Dr. Bayless’ Personal Snoring Story
Dr. Bayless’ Personal Snoring Story
I am so passionate about helping patients that snore and/or have sleep apnea because I, too, have suffered from both of these conditions. Here is my journey – from being a person who snored heavily to an elimination of snoring and an elimination of sleep apnea.
As a dental student from 2001-2005, I had a busy school schedule but I was also single and had time to devote to keeping my body healthy as well as my mind. So between studying, going to classes and labs, I always made sure I was able to squeeze in a workout. It helped me to relieve stress, clear my mind and naturally stay strong and fit. At this point, I did not have to worry about snoring or OSA. I could not envision that one day I would go from this fit student to basically the “Poster Boy” for this disease.
Fast-forward 6 years and as most adults can relate to, life got busy and hectic. I finished dental school, got engaged, married, started my own practice – Summer Hill Dental, had three children, and bought our first home. With all of these blessing and successes, also came a slammed schedule, stress, poor eating choices, and there was no time to stay fit. Just as you would assume, I gained 20-30 lbs in that time. And I started feeling like I wasn’t getting good sleep at night, which resulted in some extra fatigue during the day.
My wife increasingly started to comment on my snoring and her resultant lack of sleep. I kept dismissing it as her problem. “She was just too light of a sleeper”, I would joke. We eventually started to sleep in different rooms occasionally due to my snoring. She commented to me that she could hear me in the next room snoring, then silent, then grunting and snoring again. This went on for a couple of years and every time she brought it up, I dismissed it. I was in denial.
During this time frame, a friend and former classmate from dental school died in his sleep from Obstructive Sleep Apnea. He forgot to bring his CPAP machine with him on vacation, and he died in his sleep from basically suffocation from his apnea. While I was deeply saddened by his loss and mourned for his surviving family, it still did not register in my brain that I could be equally at risk. I had all the signs and symptoms and yet I refused to take the time to look into my own health. I kept telling myself, ”I just have to lose weight and then I will stop snoring.” I did not want to SLOW down and take the time to see if MY snoring was actually a warning sign that something more serious was going on.
Several months after the death of my friend, I went on a hunting trip with several men, one of which is a physician. We all slept in a cabin. When I woke up after the first night, this man told me that I needed to get a sleep study because I kept up the entire cabin with my snoring. He told me that he noticed that I gasped for air numerous times as well. He recommended I get a sleep study done at a sleep lab. While I was pretty embarrassed and felt bad for keeping everyone up, I STILL did not take the time to heed the warning and get a sleep study. There was NO Getting Through To Me.
Finally, out of pure frustration, my wife took her cell phone camera and recorded me sleeping, if you can call it that… As viewed the email with the attached video the next morning, I was horrified at what I saw. I could not believe that the man I was watching was me! I was snoring and sounded like a freight train!! It finally clicked and told my wife I would go and see my ENT doctor.
My ENT doctor prescribed a sleep test for me at a local sleep lab. I went to the sleep lab and spent the night all hooked up with different sensors. It wasn’t much fun and I didn’t feel comfortable at all the whole time I was there. The results came in a few days after the sleep test, and the snoring that everyone had been dealing with for the past several years was actually an alarm signaling something was very wrong. I was diagnosed with Severe Sleep Apnea. By this time, I also had several co-morbid conditions that go along with sleep apnea: fatigue, moodiness, higher blood pressure, weight gain, lessened immune system defense, etc.
The results really got my attention! I met with my ENT doctor and was ready to be a compliant patient! He prescribed for me to start using a CPAP. I met with the local home health rental company and learned how to use the CPAP machine. I tried for 2 months to get it right, but was never able to get it adjusted correctly and therefore my compliant attitude quickly shifted to one of frustration. I tried every mask on every setting and it was just not working for me. They all leaked or were uncomfortable. I would wake up feeling like I was pumped full of air. While there is many people that experience success with CPAP treatment, I struggled and struggled.
Like so many patients, I just COULD not get the CPAP to work for me. I discussed my CPAP failure with my ENT. He recommended that I think about the UPPP surgery, which apparently is extremely painful and doesn’t always work. I wasn’t too excited about surgery.
I went with a different option and made my own oral anti-snoring appliance. There are many different types of oral appliances that only dentists can make, and I was determined to find one that would help me. The first one I made for myself definitely helped control my snoring to a certain degree. My wife would tell me that I was snoring lighter now. This was not good enough for me though, so I tried 3 more different oral appliance designs with the same result. Some of the oral appliances actually broke and a couple of them were not that comfortable. I was getting frustrated, but I knew that I wasn’t going back to the CPAP or to have surgery. So I persisted in trying one more design that I discovered at one of my dental sleep medicine seminars. I had The Moses appliance made, and I immediately noticed how much more comfortable it was from the other appliances. After titrating it properly, my wife told me I was not snoring at all, and I was feeling better day after day by wearing The Moses appliance.
I finally struck pay dirt with The Moses appliance. It is very durable, comfortable, and customizable. I’ve been wearing it for 3 years now without issues. And while I was confident that The Moses appliance was working and decreasing my sleep apnea occurrences, I had to know for sure. I wanted more Objective data that the device I was using did indeed help reduce the number apneic episodes I had. I had a home sleep test conducted while I was wearing The Moses appliance. The results I received showed that the sleep physician that scored the test diagnosed me as NORMAL with No snoring. Just as I had thought and felt.
I feel much better now than I did 4 years ago. I still struggle with weight gain, stress, life’s obstacles, but I at least now know that my body and brain are getting enough oxygen at night to help take on life. My wife thanks me immensely as well for finally doing something about my snoring. We no longer need to sleep in different beds, which is a great bonus! I sleep every night with the appliance in my mouth. It feels weird now to not have it in when I go to sleep.
I have become passionate about educating my friends, family and patients about sleep apnea and its ramifications, that I am devoting an entire new side of my dental practice to addressing snoring and sleep apnea in mild-moderate OSA patients and Severe OSA patients that are not successful with standard CPAP treatment. During the last 4 years, I have devoted numerous hours of continuing education toward Dental Sleep Medicine. I have also been trained by Dr. Allen J. Moses (the inventor of The Moses appliance) on the specifics of his appliance therapy. I want to ensure successful patient consultation, evaluation, treatment and follow up for the Snoring and OSA patient that want to pursue using an oral appliance to treat their condition and ultimately improve their quality of life.
What does that mean to you? You can now explore with me, and your healthcare provider, an alternative treatment for addressing your Snoring and/or OSA. Our office can now assist you in the detection of sleep apnea from the comfort of your own home by providing you with a home sleep tester. We fabricate the custom made oral appliances, and can provide follow-up assessment in the case of OSA to make sure that your condition has improved.
I look forward to improving your Snoring and/or OSA problem together. You or your spouse do not have to suffer with snoring. I am a testament to that.
Matt Bayless DDS