Dr. Madan Kandula, went on The Morning Blend TMJ4 to explain why people get so frustrated with their CPAP machines, along with other options you may not even know about that effectively treat sleep apnea.
Tiffany: And welcome back. It's estimated that over 8 million CPAP machines are sold nationwide every year to treat sleep apnea. You may be sleeping with somebody who uses one.
Molly: Yeah and in today's Sleep Well, Breathe Well series with ADVENT, we're going to share why so many people get frustrated with their machines and what they can do about it. Dr. Madan Kandula joins us now with other options you may not even know about. During the commercial break, we were laughing because we were talking about how long you have been joining us on the show.
Dr. Kandula: We're all getting old.
Molly: I know! We started- you started with one location and now you have several, which is great for people who want care that's close to them. But one of the things that we've talked so much about is in-office procedures, because I think- it's the thing I think about vein treatment, for example, how far it's come. I think the same is true with sinuses. It used to be if you had to have something done to your nose or whatever, it was just this huge traumatic undertaking.
Dr. Kandula: Yeah. No, that's how- when I was trained- so I came out of residency in 2003. And yeah, all I ever learned was if somebody has an issue, it has to be bad enough that you have to take them to the operating room to do surgery. And that still happens. But nowadays it's, at least at ADVENT, it's much, much, much less common that we need to go there.
So, you know, less than 5% of our patients need to go to the operating room for surgery. We can do everything in the office nowadays. And we have expanded because we've embraced the future of medicine. The future of my specialty is in the office and we're just getting there first.
Tiffany: Well, that's what I think is cool about you is like obviously you were trained in some of those other methods, but you've kept up to date with way less invasive methods, which a lot of people want to just stick with what they know. So props to you.
Dr. Kandula: Thank you.
Tiffany: But here's the deal. We saw that picture beforehand of someone wearing a CPAP, which looks like the most uncomfortable thing you could ever wear, especially to try and sleep. Yeah. Like I mean, it looks like a jockstrap on your face. I mean, it does not look, you know, great. And so why do people have so much trouble? Is it because it is as uncomfortable as it looks.
Dr. Kandula: It can be. So what you see there is a full face mask. For somebody who needs a CPAP machine, they have sleep apnea. If you have sleep apnea, your throat is too tight for your body. OK.
Tiffany: So this is lifesaving.
Dr. Kandula: Well, it can be lifesaving. The problem is the worst kind of mask that you can get put on if you have a sleep apnea is a full face mask. That's what that gentleman had on. So if you have a full face mask, you get a mask that covers your nose and your mouth and the problem is, is that's very claustrophobic.
The problem is in your throat, but also most people who have sleep apnea- almost everybody who sleep apnea also has a nose that doesn't work properly. So if you don't fix the nose, you're not going to be able to treat your sleep apnea properly. And that's the common thing. So most people who are prescribed CPAP fail.
And that's just that's the standard of care in this country is more than two thirds of folks who are prescribed a C Pap machine don't use it. And that's not right. And part of the growth of ADVENT is our focus on, you know, this needs to be changed and we can change it and I can change it. I feel like with what we do, it's so simple, it's so necessary, it's on us to get out to the folks who could benefit from it.
Molly: Yeah, it's interesting. How you broke it down there, your throat too tight for your body. And then you said very often the nose doesn't work and those two things work in tandem.
Dr. Kandula: Well, that's all you got.
Molly: You gotta have them both. That's the triangle.
Dr. Kandula: That's it. That's The Breathing Triangle®. So if your nose isn't working, your throat isn't working. I mean, if literally those areas are shut, you can't live. And so if those areas are compromised, which if you have sleep apnea, they're compromised. If you can't breathe your nose properly, you're compromised. You have allergies, you're compromised. Sinus infections.
Those areas aren't working. Your life is impacted. Sleep apnea is to the severity that your body is literally strangling you when you're sleeping at night. Do you want to be strangled? I don't. And do you want that to happen to you when you're asleep? Absolutely not. No. And some of our patients, they stop breathing more than a hundred times every hour, every night and imagine what their life is like during the day.
And they don't have to imagine because that's the life that they have and they can do something different than, you know, sort of the broken system that's not working for them.
Tiffany: So why don't other doctors look at the nose first? Are they always just listening to the snoring and checking the throat?
Dr. Kandula: It's that the nose, as much as it is right in the middle of our face, most people, other than ENTs like myself aren't really equipped. They can't really look properly and they can't do anything if they see something. So what they end up doing is they say, well, this person's stopping breathing at night. I'm going to put them on a CPAP machine and we'll just put a full face mask on and we don't need the nose. It's not that big of a deal. It is a big deal.
Molly: Yeah. And it forces air, right? Isn't that what a CPAP is? It forces air to keep the throat open. It seems like your throat would get so dry and then that would be a problem, too.
Dr. Kandula: It can be. It's got a humidifier on it. So some people think I'm like an anti-CPAP person. I'm not. I think the machines can work well when they're not used as a weapon. And not using it as a weapon means why don't we you know, make sure that that's the right fit for you and why don't we make sure your nose is working.
And then why don't we get you in a machine that works for you. So, yeah, machines, they can be set up really miserably for folks. The full face mask is a good example. They can be set up in a very elegant manner. And that same machine with a nose that's working can be a lifesaver. And so I don't want anybody to think that a CPAP is a bad thing.
But I would say if you are having trouble using it, you're not alone. You're in the majority, and there's another way to go about doing it.
Tiffany: So we're almost out of time. But I want you to get to Allen because there's a before and after of what you did with his CPAP, right?
Dr. Kandula: Yeah. I mean, we basically- Allen had a nose problem. His nose is too tight. He had a throat problem. He has sleep apnea. So we fixed his nose with an office procedure. And then we basically allowed him to use an oral appliance, which is like a retainer that you wear when sleeping at night. So it's an alternative to a CPAP machine.
Tiffany: So no CPAP?
Dr. Kandula: No CPAP. So it's basically- it's something that sits in your mouth when you're sleeping and it just pulls your lower jaw forward. So nose open, throat open. You can sleep.
Molly: The bottom line here, because we did run out of time, is that be evaluated. You want the right machine, the right, it sounds like a mouth guard. You want the right in-office procedures where you can have a quick recovery. Feel and breathe so much easier.
Dr. Kandula: Absolutely. It makes a world of difference. And that's the thing that gets me so impassioned about what we do is you see one person whose life has changed with simple things and then you want to be able to find all those people out there who could benefit. And there are literally millions of people in this country could benefit from simple things.
Tiffany: That's awesome. It's always great to have you here. Good to see you, doctor.
Dr. Kandula: Good to be here. Thank you. Thank you.
Molly: Yes. And if you're breathing triangle's not working properly, you got to go to AdventMorningBlend.com to take a breathing triangle quiz. You can also schedule an appointment in just 60 seconds. Most insurances are accepted. No referral is even required. Milwaukee area locations include Wauwatosa, Mequon, Oconomowoc, Oak Creek and Pleasant Prairie. They also have offices in Appleton, Illinois, and now Indiana too.
Tiffany: Love it.