Comment

Comment by Judy on May 23, 2009 at 10:30am

Ah, we're always looking for the magic cure in a pill for whatever ails us. *sigh* Sure makes the drug companies happy.

Personally, I'd rather make the xPAP device manufacturers happy and use their products. At least if it doesn't work for me the xPAPs don't leave any lasting problems because of their use.

Surgeries don't impress me all that much, or much at all for that matter. What they take out they can't put back in and every surgery leaves some scar tissue. If indicated and xPAP just really wasn't doing me much good I "might" consider a septoplasty or maybe even a tonsillectomy. Maybe. But UPPP or jaw advancement?? I don't think so. But since neither of them are indicated for me I guess I just never got desperate enough to give them any consideration at all. I'm one of the fortunate that xPAP therapy works for tho it took some doing to get here and it took some bull-headed determination and mumbling and grumbling to get me to this point.

Comment by Jeffrey Donaldson on April 2, 2009 at 2:38pm

I was tried on medication that I was told would do exactly that back in 1993. It only helped a tiny little bit. The side effects were worse that the so called cure. C-pap was the way to go and will still be for quite some time.

Comment by mary kennedy on April 2, 2009 at 6:36am

I took Remeron briefly-for severe depression. Its main side effect was turning me into a raging, angry, maniac!

Comment by Mike on March 18, 2009 at 6:12pm

Justin, I've heard that sleep apnea implants hold a lot of promise for sleep apnea treatment in the future, but my impression is that they're still a ways off. The sleep apnea implants would use "neurostimulation” technology, or timed electrical pulses, to open upper airway muscles and prevent apneas. I think we patients would be able to remotely control turning on and off the devices before we go to sleep, and when we awaken. This neuromodulation technology is being developed by a number of well-financed companies, including Apnex Medical and Inspire Medical Systems, both located near the Twin Cities in Minnesota.

Comment by PSW on March 18, 2009 at 5:01pm

Hi, I recently met with a sleep doctor who told me that there is presently ongoing research for another treatment option/cure, whereby nerves are stimulated during sleep, that once activated, will open a previously closed breathing passageway. This experiemental concept was desccribed to me as somewhat akin to a pacemaker. Are any of you aware of such research?

Comment by Mike on February 23, 2009 at 3:52am

cuddleydoc left this on my profile page; worth sharing with others: "I don't think doctors fully understand sleep apnea. Within the category of obstructive sleep apnea there are probably different causes. For example, it used to be considered a disease of heavy people, the theory being that the excessive tissue (fat?) in the neck caused obstruction. The disease also occurs in thin people so the theory of obstruction from excessive tissue is not a satisfying explanation in this group. I have heard various theories, but the one that makes the most sense to me is that during development of the fetus the innervation of throat muscles by neurons does not develop normally. Depending on the degree of imperfection, the fetus will either have sleep apnea as a child or, if the innervation is only partially disrupted, in later life when the tissues in the throat become less taut due to aging."

Comment by Mike on February 23, 2009 at 12:57am

pretty radical concept that Sleep Apnea is not one disease. i know there's obstructive sleep apnea, central sleep apnea and mixed sleep apnea, but i'm getting the feeling those aren't the lines of demarcation that you're talking about.

Comment by Cuddleydoc on February 23, 2009 at 12:07am

See Steven Park's comments above. Mirtazapine is Remeron

Comment by Cuddleydoc on February 23, 2009 at 12:04am

Remeron is a psychiatric drug FDA approved for the treatment of depression. As mentioned previously there have been a few studies showing that it reduces AHI by about 50%, presumably by increasing muscle tone in the throat (think of it as the same neurochemicals are involved in neurons in the brain or at muscle cells). There are also more recent studies saying that Remeron DOESN'T work. The truth is that it probably works for a subset of sleep apnea patients and doesn't work for another subset. Sleep apnea is probably not ONE disease. In some patients it may occur because of abnormal anatomy in the airway (inadequate clearance). In other patients it may occur because of abnormal neurotransmission to the muscles of the airway. The reason Remeron has not been promoted as a sleep apnea treatment is that it has prominent side effects of weight gain and sleepiness (both are bad news for sleep apnea patients). I have not had any weight gain from it because I am a very healthy eater. The sedation has not been a problem..in fact it helps me get back to sleep if my apnea wakes me up.

Comment by joseph Bryant on February 22, 2009 at 11:40pm

I wonder if this will work and like you say the side effects

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