I was only 5 years old when I had my first surgery – tonsils and adenoids, plus “tubes” in my ears to help keep them from plugging up and getting infected again. The next time was when I was around 12 to remove teeth in preparation for 3 years of braces and headgear to correct my very crowded smile. All my life I’ve suffered from nasal congestion. Most of the time I haven’t thought too much about it; for me it’s just been normal. Though I can remember walking to school once with my Dad (school was just a mile or so from home and not too far from his work) and complaining that I felt like I couldn’t get a full breath.

Later on in dental school, at lunch time I would frequently go to the library and find a back corner desk to sit at and grab a quick nap; too often waking up with drool running down the arm my head was resting on. A few years later I learned that eating lunch and then driving for more than 20 minutes was not a good idea – got pulled over because one of my micro-second wink-offs had lasted long enough to make a highway patrol officer s**t his pants thinking I was going to run into him! That was my wake-up call (no pun intended) to admit that perhaps I might have an issue that deserved a little more attention than just manning up and muscling through.

Everything I just mentioned are classic signs of compromised breathing and sleep – congestion, enlarged tonsils, dental crowding, daytime sleepiness, not to mention the snoring that was starting to drive my wife insane! A partial list of other conditions and diseases that are either caused or exacerbated by poor breathing and sleep includes –

• Traffic accidents
• Workplace accidents
• Overweight/obesity
• GERD
• Diabetes
• High blood pressure
• Heart disease
• Stroke
• Alzheimer’s
• ADHD
• Arthritis
• Any and all diseases based on chronic systemic inflammation.

I won’t bore you right now with all the biochemical and physiologic science as to why this is. Right now, just know this –
If you are not breathing effortlessly and nearly exclusively
through your nose, 24-7 day and night,
you have an extremely slim chance of ever being completely healthy.

You can eat the perfect diet and exercise like a triathlete, but if you are not breathing well you could very well end up being one of “those”, one of those who get sick and/or prematurely die “for no reason”. There is always a reason, and for the 80% of American adults who suffer from some form of compromised breathing this could be it. That was almost me!

Fortunately, I was able to get the help that I needed, and I am now allowed to sleep in the same room with my wife, I no longer wink-off while driving, I’ve lost 20 pounds, and the bone-on-bone osteoarthritis in my knees is even starting to feel better!

I’m so impressed and happy I’ve decided to put together a team of experts so we can bring the same help to any of my patients who might have similar issues going on (probably about 80% of you :). Why a team? Because although there are some great treatments available, there is no silver-bullet one-size-fits-all solution. In fact, rarely is there just one cause to deal with. And just in case you’re wondering, CPAP is only one of many therapies available, most of which are way easier to live with. I don’t wear one.

If you or a family member snore or have other nighttime sleep issues, or suffer from (or are serious about preventing) any of the other issues I mentioned above, I’d like to encourage you to give us a call and ask Laurie or Barbara to set you up with a Breathing Focused Screening Appointment. Let’s find out how severe or mild your symptoms are and then come up with a plan to get you back on the road to optimal health.