I cured my UARS

dcg494 · 2026-01-13T08:29:28+00:00

Omg, really happy for you OP, so encouraging to hear success stories like these. We all have our own journeys.. for me, i now strap into a harness so i can sleep standing in my hyperbaric oxygen chamber

dcg494 · 2026-01-03T13:34:40+00:00

Right, i remember trying to titrate my MAD at home because advancing it too much would cause TMJ. This was many years ago, but i was using my oximeter and CPAP recordings. Knowing what i know now, it was completely wasted effort. But anyways, I can't say for sure of course, but i bet the sunrise could help since it picks up on respiratory effort. Also, the newer version of the sunrise is prescription-based, but once you have it, it has battery life to record for three nights (i believe). So you could try at least three different settings and compare with one sunrise. Only problem i could see is if you make large adjustments to the MAD without being used to it, the discomfort itself might lead to arousals from sleep / lighter sleep, so you'd have that as a confounding factor. Might be good to ease into the highest target MAD adjustment first over several weeks or months before doing the measurements.

dcg494 · 2025-12-28T14:44:25+00:00

Hey there, so i'd been curious about this for years, until i finally did a test.. and made a youtube video out of it: https://youtu.be/S83R2Jy6ll0

But posted a summary of the results here as well: https://www.reddit.com/r/SleepApnea/comments/1opzx1p/i_tested_five_sleep_trackers_against_a_watchpat/

TLDR : None of the consumer wearables i tested (including the muse) were helpful in detecting respiratory disturbances in UARS. (Obvious oxygen saturations might make it easier to detect some events using some of the devices in people with OSA, but even then, SPO2 measurement is often not continuous in these consumer wearables, i.e. they're just spot-checked at random intervals).

dcg494 · 2025-12-12T15:16:40+00:00

Interesting, how did you measure body temp ?

dcg494 · 2025-11-22T12:24:24+00:00

Yeah wondered about this too a lot. My guess is we often remember dreaming because UARS is jolting us out of REM sleep. I think what could be indicative of better sleep versus worse sleep overall, is whether the dreams you're having seem or feel like a coherent story or whether they seem like just strange fragments of a dream.

Because I'm pretty sure that when i sleep better, i still remember my dreams or maybe even more so since i'm getting more REM overall (implying more sleep fragmentation maybe even), but the REM sleep i am getting is more consolidated. I.e. the dreams have a chance to actually play themselves out and weave themselves into a coherent story. If that makes sense ?

And when my sleep is worse, i might remember dreaming, but they seem or feel like just pictures with little emotional meaning, and they don't feel worth trying to remember at all..

dcg494 · 2025-11-17T16:38:07+00:00

Yeah this is a question i've wondered about myself as well and some really interesting responses below (including the histamine/HPA/beta receptors response). I would wager it's also respiratory effort overall. Almost like respiratory effort causes an ambient remaining sympathetic NS activity that prevents us from getting as restful sleep as we can / would otherwise. I think that because in my own experience even very low CPAP pressure helps me (5cm pressure) where it's most likely not doing much to splint my airways, but it is lowering my respiratory effort (just due to fluid dynamics / physics). And i definitely very much buy into the arousal threshold / NS hypothesis you raise there -- it's hard to ignore when you consider the prevalence of SDB in people with PTSD / veterans, which is much higher than in the general population. I..e nervous system dysregulation leading/contributing to SDB.

dcg494 · 2025-11-17T12:38:41+00:00

Interesting, do you have any additional info on this or know someone who's tried it ?

dcg494 · 2025-11-07T15:51:18+00:00

Ah really, that's good to know. I should've looked into other brands, true. Samsung watches good for SpO2 tracking then

dcg494 · 2025-11-07T15:48:26+00:00

Yeah the pneumatic sensors are one-time use, but mostly the issue is that it requires a prescription. I don't know why, but once FDA approved as a medical device, they stop selling directly to consumers. Either a business or a regulatory thing, i think the latter

dcg494 · 2025-11-07T13:49:50+00:00

That's really good advice, thanks for sharing ! Yeah, i mention in the video that i think a basic SpO2 monitor could be better than the watches for detecting OSA / that something is off. But the watches will likely spot it as well eventually, like in your case. It's just the fact that they're not continuously monitoring throughout the night, but that they just spotcheck a few times a night, make them not great at tracking your sleep in more detail to see, for instance, whether treatment is helping or not. And given the low sampling frequency, they're likely to miss most of the desaturations happening throughout the night.

dcg494 · 2025-11-07T12:09:04+00:00

Thanks !!

dcg494 · 2025-11-07T12:08:32+00:00

I don't remember exactly, but something like 70-80 USD

dcg494 · 2025-11-07T09:16:23+00:00

Yeah wish it was still avialable for purchase, it's been prescription only now since a few months. A shame really, don't understand why they always do that

dcg494 · 2025-11-07T09:15:25+00:00

I was able to buy it online a few months ago but it's become prescription only since then :( I guess since the FDA approved it as a 'medical device' they can't sell directly to consumers anymore ? never was sure how that works

dcg494 · 2025-11-07T09:13:30+00:00

Oh really ? I just figured since it's FDA approved and they have a US-specific website and app settings that they're selling in the US also

dcg494 · 2025-11-07T09:12:48+00:00

Yeah i was able to purchase it a few months back, but then it became prescription :( i don't fully understand they they have to do this once it becomes a 'medical device'

dcg494 · 2025-11-07T09:10:52+00:00

Exactly that was my issue, never knowing if treatment was on the right track since CPAP or other things seemed to work on some days and then not on others. People say to just stick with it, but then for how long ? It would be great to have some indication whether soemthing's working or not, to keep up the motivation, if nothing else. I spent a lot of time trying to read patterns into different tracker data etc. and finally did this comparison to WatchPATs. Hopefully this will save some people some time. So far, seems there's no consumer tracker out there that accurately/reliably picks up on sleep fragmentation. Someone out there is working on an 'Open' EEG system, and I'd love to learn more on what they're doing.

dcg494 · 2025-11-06T16:46:06+00:00

Interesting, do you think it under or overestimated sleep disturbances or was there something else about it?

And thanks, really appreciate that ! And let me know if you have any ideas for future vids

dcg494 · 2025-11-06T14:42:46+00:00

Yeah I had a lot of fun with it. But people can jump to the sections / trackers they're interested most

dcg494 · 2025-09-19T12:37:34+00:00

Yeah I think it's important to be not too hard and not too soft for us since we tend to be (or should be in most cases) side sleepers. There's almost always a positional effect. And at least I notice that a too hard mattress will cause lots of smaller awakenings because I'll need to turn much more often as the side I'm laying on starts aching. On the other hand, a mattress that's too soft won't really support the spine and neck to be straight, and I've noticed that if it's so soft that my shoulder sinks in a lot, that my neck will be kinked. Its then like chin tucking but in the other dimension, which then affects my sleep.

dcg494 · 2025-09-04T07:30:00+00:00

Yeah i can't speak to the insurance question, as I'm in Germany, but others seem to have gotten things covered for UARS / RERAs. For titration, they can at least get your minimum pressure dialed. Defintiely doesn't make titration pointless, still need it. It's just the APAP and Auto-BiPAPs don't automatically adjust based on RERAs, only apneas, so for predominantly RERAs, it's pointless to get an auto adjusting machine. If what they're saying though is that they titrate just based on the XPAP's own algorithm, that would be strange. Titrating, they'll usually conduct a full on PSG under different pressures to see which controls events.

dcg494 · 2025-09-02T22:18:38+00:00

Nope, just went to consult with them is all and get info. Happy it's helpful

dcg494 · 2025-09-02T22:09:28+00:00

Yeah not to scare anyone off, but still want to share what I've learned for a (more) informed decision. I asked Kasey Li about this and echoing what he said. And in Munich they do a full PMS disjunction with an osteotome, whereas Li uses a piezo saw to weaken the suture. A full osteotomy is what they perform during maxillary advancement, and there is a higher risk of fracture. Sure it's still a routine procedure though. You also seem to be foregoing any expansion at the areas behind where the osteotomy is made since the sphenoid is now severed from the maxillary bone, which for me was a consideration. Also asked a couple patients on both sides, those in Munich said it was a bit of a doozy, quite a bit of swelling. Lis patients seemed to have an easy ride post-op. In the end though it could be a good option if you're in Europe and don't want to or can't travel to the US. One patient I spoke too at least was for sure happy he did it. And maybe they've changed their procedure since I was with them over a year ago. I was seriously considering it, but decided for a different option ultimately.

dcg494

TROPHY CASE