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PutanEndtoSnoring
Newsletter
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Snoring
Factoid:
Most snorers exceed 38 decibels of sound, equivalent to the noise of
light highway traffic
(Study
by HealthEast and Stanford Sleep Disorders Clinic,
cited here) |
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 Happy
Holidays to Our Readers!
December 2003 Issue 15
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 Drug
treatments for sleep apnea on the horizon
Good news for those who hate their CPAP system, which remains the most
effective treatment for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Over the next
year, it's probable that your doctor will be able to prescribe drugs that
will prevent or alleviate your condition.
So far this
year
PutanEndtoSnoring
has tracked three developments that offer hope for anti-apnea drugs:
- Researchers at the
University of Illinois gave 12 patients the anti-depressant drug
mirtazapine.
They found it cut in half the number of times breathing stopped or
slowed during sleep and reduced the number of times sleep was disrupted
by 28 percent. The drug firm Organon,
which markets mirtazapine as Remeron and funded the study, is no doubt
hard at work getting the necessary FDA approval to label Remeron as
suitable to treat OSA.
- Another drug company,
Cephalon, has gotten the FDA to do just that for its product
Provigil, which the company says has been shown to improve wakeful in
OSA sufferers.
"We
expect precise labeling language to be decided by year end, which keeps
us on-track to launch the new indications to a broader group of
physicians with our expanded sales force early next year, " says the
company.
-
And finally, drugs that
increase heart
rate may also be beneficial in treating apnea. French
researchers found that stepping up heart pacemakers
relieved apnea in
several of their patients. They suggest that the faster heart
rates may be stimulating various nerves, which then prompt the brain to
normalize breathing.
As of today, no doctor will tell you to
scrap your CPAP machine in favor of a drug regime. But this time
next year, who knows, OSA sufferers may have become a lucrative new market
for the pharmaceutical companies!
Note that
PutanEndtoSnoring
is not written by a medical professional. I'd welcome comments and
supplementary research from any physician or sleep specialist reading
this.
Is this information
useful to you?
Send us questions or feedback.
And remember,
information
provided by PutanEndtoSnoring does not substitute for the
advice of your physician.
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December's
Featured Product is Restore Medical's Pillar System
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Perhaps the year's
most exciting development for snoring sufferers has been the Pillar
Palatal Restoration Procedure pioneered by Restore Medical, Inc. The Pillar System uses three tiny inserts to support and
stiffen the palate, which reduces the vibration that causes most snoring.
The inserts are made of a polyester material which has been safely used for
many years in medical products such as sutures and artificial heart valves.
The procedure was approved by the FDA in December last year and
results from early adopters are encouraging. (Editors note:
Restore Medical is a sponsor of our web site)
Click here to find a
physician who performs this procedure in your area |
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The best snoring cure: Weight loss
I
know it's tactless and perhaps useless to say this at this time of year
(yes, I'll take another slice of pumpkin pie, thanks) but losing weight is
a proven method of reducing snoring. That's why I found the recent
Dateline episode, The Weight Loss Challenge, very
interesting.
Dateline showed several diet programs being used,
and followed the results. They were:
- Weight Watchers
- Slim Fast
- Atkins diet
- Extreme exercise
- Hypnotism
- Jorge Cruise weight-loss program
The participant with the most impressive record was
Marc, a pastry chef, who used hypnosis to lose 13 pounds in a single week.
Dateline did a terrific job of demonstrating hypnosis and hypnotherapy to
the public.
In addition to Marc (who used hypnosis), other
participants included:
- Lynne - extreme exercise and a daily
1,300-calorie diet. Her weight did not change in three months.
- Mark "Gio" - used the Slim Fast diet. After 1
week on Slim Fast "Gio" gained 3 pounds.
- Kathy - did Weight Watchers, stayed under 20
points/day; Lost 4.8 pounds in one week ("I starved all week.")
- Eleanor - at 300 pounds used an 8 min. weight
workout; she lost three pounds in the first week.
- Rick - followed the Atkins low-carb diet. Also
exercised. And lost 13 pounds
- And of course, there was Marc - (the pastry
chef), who decided to try hypnosis. He lost 13 pounds in first
week. And the fascinating part is that Marc, using hypnosis,
did not suffer. The guy was happy. He felt good and it happened
naturally.
Here are some of the results after 3 months...
Marc says he now enjoys exercising and has developed
a greater love for healthy, nutritious food. In fact, he says he wants to,
rather than feeling he ought to. All he wants now is healthy food, he
says.
If you are interested in the hypnosis approach to
weight loss, check out Wendi Friessen's
Weight Release CD Set. (I'm assuming you don't need this newsletter to
point you to all the other weight loss approaches).
You can read the complete article about the Dateline
story here.
Send us your own snoring/sleep story, we'll use it in this slot.
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Advertisement   |
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 From
the PutanEndtoSnoring
Forum:This section features some
interesting posting to our forum. This month we pass along reader
Jane's shopping tip:
I got sleep angels at eBay for only $9.97 each. Go check
it out. Just look under sleep angel in the search box.
This is an excuse for us to update our July story on Sleep Angel, an
elastic head-strap that helps you keep your mouth shut while you sleep .
We reported the results of our own survey that showed about 25% of Sleep
Angel wearers reported reduced snoring. There were also several
readers who felt misled by the company's return policy and high price of
what is a pretty simple product ($59.95 plus a hefty S&H fee). Since
that story, the Sleep Angel brand has vanished and has re-emerged without
explanation as Sleep Wizard and
Snoring Stopper.
Add your comments! |
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Advertisement
 Great
Xmas present for snorers and their partners!
The
patented Thera-P-Anti-Snoring cradle pillow is designed to establish correct posture while you sleep.
It features a unique ANTI-SNORING BAR to discourage sleeping on your back.
Instead, it encourages side sleeping with your jaw gently supported by the curve of the foam.
$49.95 includes shipping!
Buy or learn more about
the Thera-P Pillow.
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Put an
End to Snoring Newsletter is a publication of Freeman Communications
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