Dale Miller, JD Inventor.
Call 1-888-835-4563 to schedule a speaking date.
Dr.William Finley: (828) 213-7721
Email nhewwf@MSJ.ORG
Mission St. Joseph Sleep Center - Asheville, NC
David Campbell: (650) 573-1455
Stanford University Sleep Center - Palo Alto, CA
Al Reichert: (650) 367-5188
Sequoia Hospital Sleep Center - Rewood City, CA
Inventor's Sleep Support Group A.W.A.K.E.
Presentation Outline:
A. Tolerating Cpap and Chin-Up Strips 15 years after first sleep study.
1. The fear of death from snoring and sleep apnea was not enough.
2. Psychological defense mechanisms. Fear of dying did not motivate me.
3. “We can’t handle the truth.” A Few Good Men – Jack Nicholson, Tom Cruise.
B. Auto accidents motivated me to have a hospital sleep study.
1. Cpap therapy prescribed for me in 1994. I was 51 years of age.
2. Sleep medicine doctor did not try to motivate me with the fear of death.
3. Focus on the enjoyment of living life – appreciate the little improvements.
4. Formed a good relationship with Dr Honsotia at Marshfield Clinic in WI.
C. Improvement in my daily life occurred the first week on Cpap.
1. Immediate changes for me were significant.
2. More energy, clear nasal passages, stopped snoring, happy spouse!
D. Then I had to deal with problems to maintain Cpap Therapy
1. Bridge of nose sore from nasal mask
2. Dry mouth – still mouth breathing during sleep and oral venting.
3. Air leaks – pressure to high – waking up to whistling sounds.
4. Chin strap issues – teeth jammed together – sore jaw muscles
5. Travel issues with Cpap on trips
6. No sleep support group where I lived. – Power of support groups.
E. Changing attitudes – New relationships – Hope: Enjoy daily life.
1. Invite a friend or relative to a sleep support A.W.A.K.E. meeting in your area.
2. Maintain your health by the way you live every day. Doctors can be heroes.
F. Follow up with Dr Honsotia about mouth breathing issues - Compliance.
1. Chin-Up Strip idea born and developed 1995. Second Sleep Study 12-21-1995.
2. Chin-Up Strip hospital patient sleep studies at Columbia Hospital in Lexington KY.
G. Accept responsibility for your health by monitoring daily lifestyle habits.
1. That includes requirement of restful sleep to enjoy more good nights and great days.
2. Separate yourself from past history of snoring, sleep apnea, dry mouth and sleepiness.
H. Developing Ideals to shape your life.
1. Developing Ideals to shape your life can direct attention on what really counts.
2. Ideals shape our lives the same way ideas do.
3. Ideas focus mainly on the end of the task or journey.
4. Ideals direct us to focus on the process, on the task or journey itself.
5. Focus on quality of your journey through life. Key to a satisfying life.
Inventor's Personal Story
I did not sleep well for many years. I woke up congested
and tired during the decade of my 40's. My wife and children told me I snored loudly every time I fell
asleep. Relatives and friends joked about my snoring the same as we had joked about my Father's snoring before he died in his sleep in November 1983. I am sure my Father would have lived longer with today's advances in sleep medicine.
In the late 1980's I became involved, as a personal injury trial attorney, in two auto accident cases where drivers fell asleep driving during the daytime! People died and others were seriously injured. Those sad cases convinced
me to schedule a sleep study at St. Joseph's Hospital in Marshfield WI in 1993.
I was 50 yeas old in 1993. My RN wife told me for years that I stop breathing during sleep.
After my first hospital sleep study, Dr. Honsotia informed me that I am a
nocturnal mouth
breather suffering with a serious condition called sleep apnea. My respiratory disturbance
index (RDI) was 22. I would stop breathing, for 10 seconds or longer, 22 times per hour.
Dr Honsotia prescribed Cpap therapy for me. The Cpap therapy significantly changed my life. I had more energy everyday the first week and ever since. During one of my follow up doctor visits, I asked if mouth breathing could be a primary cause of my snoring and sleep apnea. Dr. Honsotia said: "I wish we had a tolerable cure for mouth
breathing. That might help you."
After that doctor visit, my RN wife and I worked on coming up with a simple way to gently keep my mouth closed. We
laughed about how difficult it may be to find a tolerable device to keep an attorney's
mouth closed.
On December 21, 1995 I returned to St. Joseph's Hospital for a second full night sleep study using no device the first half of the night and using our original Chin-Up Strip the second half of the night. During the visit with Dr. Honsotia after my second sleep study, he indicated I snored and experienced numerous sleep apnea events the first half of the night. The second half of the night, using the Chin-Up Strip, my snoring was reduced significantly and my RDI dropped to 5. That was in the normal RDI range for sleep apnea.
Dr Honsotia said: "Attorney Miller you need to get a patent on your Chin-Up Strip device as soon as possible! There are millions of people who would benefit from using your simple device to comfortably control mouth breathing."
We applied for Chin-Up Strip patents early in 1996. Two patents were issued in 1997. In 1997 and 1998, patient sleep studies were conducted to "Evaluate the Chin-Up Strip" in a hospital sleep center in Lexington, KY under the direction of a University of KY sleep medicine doctor named Barbara Phillips, MD.
1997- 98 Sleep Study Data Published in CHEST
Cardio-Pulmonary & Critical Care Journal 10/98 p.383S
University of KY Medical College Columbia Hospital
Lexington, KY - Barbara Phillips, MD, FCCP, MS.
Conclusions - Clinical Implications
"We conclude that the Chin-Up Strip combined with Breathe Right
nasal strip is an effective alternative treatment for the primary
snorer, as well as for mild OSA patients who are not surgical
candidates or cannot tolerate CPAP."
Now we offer 3 different shaped strips to satisfy our customers around the world. We help the world sleep with a simple non invasive FDA cleared device for snoring and oral venting. FDA reviewed and cleared the device in 2004.
I have used Chin-Up Strips to limit my nocturnal mouth breathing since December 1995.
I have more energy at age 67 than I had at 50. I was fortunate to learn that simply getting
older was not the reason I had low energy and daytime sleepiness during my late 40's.
The primary cause of my condition was mouth breathing and sleep apnea which have been
treated with Chin-Up Strips and Cpap since December 1995.
At the time of this update, February 2010, I continue to use my Cpap with nasal pillows and Chin-Up Strips which control my mouth breathing. I am grateful to the experts in sleep medicine. They have allowed me to enjoy an active life with my wife, Virginia. Virginia and I have been married 45 years and we continue to share the same bed. I do not snore and I am not the grumpy old man I would have become without Cpap and Chin-Up Strips.
Kind Regards,
Dale D. Miller, JD
1. Click here Former Loud Snorers for customer quotes.
2. Click Cpap Users for Cpap and Chin-Up customer quotes.
