Those words came this past week from a 55-year-old man we are currently treating who had severe OSA. They are heartfelt and supported by recent medical tests.
He had been placed on a Statin drug at age 25 for his high cholesterol of 295. Over the years his cholesterol varied, but was nearly 500 on many occasions. At his most recent blood test it was 125 with his Triglycerides and A1C also dramatically reduced. He was thrilled that his physician was reducing his medications based on these tests. He’s a new grandfather and looking forward to being around to see his granddaughter grow up.
Prior to treatment he suffered from severe OSA and would go to sleep only to awaken in an hour with his body completely wet from sweating. Now, near completion of treatment, he goes to bed, sleeps peacefully, and his wife reports he no longer snores. He awakens refreshed – which is something he never had happen prior to treatment. He will soon have another sleep test done which hopefully will show his OSA is a thing of the past.
What was his journey? He had four bicuspid extraction/retraction treatments and an overall facial skeletal pattern with a profile almost identical to Jay Leno. His teeth fit poorly, but his reason for seeking treatment with us was to attempt to eliminate his severe OSA. We re-opened his previous extraction spaces but didn’t really think that this alone was going to eliminate the OSA in his particular case. It helped, but he needed surgery. We referred him for surgery to advance both of his jaws surgically and open his airway. (Yes, he looked like Jay Leno and the jaws were advanced! No, he doesn’t look strange…..he looks like he should be on the cover of GQ!) This surgery worked perfectly with the above-noted results to his overall health.
He’s now a happy fellow, and I’m thrilled to see another patient become healthier because they are now breathing and sleeping better. We make no claims with any patient to eliminate or even improve even one symptom with any treatment we do, but we love it when things like this happen.