Nightlase

[Bluesv6]

I think it's a good thing to have posted here ! Always good to look at options and see. I'd gladly pay 1200 bucks and never deal with a cpap machine but doesn't seem like a good solution

[sfgiants123]

Hello all,

I just read this thread and I am happy to answer any questions as I got the Nightlase treatment done back in 2019. I will try and break it down in as much detail as possible what the treatment entailed, cost, and how effective I think it was. I was diagnosed with sleep apnea back in 2016 after doing a sleep study that showed an AHI of 11. I was pretty young age of 24. Immediately the thought of wearing a cpap was not inviting at all (my dad has worn a cpap for 15 years and it changed his life so I knew all about it, but I was too immature at the time to use it) so I tried many different things to help with my sleep apnea. For a couple years I slept with an over the counter MAD device that would hold my jaw forward and keep my airway open. For the time being it was OK and did help a little but it was so bulky I would mouth breathe and it caused by teeth to shift. So in 2019 my dad sent me an article about a dentist who was doing a treatment to tighten the soft pallet with a laser, this would prevent the soft pallet from collapsing and stop snoring and apnea events. I was living in Los Angeles, CA at the time and the dentist who was doing Nightlase was in Upland only about 1 hour away. I went to his office for a consult and he was great. He was very thorough and knowledgeable. I got zero salesman vibes from him and he ran a lot of tests including airway scans and breathing tests. So I decided to move forward with the procedure. The cost was 3 sessions at $500 a session with each session spaced out 21 days apart. The dentist said the effects would last up to 18 months and there would just be the need for 1 touch up session that was included in the price of $1500. It was simple just a laser that zaps your throat and tongue a little. No pain and each session was about 20-25 min. After the first session I immediately felt positive effects. I was a heavy snorer like lawn mower starting heavy. I remember going on a trip to Thailand with my girlfriend at the time right after session 2 of Nightlase. We were in Thailand for 2 weeks and up until that point in my life it was some of the best sleep I had ever had. Up until I got a cpap recently that was my gold standard of sleep. I would refer to it as the "thailand sleep" haha. Waking up feeling 100 percent refreshed it was amazing, my snorelab app I used to use was detecting practically zero snoring. The app went from snore scores of 60-80 before nightlase to single digits every night. I was so happy to be getting good sleep. I went in for the 3rd session and was sent on my way. I wish that would be the end of the story but sadly these effects only lasted 3 months. After 3 months I went in back to the dentist and he said it was weird that my sleep went back to poor so fast. I got the touch up session done hoping it would get me back on track but I saw zero effects. He could not really give me an answer as to why it stopped working. Everyones body is different and the effects I saw on myself make me believe this treatment most definitely has helped many peoples sleep apnea I just don't know how long for. I do think it is based in science but I do not think it is a long term solution. Im now on cpap since feb 2023 so not very long. I am pleased with cpap I am still trying to dial in my therapy and minimize leak but I do wish I would have just gotten on cpap years ago. It would have saved me quite a lot of money on all the things I have tried. Live and learn though. I do think if someone is certain there apneas only come form a soft pallet collapse. And I mean certain like a drug induced sleep endoscopy was done and those were the results, then Nightlase combined with a cpap could be a very strong combo. But it is expensive and I think a perfect dialed in cpap is enough to get great sleep. Also for reference I have never done a drug induced sleep endoscopy but I have visited many doctors and done scans that show my sleep apnea comes from a small upper jaw, a recessed lower jaw, and a narrow mouth arch that makes me have a tiny airway. I hope this helps anyone who is considering nightlase. Please let me know if you have any other questions and Ill comment back. I love this board. People helping people its the best!

[sttebr]

sfgiants123 - Thanks for sharing your experience with Nightlase. I think based on your story, if I was younger, I might look into being tested to see if I was a good candidate, but I'm and old guy now and I'm pretty sure I would need some PAP therapy regardless of what else I tried. 

Like you, my father could be heard all over the house when he snored and I also have snored for a long time. I too, put off dealing with my apnea for many years, waking up tired most days with no energy to do much other than what was required. 

I bought a Wellue recording pulse/ox device back during Covid when everyone was being told to monitor oxygen levels, and it was seeing how my levels dropped many times at night along with heart rate spikes that finally convinced me to ask for a sleep study which resulted in me getting on CPAP just recently. Although I'm still getting it dialed in, my pulse/ox now looks much better and I'm starting to feel more rested. I feel very lucky that I didn't suffer any other serious health issues related to SA during my stubborn years.

Glad CPAP is working for you.

[Bluesv6]

Thanks for taking the time to respond !  I am glad you got some results !  I understand it was some cash for you to spend and is too bad it didn't last ! However it did give you time to realize your have sleep apnea and need cpap to correct it. 

I feel this forum is good and also feell there needs to be more Information out there for positive effects of cpap ! Cpap has a bad reputation of sleeping with mask hose what not. For me I was clueless how much sleep apnea can affect your day to day ! I didn't know I had sleep apnea but knew I had a issue. If I would have known cpap was more than just fixing snoring I would have pursued it more. Rather than just. Blaming poor sleep on lack of sleep , what was going on with my health and my life ! 

So I really feel the word needs too get out there for awareness and people like you or I would have pursued cpap alot sooner. 

I went proably about 20 to 25 years with undiagnosed sleep apnea . I'm glad you got results on cpap ! As well as a anyone out there address you're sleep apnea whether your a candidate for night lase or cpap ! You don't have to go through life with being tired and poor sleep !