glintings t1_je0scpi wrote on March 28, 2023 at 4:19 PM

Reply to comment by ZiltoidTheOmniscient in Research found among nearly 100 teens who underwent brain scans, those with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) tended to have thinner tissue at the brain's surface, and some signs of inflammation in a brain area key to memory and learning. by Wagamaga

you might need jaw surgery. my partner just had it and it increased her airway by 100%

what's happening is that (due to using pacifiers as babies, softer processed food diets and a few other things) modern jaws are frequently malformed in their growth in a way that makes the airway constricted.

so you could be thin, healthy and fit, but because of a malformed jaw, your airway just isn't big enough for you to breathe as comfortably as you should, and this is exacerbated when you're sleeping.

ZiltoidTheOmniscient t1_je0uul2 wrote on March 28, 2023 at 4:35 PM

Thanks! How would I find this out? Just ask my doctor to refer me to a jaw specialist to confirm?

glintings t1_je183iz wrote on March 28, 2023 at 5:58 PM

pretty much yeah, or if you have an orthodontist, they can refer too.

you're looking for a maxillofacial surgeon. it is an intense surgery. in our case she had her upper jaw bone broken into three and rearranged with metal plates, her bottom jaw in two.

and recovery is not easy. it's been a month on a liquid diet, and now soft foods.

but pretty much everyone who's done it is really glad they did. check out /r/jawsurgery

[deleted] t1_je1ali6 wrote on March 28, 2023 at 6:14 PM

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KingKongAintGotShitt t1_je24tz5 wrote on March 28, 2023 at 9:21 PM

I had jaw surgery to fix my sleep apnea a couple years ago and it didn’t help me. So in my case there may be something else at play. There are other surgeries that may help in your case. Also CPAP is great if it works for you. Unfortunately it caused me a lot of issues, which is why I tried the surgery. If you want any advice feel free to send me a message. I have a routine right now that has definitely helped but it’s not perfect.

[deleted] t1_je14a5d wrote on March 28, 2023 at 5:34 PM

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KingKongAintGotShitt t1_je2420s wrote on March 28, 2023 at 9:16 PM

Unfortunately I had jaw surgery to fix my sleep apnea and it didn’t really seem to help much. It’s not a cure-all and it does carry some very serious side effects that I’m worried about. It’s a last resort option. I only decided to take the risk since I couldn’t use CPAP because I would wake up with severe abdominal pain from air filling my stomach. I guess this was caused by a faulty esophageal sphincter that would open when using the CPAP.