Why is CPAP not "prescribed" to treat snoring?

[Zzzzuena]

I am new to this forum. I was recently prescribed a CPAP treatment (and machine). The whole thing started because of my snoring. I was directed towards a sleep study which revealed a borderline case of OSA (AHI Index 5)

The CPAP solution eliminates my snoring (daily avg AHI 0.2) but as you know is an obtrusive solution.

It made me wonder why a CPAP solution is not prescribed and used to "treat" snoring?

[OpalRose]

Not all snorers have Sleep Apnea, and snoring isn't a disease. It is only one of the symptoms of Sleep Apnea. Therefore, you won't find many insurance companies willing to pay for a condition that is not considered a disease. Plus CPAP therapy doesn't always elimate snoring, but does keep your airway from collapse.

Sleep Apnea is a serious condition, and the proven method of treatment for most people would be CPAP therapy.

It looks like you were borderline with your diagnosis of 5, so it's good you are able to be treated.

[Adoniscmj]

I am new to this forum. I was recently prescribed a CPAP treatment (and machine). The whole thing started because of my snoring. I was directed towards a sleep study which revealed a borderline case of OSA (AHI Index 5)

The CPAP solution eliminates my snoring (daily avg AHI 0.2) but as you know is an obtrusive solution.

It made me wonder why a CPAP solution is not prescribed and used to "treat" snoring?

CPAP doesn't fix snoring for everyone. It makes little difference for me as I still snore loudly. If I had an AHI of 5 I would have told the doctor to stuff it if he told me I need CPAP. I hate sleeping with it and if I had an AHI of 5 and my oxygen was ok I wouldn't use one at all. But my AHI is 38 and that was only measured for two hours if it had been a full 8 hours there is no doubt it would have been much higher. This means that I really need to use it. You may not need it at all. The dental appliance works really well for snoring you should look into it. I am not a doctor but if it were me I would be asking my doctor why I needed it. Just a thought. I wish that I didn't need it.

[Shastzi]

Hi Zzzzuena!

You're in the right place, anyway!

I don't snore much at all but CPAP therapy keeps me from getting
messed up from oxygen deprivation while I sleep.
(See james thurber: "night the bed fell")

Amazingly enough you really can forget how to breathe!

[AshSF]

For a diagnosed AHI of 5, cpap seems like an overkill. You could probably get by using a dental device OR just elevating the head of your bed by a few inches.

Unless, you had a high RDI or high rate of EEG microarousals. You would need to look at your sleep study results to assess that.

[Shastzi]

Since you have SleepyHead running you can try sleeping with a backpack
stuffed with 3 tubes of tennis balls.
That will just about insure that you sleep on one side or the other.
The point here is most folks have more apneas while on their backs so by preventing
sleeping on your back you might be able to keep it down even further.

Cheers!

[trish6hundred]

Hi Zzzzuena,
WELCOME! to the forum.!
Hang in there for more answers to your question and much success to you with your CPAP therapy.

[zonk]

From: In conversation with Professor Colin Sullivan; Snoring kills
http://www.apneaboard.com/forums/Thread-...ring-kills

Robyn Williams: Well let me ask you about the question of snoring, because lots of people snore but not necessarily all of them have apnoea, the stopping of breathing. Are many people just more or less safe snorers?

Colin Sullivan: I think that's a fair comment, yes there are, but snoring is graded from very mild to quite severe to obstructive and we don't know really where the threshold is. Although we do know that once you start snoring, snoring tends to progress-we understand why it progresses too because snoring actually damages the tissue. But we unequivocally know that once you have sleep apnoea that it is a major risk factor. It is actually a cause-what we now know is it causes high blood pressure, it causes heart attack, it causes stroke, and there is very clear evidence it itself is a causative mechanism in the underlying disease that leads to those, that's the vessel disease, atherosclerosis.

But when we come back down the severity, so for instance if you are a heavy snorer and people are commenting on it it's very likely you are going to have numbers of apnoeas-it might be 7 or 8 in the whole night-when you come back down the scale of severity we don't really know where the line is that puts you at risk. However, it is very clear that snoring gets worse with age. There are big epidemiological studies now that do link the history of snoring and outcomes and if you have a history of long snoring you're much more likely to have a stroke, heart attack, etc. But those epidemiological studies show the link, they don't actually show the individual, if you as an individual are snoring a little bit, what is your level of risk. In the mild end the answer is I don't know.

What causes snoring? http://www.resmed.com/au/en/consumer/dia...oring.html


Snoring and sleep apnea
Snoring and sleep apnea (also spelt apnoea) are linked at an alarming rate – three in 10 men and nearly two in 10 women who are habitual snorers suffer from some degree of obstructive sleep apnea.2 Sleep apnea prevents you from getting the healthy sleep you need to lead a refreshed, energetic life. So regardless of what is specifically causing snoring for you, if you snore — or if you suspect you snore — consider it a sign that something might not be right

References
01 Ohayon MM et al. Snoring and breathing pauses during sleep: telephone interview survey of a United Kingdom population sample. BMJ. 1997;314:860–3. http://www.bmj.com/content/314/7084/860.short
02 Young T et al. The occurrence of sleep-disordered breathing among middle-aged adults. N Engl J Med 1993; 328(17):1230–5. http://www.nejm.org/doi/pdf/10.1056/NEJM199304293281704

[DariaVader]

My insurance allows treatment between 5 and 15 if other factors exist. there is a long list of other factors and they include afib, diabetes, high bp, high rdi, obesity and more. If the doc has prescribed cpap, there may be good reason for it, and insurance may still cover it.

[surferdude2]

I'd walk through hell barefoot to not have to do cpap and if I was given a 5 AHI on sleep lab I'd try sleeping on my side. It can make a huge difference for many people. Most sleep studies are performed in the supine position (to get worse case) so consider that and react accordingly. Snoring is one thing, gasping for breath is quite different. An alert and caring bed partner's opinion is worth as much as a sleep lab in many cases, sometimes more.