Stop Snoring!!!

sleepsoundly

Hi! Any ides to reduce or stop snoring entirely. Thanks!

Fantasma

Surgery, but not actually recommended, lose weight.

Straygatsby

Do you smoke?
Are you fat?

Stop smoking.
Stop being fat.

[it worked for me!]


Also, I'm told those breathe right strips are quite effective if you don't mind the sensation of wearing them at night.

Orestus

After I got married and started sleeping in the same bed as my wife every night, it quickly was made clear to me that something had to be done about my snoring. I found two solutions:

1st solution was a combination of breath-right strips and sleeping positions. I didn't expect much but was actually surprised when i put the strips on that I really did find them to open up my airflow in my nose quite a bit. I combined that with finding a good sleeping position (for me it was on my side with my head elevated a bit). Between the two of those I was able to generally cut down my snoring to a manageable level, although if i moved in the night unconsciously or got lazy w/ the strips it would come back, wife would get upset, etc.

2nd solution was to lose weight. I lost about 40 lbs ( i was 250) and that pretty much stopped snoring. I didn't decide to lose weight because of snoring, but its elimination was a nice fringe benefit. Now I don't have to worry about strips and just hop into bed w/ whatever position I feel like.

amateurhour

Both of the above statements (breathe-right strips, lose weight) are the key.

If you're not over weight and breath right strips don't work, you may have a deviated septum, which surgery can fix, but it's expensive and not worth it unless you've got severe sleep apnea or something of that nature.

Dr. Frenchenstein

the surgery is REALLY painful too, one of the options is that they cut a chunk out of your soft palette (which is what's causing the apnea, it blocks your airway).

That should definitely be a last resort, get a sleep study if it's really bad. they will give you some options.

Druhim

Snoring has different causes in different people. There's not going to be a catchall solution that works for everyone, so take what some are recommending in here with a grain of salt. If you're willing to just try out different recommendations to see if they work for you, then go ahead and do so. Otherwise see a doctor about it. Your snoring may be relatively easy to fix, or it may be quite difficult to solve.

JebusUD

make sure you are laying properly on a pillow.

My G/F snores like crazy when she lays not on a pillow or with her neck at a weird angle, but not when she is laying normally.

Grobian

I'm not fat and I do snore, when I'm laying in certain positions. After years of waking me up at night and telling me to roll over my fiancee got herself earplugs. This solution is obviously not for everyone, because not everyone can sleep with stuff in their ears and your SO might not find it fair, but it works great for us.

Skoal Cat

I've had the surgery. Very painful, but on the other hand it did work.

Weretaco

There are a few options you can go through if you see a sleep specialist aside from the obvious lose weight/stop smoking.

1) CPAP machine - basically keeps a positive pressure in your throat to keep things open and snore free
Benefit - works great
Con - expensive and for some people cause more annoyance than help (i slept worse with it on)
2) Dental appliances - push your jaw forward while you sleep opening the airway
Benefit - no machine to hook up, works about 75% of the time
Con - also expensive
3) Surgery - I actually just had this done 2 weeks ago.
Benefits - Can be a solution...
Cons - It sucks Very painful, and I still can't eat/swallow properly. I also can't gargle properly since with the extra opening mouthwash wants to go up the back of my nose. It's also not very effective %-wise. the only reason I was considered a candidate was because I had overly large tonsils. You can read a bit about it here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty

Skoal Cat

It gets better Weretaco, but its never the same. Your muscles will relearn what to do. If you hold your nose, you should be able to create enough of a vaccum to prevent it from heading into your nose

Mom2Kat

I have not been formaly diagnosed with sleep apnea. I know bad me, I am going to my doctor next week and we will be setting up a sleep study. However after my Mother died my father suggested that I try sleeping with her CPAP machine. This came about after them listening to me snoring over the baby monitor and my father remaking to my husband that I sounded remarkably like my mother when she was diagnosed. Hence the CPAP.

Even though it is not set up for me, and frankly this thing is 20 years old so I am not even sure it can be changed, I can not sleep without it. It did take some getting used to. I would wake up around 2am and have to take the mask off. But I stuck with it and after a few weeks it was fine. And now I dread a super stuffy nose that keeps me from using it because my sleep really suffers. I no longer wake up with a sore throat, my husband does not get woken up at night waiting for me to start breathing again. And the quality of sleep is so much better. I no longer have to sleep 10 hours to feel like I can make it through the day.

The being attached to the machine is not much of an issue to us. I sleep in a king size bed and can reach all but the far side but that's okay because it is full of husband anyway. And the noise even though mine is an older machine is not to bad. It is a rhytmic white noise if anything. The Husband even has trouble sleeping when I am gone as he is so used to hearing the CPAP!

Any way if you do get a sleep study done and they suggest a CPAP don't rule it out right away, and if you give it a shot, give it a good shot. Don't just go 1 week and decide you hate it.

Peryton

I can understand an alt account for some very personal H&A questions, but seriously? An alt account because you snore?

Shadowfire

It might be a bit stupid, but what about the old tennis ball sewn into the back of the shirt thing? I snore like crazy if I'm sleeping on my back, but am completely quiet on my side.

corcorigan

Skoal Cat wrote: »

I've had the surgery. Very painful, but on the other hand it did work.

Once heard a surgeon describe having that surgery as the ultimate sign of devotion to someone.

Personally I think I'd just sleep in another room.