Sleep medicine, written for patients
Practical answers from a Westerville sleep practice. Each piece is written for a specific question, cited to primary sources, and reviewed against current labeling and guidelines. Newest first.
CPAP
Why CPAP masks leak, and how to fix it
Mouth leak, size, strap tension, and when a full-face mask is the wrong answer to a nasal problem.
CPAP
CPAP side effects and what to do about them
Dry mouth, aerophagia, claustrophobia, skin marks, and which problems are a mask issue versus a pressure issue.
Inspire
What is DISE and why you need it before Inspire
Drug-induced sleep endoscopy finds complete concentric collapse, a Medicare exclusion for hypoglossal nerve stimulation.
Inspire
The first 90 days after an Inspire implant
Activation, titration, residual AHI, and what STAR-trial style follow-up looks like after implant.
CPAP alternatives
Does losing weight cure sleep apnea?
Weight loss can lower AHI. It does not reliably “cure” moderate or severe OSA, including after Zepbound.
CPAP alternatives
Positional therapy for positional sleep apnea
When apnea is much worse on the back, and what positional devices can and cannot replace.
Other conditions
Snoring vs sleep apnea: when snoring is a warning sign
Primary snoring is a diagnosis of exclusion. When the noise is a warning, and why drugstore strips are not a workup.
Sleep apnea
Does sleep apnea go away on its own?
Weight change, surgery, and childhood adenoids aside, adult obstructive apnea rarely vanishes without treatment.
Insomnia
Why you wake at 3am and cannot get back to sleep
Clock-time awakenings, the first-night cortisol rise, apnea, and what CBT-I does instead of another sleep tablet.
Insomnia
Sleep hygiene advice that actually has evidence behind it
Which bedtime rules are supported, which are folklore, and why hygiene alone is not treatment for chronic insomnia.
Other conditions
Narcolepsy: current treatment options
Wake-promoting drugs, oxybates, and the August 2026 oveporexton approval, including what is not in pharmacies yet.
Sleep apnea
Sleep apnea and commercial driving: DOT certification explained
FMCSA has no single apnea rule. What examiners still ask for, and how PAP data is used in a DOT physical.