NeuroNews

CPAP Alternative and Sleeping on the Job

  

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I recently participated in an anecdotal experiment to test a new sleep apnea therapy that is being billed as an alternative to Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP). The product is called Provent and it looks like two small round bandaids that are placed over your nostrils, except instead of an absorbent gauze pad in the center, there is a small, one-way vented valve.  The theory behind the Provent is that inhalation is unimpeded while exhalation through a limited flow valve (while the mouth closed) produces backpressure to keep the airway open to prevent snoring and apnea.
 
CPAP the Gold Standard
CPAP therapy has long been the gold standard for treating Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) and other sleep breathing disorders but CPAP therapy’s one drawback is maintaining patient compliance. If this product works well it could be a significant improvement in the treatment of sleep apnea, but more importantly could possibly end the excuses and procrastination of people like me, who snore and even stop breathing periodically, but refuse to have a sleep study knowing the end result will be a recommendation to use a CPAP machine. 
Provent claims their product to be superior to CPAP because it addresses the concerns people have with CPAP.
• Discreet
• Disposable
• Simple to operate
• Requires no masks
• No tubes
• No machines
• Small and convenient,
• Easy to take with you if you’re away overnight

Sleeping on the Job
When the sleep technologist at our sleep lab that fits and trains our sleep disorder patients on the use of their CPAP, asked me to try the Provent disks, I was excited give it a try.  He was interested to learn how someone who has never been on CPAP (me) would tolerate the Provent disks and to gain some experience with them before patients began requesting this new product. While sleeping on the job might sound like a relaxing day at the office, I found adapting to a new way of breathing to be anything but relaxing.  The Provent website admits that it may be uncomfortable in the beginning but that most people get used to the device over time. 

Provent Review
My experience with Provent: It is not worth the risk of dying in my sleep while trying to get used to them.  Let me explain.  The proprietary MicroValves that restrict the airflow required concentrated effort to breathe in and out.  Consciously adapting to a new way of breathing may be tolerable while awake but as I lay in a darkened room trying to nap, I realized that there was no way I would allow myself to fall asleep and trust my natural breathing rhythms take over.  After 15 minutes of attempted napping, I used the intercom in the sleep lab to declare that this wasn’t going to work.
My first impression of the Provent device was “What a simple, ingenious idea for helping people like me, who know they have sleep apnea but have refused to get a sleep study because of the inevitability of being prescribed a CPAP machine and mask for the rest of my life.”  I also wondered why such a simple device would require a physician’s prescription.  After my brief trial, I understood why a physician, preferably a sleep medicine physician, would need to be involved.  While I still like the idea of finding an alternative to CPAP and I hope Provent will work for apnea sufferers who cannot tolerate CPAP, it looks like CPAP will be the therapy of choice for my sleep apnea.

Find An Accredited Sleep Center Near You
If you have or think you might have sleep apnea, please do not let this review stop you from trying Provent yourself or continue to dismiss the dangers of sleep apnea.  Many insurance plans do not require a referral to see a sleep medicine physician but if you talk to your family physician, you should understand that many of them are just becoming aware of the full extent that sleep disorders are taking on our health and many do not regularly screen for sleep problems unless you bring up the topic.

- Aaron Seacat, MBA (sleep apnea sufferer)