The X-files

[tmoody]

A lot of what's been talked about are causes and solutions for fragmented sleep. And that's great. But it's more CPAP + <other things> that allow people with OSA to finally get a genuinely good night's sleep.

I don't mean to suggest that there are <other things> that can take the place of xPAP for many, if any, of us. If such things exist, we'd probably already know about them. But there may well be things that help xPAP to work better, or as you say, improve the quality of sleep in other ways.

There's still a lot we don't know about apnea--in particular I don't think we know how to draw the causal arrows between things. I was diagnosed with OSA at age 52, but I probably had had it for years, if not decades. I wasn't aware of any "sleep problems" until just the past few years (I'm 62 now).

But I'm curious as to what people have tried, including things that are farther off the beaten path than I would normally venture. What about Reiki/"energy healing"? Has nobody here tried that? I'd like to hear about it. I'm skeptical about such things, but I also take the view that anything not inherently dangerous (or terribly expensive) is worth a try. I'd rather find something helpful than preserve my skeptical purity.

[green wings]

The original poster started off talking about non-xPAP treatments for sleep apnea.

I just felt the need to point that out.

There are two distinctively different, but interrelated conversations going on in this thread:

1) What kinds of things have people been able to use to improve their overall sleep?

[robysue]

The original poster started off talking about non-xPAP treatments for sleep apnea.

I just felt the need to point that out.

There are two distinctively different, but interrelated conversations going on in this thread:

1) What kinds of things have people been able to use to improve their overall sleep?

Yes, I know the OP asked about non-PAP treatments for sleep apnea. But I was pointing out that most of the conversation had steered away from that and into a more general conversation about what to do to fix bad sleep issues that are not really part of OSA.

[tmoody]

My personal opinion is that there's enough causal interaction between sleep apnea and other sleep disturbances that anything that helps one might plausibly help the other.

[kwhenrykerr]

So glad to read all the post Good questions, good answers and ideas.