You Do Not Have to Live on a CPAP Machine
You may have been given a few choices for helping you sleep better - a CPAP, an oral appliance that pulls your lower jaw/tongue forward, perhaps a referral to an ENT for nose/sinus surgery, lose weight, or to do nothing at all.
What you likely were not told is that you can actually treat the root cause(s) of sleep apnea. You may not have been given the choice because conventional medicine looks at a conventional system of care - a pill, a machine, or a surgery to treat the symptom. When one understands the underpinnings that cause sleep apnea, then one can look for solutions to undo the disease rather than first-aid measures.
Many people resolve to incorporate a CPAP into their daily routine and continue to battle many disorders. Chronic sinus infections, sinusitis, clogged nasal passages, facial pain, sleep disorders, compromised immune systems, chronic runny noses, and airway issues are not things you have to "deal with".
You can stop snoring. Airway issues contribute to snoring and all of the disorders mentioned above. Sleeping on your side and using a CPAP are simply band-aids that will not address any of these issues. You should not lose your bed partner or have to resort to obstructive sleep apnea for the rest of your life. Airway management and support are possible.
Conventional treatments look to manage disease; functional therapies look at a solution or cure. A CPAP is fantastic for the patient looking for initially stabilizing and maintaining an airway, but it is not a long-term solution.
CPAPs are considered the gold standard of care in sleep medicine and it is often the long-term care recommendation by most sleep docs. Something to realize is that you are pumping humidified air into your lungs (maybe your stomach as well) so you can breathe, but it is not treating the source of the problem.
Sleep apnea only gets worse with age and/or weight gain, despite the use of a traditional sleep oral appliance or CPAP. A CPAP or a conventional oral sleep appliance is better than absolutely no treatment. And, despite compliance with a CPAP or an oral device, you may still feel exhausted because your breathing habits/muscle function/airway structure has not been helped and your flight-or-fight system has not been managed.
When you have the option of a solution or cure, you can be well and thrive, rather than survive. At AirSync we are here to help get you the treatment and sleep that you deserve.