I apologise for my absence, life has been horrid as my symptoms, especially my breathing difficulties, have worsened. There may be hope though.
On a whim, I bought a jaw/mandibular advancement device from a pharmacy today, with the intention of wearing it while awake, as well as while asleep. I've never had any breathing relief for 3 years without being in an awkward posture, but this is the first thing to help!
There are a number of problems though.
- It hurts like hell to wear, and is even causing my gums to fall apart/bleed.
- It doesn't fit my wonky teeth perfectly, and in the long term, will worsen my tooth layout.
- It falls out of place when I fall asleep, and isn't perfect at its effect when I lie down. It won't have any effect if I lie on my sides.
- As long as I wear it, I can't talk, eat or drink, but the second I remove it, I notice the difference. My airways begin to close again.
In these last 3 years, I've ruled out allergies, asthma, major reflux, anxiety or heart problems, but if I don't get it fixed, it could cause heart problems!! As with one of my closest friends, it's a problem with a receeding jaw, and by pulling it out with this mouthpiece, I get a fair bit of relief. WHAT I ACTUALLY HAVE IS A TYPE OF UPPER AIRWAY RESISTANCE, which also affects me in the day. Receeding jaws are a dead giveaway for this, as well as forward head posture, cold hands/feet, gasping in sleep without snoring, daytime gasping, mouth breathing, a long face, misformed teeth and even being in my 20s and skinny. I match it all!
Now the important part. I would like to go a step further - total, 100% relief, as others have. Furthermore I don't want to wear such an ugly, intrusive, expensive, painful thing 24/7.
THERE IS A SURGERY TO FIX MY PROBLEM CALLED MAXILLOMANDIBULAR ADVANCEMENT. (Not to be confused with Chin Implants!!)
It's often seen as cosmetic, but it's also used for sleep apnea and NARROW AIRWAYS. Literally the jaw is broken and moved forward into a better, more natural place. Doing this will fix my sleep problems, anxiety, nasal congestion, apnea/airway resistance and breathing difficulty in a single swoop! There's only 1 unique, major side effect possible, in which the jaw becomes numb and loses feeling, but compared to all those other symptoms (we're talking about
closed airways here!!) this is not a concern to me, and from what I've read, it isn't to others either, whether permenant or not.
The problem is, I need to convince a doctor to give it to me: I really, really, REALLY don't want to be given more of these unnatural devices. They're too instrusive for everyday use, and I'd rather put up with a couple of months of post-surgery issues than a lifetime of bleeding gums and facial pain..!
I saw a Maxiofacial specialist not too long ago. He was adament to get me in and out again, which will go against me. I'm seeing an ENT on Monday, who will see notes saying "No problems, just stress," when I know this isn't true, especially since antianxiety meds have closed my airways, causing me to call for emergency assistance..! I've ruled out all other problems now, so this is my chance for a cure, but please help me think of a way to convince the ENT about
this critical treatment. I only get 1 shot, due to low funds and long waiting times!!
In the meantime, I implore you to look up things like Upper Airway Resistance and Receeding Jaws. It might be the root cause of your health worries..! Start with these, which tipped me off in the first place:
http://doctorstevenpark.com/sleep-apnea-basics/upper-airway-resistance-syndrome
http://www.westonaprice.org/holistic-healthcare/is-it-mental-or-is-it-dental/
http://rogerarrick.com/mma/
Post Edited (Daxter) : 8/8/2015 2:33:39 PM (GMT-6)