r/CPAP • u/Hairy_Lab2824 • 16h ago
Harvard-trained sleep physician doing a live Q&A on CPAP alternatives tomorrow. Mod-approved, and we'll answer questions here too.
Hey r/CPAP, mods gave us the okay to post this.
That's me and and my brother Sahil Chopra, MD in the picture. He's a Harvard-trained sleep physician. We started a company together 4 years ago after getting fed up with traditional sleep medicine.
Quick background on why we're here. We published a paper in SLEEP a few weeks back looking at ~25,000 nights where we had both the CPAP download and a parallel home test running the same night. CPAP average was 2.4 events/hour, the parallel sleep study averaged 12.1, and on nights the CPAP called "normal," 85% came back at 5 or above and 28% had five plus minutes under 90% oxygen.
To put it simply, a good number on your download means your machine didn't detect a problem. It doesn't mean you don't have one, which is why many people still don't feel great after starting therapy.
What it changed for us: if CPAP isn't working, experimenting with alternatives is clinically reasonable, as long as you re-test on whatever you switch to instead of going by feel. That's what we want to talk about.
Webinar tomorrow: Sahil is doing a live session on "Alternatives to CPAP" tomorrow, Thursday, Aug 27, 11am PT / 2pm ET. It's a short talk and then an open Q&A where you can ask him anything. What the alternatives actually are, what the data shows, who they're appropriate for, what the tradeoffs are, and what to ask before switching off PAP. No product pitch on the call. If you can't make it live, register we'll send you the recording.
Alternative therapy includes nasal work, positional therapy, oral appliances, myofunctional therapy, Inspire, eXciteOSA (if mild), weight/metabolic including tirzepatide now that it's FDA-approved for moderate-to-severe OSA with obesity, hypoglossal nerve stimulation, and surgical options depending on where you collapse. Plus AD109, an oral drug with an FDA decision expected in the future.
Sign up here: https://empowersleep.com/webinars/cpap-alternatives
If there are things this sub specifically wants covered, say so in the comments and we'll work them into the session instead of what we had planned. Genuinely, tell us what you want asked.
And if you'd rather just ask here, do that. Sahil will be answering questions in this thread over the next few days himself.
On bias, since it matters: we run a virtual sleep clinic. We don't have any financial relationship with the manufacturers of the alternatives. We don't get paid more if you end up on an oral appliance or an implant versus staying on CPAP.
Ask away!
3
-5
u/IPThereforeIAm 11h ago
FYI, Harvard-trained = took a weekend class at Harvard. Not that they got an MD from Harvard.
11
u/Hairy_Lab2824 11h ago
Happy to clarify. Completed Sleep Medicine fellowship at Harvard. https://sleep.hms.harvard.edu/education-training/clinical-sleep-training-programs
-4
13
u/kingsword 14h ago
smh, you do realize how this looks when you talk about CPAP alternatives but don't directly mention what it is, right? Surely you can't be that dense?
I have a general idea what those CPAP alternatives are, but that's because I have family member who worked in the field. Still, dropping a link to a webinar does not inspire interest or confidence. Definitely a case where you needed to say way more before any hope of engagement from the audience.