) in what the costs are and are Apnea Oral appliances covered by insurance … my VA dentist said it was his understanding that if a person is demonstrably unable to comply with CPAP use guidelines … then both private insurance and medicare both recognize and cover the Sleep Apnea Dental Appliance creation and related specialty dentist visits. Don’t know about % of costs covered - I imagine it varies.

One last thing: Again, Sleep Apnea Dental Appliances absolutely require a specializing dentist. The custom fitting is essential for it to work properly - you cannot buy an anti-snore devices on Amazon and expect it to manage your sleeping AHI events like the custom fit device. Between the initial assessment, oral mold fitting and 1st band adjustment (approx 1 month) you should be looking at around 3 - 5 months for appliance band adjustment tweaks. But if like me you can’t tolerate nightly CPAP and want to avoid oral surgery then these custom Apnea Oral appliances are proven to work for people with mild to moderate sleep apnea. I’ll admit that early days of adjusting the bands and having my lower jaw pushed forward was annoying at times … but now - more than a year using it every night - I am used to it … I pop it in before I go to sleep and have great sleep.

BTW, I bought a medical grade pulse-oxygen (with memory) which generates an all night report detailing sleeping O2 levels, pulse rate and logs motion. Using appliance I NEVER have an O2 level a reading below 94 % and all of my nightly O2 averages while wearing the oral appliance are 96% to 99% … usually 97%. Once or twice I have taken the appliance out to have a snack and forgotten to put back in and my pulse-ox ring shows thar my sleeping O2% level without oral appliance drops into the low 90s and have hit as low as 88% O2 when not wearing oral appliance.

[bkjones]

I'm so happy to have found your channel. I want to learn all i can. I just started CPAP and its been really hard to be compliant because the high pressure I'm supposed to have (15-20) makes it especially challenging. Thank you for all the advice and great info. I plan to use it and help myself as much as possible.

[samhennies]

When I first started I caught on pretty quickly. In the last month, I’ve struggled with air leaks in the middle of the night. It’s like my nose can’t take in the air. Your info made sense. Thanks for the inspiring words. I’m going to keep plugging away. Thanks

[madeleine]

I love the way you explain everything in terms we can all understand. It's also great to be given several options as well. I am also having difficulty tolerating CPAP. Never have felt better since using it. I was not overweight prior to being diagnosed but since using it I have gained weight. My health care provider has never sent me to an ENT to be examined for blockage. She also was skeptical about the CPAP causing my weight gain. I wake up congested. I just quit using it. Thank you for such valuable information. Wish I lived near someone like you so I could get the proper treatment.

[lughlilli]

I have been diagnosed with severe sleep apnea after 1 over night test. Next I went to the hospital and within 20 minutes walk out with a cpap machine and a nose mask. Next a phone check up less than a week later - where I said I was really struggling with it. I was asked 'what's your problem' and I said that it makes me panic and I have to take it off. To be told I have to try harder and do what they say. I have had no physical examination or anything to find out what the problem is. I feel the cpap machine is just a cover all - go away and that will solve your problem, but it isn't. They are monitoring me every night and there is all this pressure to do as they say. The way I feel at this moment is I can't do this for the rest of my life - it's just so depressing....

[lawrencefarmer]

Just one day ago I found out or realized I have sleep apnea watched a few videos came across you man do you do a good video you don’t slow up you don’t drag it out you covered great I love the way you did this video I am saving this video

[davelelonek]

You are such an amazing Doctor and I wish you were treating me. I’m 2 weeks into CPAP and you are describing exactly what challenges I’m having.

[antoineduchamp]

I have been on CPAP for nearly 15 years, and I thought I knew all about it. Wrong. I learned a great deal from this very expert surgeon - info I did not know. So thank you very much... I believe more awareness needs to be raised as regards this potentially dangerous medical condition.