Another Collar Success Story

[MickTravis]

I know there are many posts on this topic already, but I just now realized how much the cervical collar is helping me. If I had to choose between using the CPAP and wearing the collar, I might choose the collar as I think it may help more with my OSA.

I forgot to wear it the other night, and my AHI increased a lot. And it's not just the AHI. It seems that when I tuck my chin (or whatever it is I'm doing with my neck) at night, my airway becomes so blocked that no amount of pressure will open the airway. This results in the CPAP increasing to max pressure, which only results in the mask leaking a lot and waking me up. Why I wake up from a blast of air and not from being unable to breathe in my sleep is one of the wonders of physiology!

Anyway, when I wear the collar, My pressure barely increases. When I don't, I have OAs, LLs, and plenty of awakenings.

Screen shots below show the night before being collar-less and the collar-less night, followed by the same pairing from another night I forgot the collar. The collared nights are reflective of most of my nights with the collar.

I Purchased a VELPEAU collar from Amazon, and I have no complaints. I'm sure most will work fine. I wear it quite loose. When I'm in bed, the back of the collar just melds into the pillow so I can't feel it, and the front is loose so that it's not even touching my neck really. It's only there to prevent my neck from tucking, and it is not uncomfortable.

If you're having a problem with mega-increases in pressure that give you large leaks, give a collar a try.

   

   

[TexasDon]

Thanks for posting !    I love success stories.

Can you post what changes happened to your flow limits?

-Don

[MickTravis]

Thanks for posting !    I love success stories.

Can you post what changes happened to your flow limits?

-Don

Hey Don,

Here you go. I'm no expert, but it seems like a substantial difference.

-Mick

   
   

[TexasDon]

Thanks!   Impressive.   I wore a collar last night and had a pretty good night but my flow limits are still excessive.   Also had leaks and I've no recollection of any leaks.   I think I have to rig a game camera or something and see what is going on.  -Don

[Sleeprider]

MickTravis, it would be great if you can find time to add your experience to the Velpeau Collar review http://www.apneaboard.com/forums/Thread-...cal-Collar

[MickTravis]

MickTravis, it would be great if you can find time to add your experience to the Velpeau Collar review http://www.apneaboard.com/forums/Thread-...cal-Collar

Will do!

[TexasDon]

I'll add that this thread prompted me to try a collar and I too found success!   Just a foam collar from Amazon.   I sleep on my back and I thought I was getting my cervical vert nice and straight.   Must have been chin tucking.   I've had a stiff neck for a couple of years now.   My AHI score went down and  I feel tons better.  My stiff neck is almost gone too.   Nice!

[MickTravis]

Thanks for sharing your story, TexasDon!

You make a good point about neck pain. Before using the collar, I often woke up with a sore neck and headache that lasted for many hours upon waking. I always figured it was my pillow, or otherwise it was me sleeping in a funny position, which would be near impossible to fix since I wasn't awake to fix it.

It turns out that I must have been contorting my neck in some crazy way, and the collar fixed that too. I no longer wake up with a sore neck. So, thanks for reminding me, TexasDon. The collar not only helps with apneas but also neck pain!

[OwenTrantor]

Interesting - I'd never even heard of a collar used in this way. Best used with CPAP instead of solely?

[MickTravis]

Interesting - I'd never even heard of a collar used in this way. Best used with CPAP instead of solely?

if you have OSA, you'll want to use it with a CPAP. It probably won't cure all your apneas. I've not used the collar alone, but I'd guess that it'd be better than nothing if it's something that has shown to help you (it doesn't help everyone). If I had to travel to somewhere where I couldn't bring my CPAP, I would definitely bring the collar with me. Unfortunately, I can't truly answer to how well it works on its own since I'd have to have a sleep study with the collar on and compare it to a study with it off, and that's unlikely to happen.

There have been some clinical studies on using a collar for OSA with mixed results. You can find some online if you search for them.