Natural Sleep Apnea Remedies for Better Rest

Hi, all. I am so bummed because I was LOVING taking melatonin; including the research about its healing the immune system. Unfortunately, as with other commenters, here, I began to suffer sleep apnea (which I never have had in the past): including gasping, waking up, and palpitations. I did not want to believe it was the melatonin -- so I kept taking it. Finally, I had to experiment with not taking the melatonin, and the sleep apnea resolved, itself. Melatonin and magnesium (both within the supplement) cause muscles to relax including the upper airway, and can cause apnea. I feel terrible because I was so gung-ho about the supplement (especially in relation to issues like Covid and potentially dementia) that I was recommending it to everyone. Now, I'm afraid they may suffer apnea with the supplement. Truly bummed about this because I was so in love with melatonin!!

Hello Arn,

What form of potassium do you use? chloride, gluconate, citrate, bicarbonate etc.?

Would you please share the brand(s) you use?

Thank you

The only mistake you're making is that you are drinking it undiluted which is dangerous for your throat and stomach. Warm water, 2 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar and a few drops of honey.

Hi I have sleep apnea and have started taking Betaine Hydrochloride last night. Apparently increasing acid in stomach can eliminate acid reflux. I heard this from Dr Berg on Youtube. There seems to be a link between acid reflux and sleep apnea. Eliminating acid reflux may improve or eliminate sleep apnea. I will keep you posted on my result. I will use Snore Lab which is an app you can download and see the snoring level. If this improves, then I will do a sleep test again

If fluoride makes it worse, then borax might make it better.

Hello! Any feedback on the magnesium for sleep apnea? Thanks!

I have to say that all I hear is that supplements will help but I don't believe this. How can obstructive sleep apnea be cured with supplements? it is a physical issue the throat collapsing on itself when unconscious.

You either do exercises to strengthen the throat tissue or a second possibility that over time your teeth and jaw clenching at night has caused your teeth to close tight at night and so the throat aperture to be less open when asleep.

Use a mouth guard to keep your teeth apart 5mm and you should get more oxygen during sleep reducing the oxygen requirements for the body's organs and so a lessening n blood pressure also and no snoring.

just some out of the box thinking.

Just curious if this works if you have insomnia with sleep apnea? They have told me it's a possibility.

Potassium. Sorry, I don't read my old posts often, didn't see the responses on my two posts asking for more info.

Potassium is pretty generic, and can be found in most any vitamin section of most any store. Tablets are limited to 99mg each. Start with 1, but I often pop 4 0r 5.

Bananas have about half the potassium they used to have. An apple a day used to do it, but not anymore. Farmed food in the stores is depleted. Fresh ORGANIC fruits and veggies are the best way to get potassium and magnesium.

I want my mother to try the potassium for sleep apnea. There are a few types of potassium at the health store, which one is the best to use? Thanks

You are so right! I can't believe someone else has seen these things as well. We do things naturally and years ago, they had given my husband fluoride toothpaste in the hospital and I stood right there and watched his atrial fib go bananas. Thyroid and clorox, too. And had the same reaction to bread. I make my own and no knuckle rash. Vanillin is deadly, sugar, chocolate, cashews and soy. He was doing good for years until recently and trying to figure out the culprit that snuck in. We muscle test everything. I am amazed how similar.

You know those peel-off address labels you get from charities? They're perfect. The smaller ones I need two. I curl my lips in so there's minimum contact with them. I find the lower part loosens first (drool? nasal breath?) so I position so lower has more contact.

Thank you for this helpful information. What brand of potassium and dosage? The same for magnesium as well, please.

iI have sleep apnea if I eat dairy. The mucus is blocking my throat.

also try Rife frequency

love Elsa

Where can you buy potassium? There is a little in my Vit D but I haven't been able to find it by itself.

~ Meds can be handed into your local chemist where they dispose of them in the correct manner ~

Hi John;

Since you can't find Lugol's locally, why not make your own at home? There are various sources on the web that have simple and easy to follow instructions. Obtaining the K and KI should be easy using a mail order chemical supply house or even eBay. Best wishes in health.

What doses of potassium are you taking a day?

A cure for sleep apnea, and maybe for snoring, bed-wetting, crib death:

Making my rounds at work one morning I came across a cook sitting in a chair, slouched and looking like death warmed over. I asked if she was OK.

She said, "I have apnea, sleep with a machine, it woke me 150 times last night."

I said, "Oh yeah, I used to have apnea." She was incredulous. Used to???

So I told her my story. As a teen I had sleep apnea a couple of times a night. But unlike most, I would wake up during each bout. I would be totally paralyzed, even my breathing muscles. I would struggle until I was about to pass out. Then suddenly I would take a big breath, like somebody drowning.

One day I took a potassium pill, and that night the apnea was gone. A couple of years later I had a bad fever, which causes you to lose potassium, and the apnea came back. I took another potassium and it was gone. Now I take potassium now and then as a preventative.

The secret here is that potassium, along with magnesium, help to operate our autonomic muscle system, the ones we don't have to think about. These muscles keep our jaw shut, our posture straight, and keep us breathing while we sleep. And that's why potassium may help with snoring, bed-wetting, even crib death. If you eat lots of fresh fruits and veggies you probably get plenty of potassium. But most of us eat too much sugar and salt, which cause us to excrete potassium.

To make a short story long, next morning she was there again, still looking like death warmed over. She said, "I didn't sleep a wink again, but this time for another reason. I took a potassium pill before bed, and in the next 6 hours I peed away 8 pounds! " This lady had ankles as big as my thighs, - edema, and the potassium was making her lose that water.

Part b:

We had a secretary in our office that liked to run marathons. You could always when she ran a race because for the next week she would slouch and look exhausted. She overheard me tell someone about the cook, and she asked if potassium might help her. I told her it couldn't hurt.

That weekend I filled in for the night shift guy. Middle of the night I walked past the darkened office, and heard a high speed ticking sound. In the back of the office there was a single task light on, and this secretary, furiously typing about 500 words a minute. "What are you doing here?" I asked.

Her reply, "I took 2 of those pills, and now I have so much energy I don't know what to do with it."

"Cut back on the dose! " I said. Consequently her recovery time from marathons went from 1 week to 1 day.

I grew up with birds and they're cleaner than people and certainly don't have ticks! That bird clearly LOVES that woman, but you couldn't imagine that, could you!

Instant fix for sleep apnea in most cases

The basic problem is in your autonomic muscles, the ones that work without you having to think about them. When they don't work right you might have a slack jaw, limp wrists, slouching problem, snoring, bedwetting, edema, and apnea.

Minerals are the answer, but particularly potassium and magnesium. We eat mass quantities of salt and sugar, both of which make you excrete potassium. The little bit you get in a banana isn't enough.

My apnea stopped with a single potassium pill. It's a dirt-cheap supplement, won't hurt and will probably help. You might have to up the dosage for several days to get the sodium/potassium back in balance.

Just don't throw the meds down the toilet anymore! There are so many drugs going out into our water it is hurting the fish since so many are on drugs. I would burn them instead.

Hi again....I wanted to list ingredients in Dr. Schulz's Formula, which does contain pharmaceutical grade bentonite clay, which I neglected to include above. The powder also contains flax seed, psyllium seed, apple pectin, activated willow charcoal, marshmallow root, slippery elm bark. peppermint leaf. and cayenne pepper blend. It is intended to cleanse and heal the gut, along with his formula #1. I highly recommend both! I mix it with purified water and a tiny bit of juice added for taste. I hope this helps someone!

Hello there! Sleep Apnea with A-Fib is a lot to deal with! I tried a remedy posted here at EC by Ron (Tavernier, Fl) on 12/27/2014:

He said he cured his A-Fib using bentonite clay and probiotics, suggesting the problem lies in the gut with toxicity. I have not been officially diagnosed with A-Fib, but something was wrong and since it runs in my family I knew I should take the symptoms seriously, so I tried Ron's remedy in the form of Dr. Schulz's #2 Formula (LOL! ) which also contains charcoal, psyllium, and more. The symptoms subsided for me! Between all 3 ingredients I have felt better... Ron was very persistent to get the word out, so you may want to try this remedy...Good luck!

I'm so happy to hear your sleep has improved so much.... I'm hoping mine sleep will improve as well! I believe I have a few allergies or sensitivities at play too...Diet and a beloved cat! But, I am just thinking about the impact vitamin D uptake is possible for those people who are on statins, which may lower the cholesterol levels on the skin, which sunshine activates to make vitamin D. And also the use of sun screens which inhibits production of vitamin D.... and even nagalase, which is being implicated in vaccines, and said to wipe out the body's ability to uptake vitamin D. I have been curious about GcMaf, but I have not tried this myself.

By the way Mama to Many, thank you for all you contribute to here at EC! Best wishes!

This is very interesting. I started taking a vitamin D supplement recently for immune support and have also been sleeping like the dead, which has not been characteristic of me for many years. Perhaps vitamin D is the reason why!

~Mama to Many~

Hello! I am suffering from Sleep Apnea too! So I went searching Youtube to find some answers hoping to avoid the sleep study and the CPAP machine. I have not had enough time to tell if these suggestions will work, but I'm very hopeful. First, I found a YouTube video by a neurologist named Stasha Gominik. She stumbled onto a bunch of valuable information by trial and error, the main truth being most of us are struggling with some sort of sleep disorder whether we know it or not. She found by coincidence that most of her patients who needed to wear a CPAP ended up curing most of their ailments, and quit taking their drugs. Then she started ordering sleep studies for most of her patients that would agree to the study, and she found that most had some sort of weirdness going on that diminished their sleep...She dug deeper and she found a huge bunch of connections that suggested the major role vitamin D3 (in measurable levels) played in the proper inducement of sleep paralysis at the correct level of sleep level...It is somewhat complicated to write sufficiently here, but she sites another researcher's in depth studies done way back in the 70's-80's and he suggests the Vitamin D (D2 and D3) is really a misnomer, and that it is actually a hormone. She tells why this is so vitally important, and why vitamin D3, proper sleep, and careful monitoring of vitamin D3 levels are so crucial to healing most every disease. She cautions us that we can overdo vitamin D3 levels to the point of toxicity...but that everybody should be monitored because we all have different skin coloration, exposure to sunlight, and health requirements. She also included B12, and magnesium into the synthesizing of the vitamin D3. She is still a proponent of the CPAP machine until the patient can go without it and achieve sleep, which is the source of our healing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xF24xmJQK1k. Also I found a chiropractor, Dr. Darren Schmidt, who suggested that most of his patients recovered from sleep apnea when they were started supplementing with RNA ribonucleic acid, -one of the primary building blocks of cell growth. It is a messenger of the DNA's blueprint, and is crucial for just about everything. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zEAWoOkX3KU I haven't anything in regards to personal experience to report as of yet, but these both seemed like great starts to the puzzle of our trampled precious sleep. If anyone has anything to add regarding these suggestions please let me know what you think. Good luck and best wishes for healthy sleep!

For autism, take kefir full of probiotics. There is water and milk kinds, also you need to get heavy metals out of his body. Detoxing is great.

Thank you for your post on this. I read and tried it, and after a month of waking up at approximately 2:30 am and not being able to go back to sleep, I slept until my alarm woke me up this morning. Amazing!!!
I had used a CPAP machine in the past, but never had good results with it.
Thanks again!

HI ALL,,,,,,,, if it's not one thing then its another. My sleep doctor gave me my test results and it was not good. When I sleep on my side then I stop breathing 72 times every hour. No wonder I am not rested on waking and why I wake every few hours. When my O2 gets low then A Fib set in.

I go back and they will fit me with various breathing aids and see which one I need to not get into this state. Again, my advice to all is not to get old. Control what health problems that you can because those that you can't control will make your life about as interesting as you can stand.

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I have been using 2" wide medium adhesive tape for my sleep apnea for about 7 years. I used a cpap for about 3 years before that. It took a little getting used to, but after a few weeks, I found it was better than the CPAP for me. I would tend to get congestion with the CPAP often when I used it and sometimes I get congestion while using the tape, but I just remove the tape just like I removed the cpap when I got to congestive with it.

I was interested in learning more about taking the pepsain capsules and your apnea going away, as well as your yeast symptoms. Did you have obstructive apnea or central? And do you know if you had yeast overgrowth and what symptoms went away from it? Thanks, Ava.

I cannot remember exactly what age when I started snoring loudly but I think it was in high school. I was informed by a male cousin that I kept him awake with my snoring and grinding teeth. I outgrew the teeth grinding but the snoring worsened as I grew older. A colleague told me to consult a doctor because I may have sleep apnea. But I never did.

I tried Googling for the causes and symptoms of sleep apnea and I am convinced that I have them. I want to try the various remedies for sleep apnea being recommended here in EC and I'll start with mouth taping. Aside from congestion, is there other health risk for mouth taping?

After I stopped eating bread I no longer snore, every once in awhile I'll eat pizza or something with bread and begin to snore again so yes I do believe there is a connection here, I'm not saying it's gluten but may be the wheat has been altered?

I cannot tell you how many people who have gone gluten free tell of the freedom they now enjoy in their health. I have been researching and have found that gluten does in fact play a role in sleep apnea. We have snorers over here so we are trying to wean off gluten. Not easy, but is definitely possible. Good luck to you.

Please also note, I massage my facial side mumps for a few minutes at least 2-3 times a day. I tried it only on my right cheek the first time and the next day my right glands were tender and very sore. Didn't do it again until the 3rd day however to my surprise, I noticed the swelling had gone down quite a bit compared to the left. So I have kept this up for over 5 weeks now and I dont look like I have mumps anymore. Swelling is still there only in the mornings because of my sleep machine - obviously air is still getting into the glands during sleep time. Might also try the GF diet! ....

Try going gluten free. Other people have cured sleep apnea by going gluten free.

Hi guys,

I am 45 yrs old and I have suffered from Sleep apnea since 2000. My weight ballooned from being 65kg to 104kgs in 2005. My dad had it really bad when we were young and unfortunately, all his six children inherited his illness. Life before I was diagnosed was an absolute nightmare. I was a walking zoombie for over 5 years until my brother told me I had it. I struggled for so long trying to get thru each day without falling asleep - Anyone with this illness knows exactly what I am talking about. My job suffered, my social life & homelife suffered. I chose to work night shifts as working days were a struggle as I couldnt get up early enough to get going. Normal people only need 6-8 hours - I needed 10-12 even 14 hours sleep to manage. If it wasnt for my brother, I would probably be 6-foot under or would have had a stroke by now. My husband & kids kept telling me to go see the doc. The doc wasnt much good as he never suspected sleep apnea with the symptoms I gave him. I found out what was wrong with me when several years ago the entire family went to a 1st birthday for my niece and we travelled a fair distance to get there. I feel asleep on the couch when we got to our destination while the others stayed up to prep for the next days cooking. My brother kept waking me up during the night because I had stopped breathing several times & they couldnt believe how loudly I snored. In the morning, he told me what was wrong with me and said to see the doc. The doc checked my blood pressure and told me I was walking dead because it was so high, he sent me to get tested and now I sleep with a CPAP machine and life has now been easier however no matter how much weight I try to loose, it always returned. I eat a balanced diet and am quite active however the weight just kept piling back on. Just by chance, I discovered by self diagnosis by surfing the net, I have what they call pneumoparotid - swollen parotid glands. Pneumoparotitis most commonly occurs in wind instrument players, glass blowers, and scuba divers. Those with sleep apnea will also develop this due to the blockage that occurs when the airways are blocked usually by the tongue, forcing the air into the parotid glands causing them to swell. I have looked like I had mumps for years! Even with my breathing machine, I couldnt get rid of the pneumoparotitis. To combat the embarrassing facial side bumps, I tired the ACV but couldn't stand the taste and smell so I suck on sour lemon drops & drink lemon water during the day and at night I drink baking soda water before bed (1 tspn in glass of warm water). The baking soda water is great for air and gas exertion - is working like a charm! I dropped 2. 5kgs in the first week (5wks ago) and have continued to loose the weight slowly, and as for the facial mumps - almost gone! I was told having the machine can help you loose weight and stabilize your HBP. My HBP stabilized some time ago but I do look forward to the day when I can throw the meds down the toilet because I wont need them anymore. I am looking forward to the day when my sleep apnea has been eliminated forever. My dad was not an overweight man however he got it from his dad and it didnt help that he smoked a pack a day, stressed and from being a workaholic and sadly died too young because of it. I still have all my siblings alive but I don't want any of us to pass the way my dad did - a massive heart attack.

My husband has been taking Magnesium Glycinate 400 mg (elemental Mg. ) ( 3 caps) per day, essentially for lowering BP and Cholesterol.. I also got him "Transdermal Magnesium" Oil (from the Book per Dr. M. Sircus ) 8 sprays rubbed to each leg at night, he also uses the spray to his upper body in the mornings after shower.. I noticed after a few weeks that he stopped grinding his teeth, and also stopped snoring.. :) :) I googled "Magnesium and snoring" and found Dr C. Dean's website on Magnesium that states Magnesium treatment should be the first treatment of choice for Sleep Apnea before resorting to CPAP or surgeries. I have a few family members and friends who were advised CPAP and or surgery for sleep apnea and I hope Magnesium treatment as above will help the many many more people out there who are having these problems. What she has on her website is Magnesium Citrate powder 300 mg twice a day.. Mg Citrate could cause loose stools vs Mg Glycinate which does not.. I wish this helps someone.

Mike, did you try the raw ACV remedy? I worry about it being a quick fix, the side effects - won't it burn some delicate digestive tissue? I strongly believe ACV should be diluted if taken at all. I am a woman in my mid-forties and I have noticed that both sinuses and big tonsils block my airway. My hypertension, snoring and apnea are violently scary. I wake people up two floors away. I am overweight and I am getting a juicer to start juicing more vegetables - I tend to lose a few pounds, fall ill then get the pounds back up again. I noticed that when I use the CPAP Machine, I don't feel well rested in the morning because I spent the night bound to an irritating foreign object.

Sleep apnea is a matter of life and death, remedies should be flourishing on YouTube, etc but we hardly have them. Except for the YouTube video on SA Ayurvedic cure - I watched it and was wondering where the hell I was going to get those ingredients from and if they would actually work? I once watched a TV program where a woman used a pet for her apnea - weird eh? She said when she wasn't breathing, her parrot would perch on her till she wakes up. That isn't practical for most of us who are allergic to pets, feathers, ticks and so on. I have researched many ailments and found cures but this one beats me. I will study the full Earth Clinic page on Sleep Apnea and see if there is anything I can try. Doctors just keep you bound to their prescriptions and gadgets so I don't even want to talk to them. There is research and some upcoming cures on deadly diseases like cancer, HIV, diabetes, etc. Somebody somewhere needs to help us with sleep apnea because I don't know if some of you have noticed that some kids seem to have this ailment, then it progresses. Yes, mine started as a Sleep Disorder - Insomnia.

I had a clear case of Insomnia when I was pregnant and the child snored from age 5 or earlier. My other child does not snore but clearly has a SD and HBP! I need a cure for myself and my family. People of EC, help! There are many people suffering in silence. Let's all come out of our shells here, discuss the good, the bad and the ugly of this thing sucking out LIFE GIVING OXYGEN FROM US and get our normal breathing back. I watched 'Fat Sick and Nearly Dead' on YouTube and another movie on how Diabetis got cured with eating raw food. Has anybody seen any inspirational thing on natural cure for Sleep Apnea? I want to know. In conclusion, stop suffering in silence, do a post here. A problem shared is half solved.

I have had sleep apnea for several years, which was getting more intense as every month went by. I decided to try the vitamin C (sodium ascorbate powder) in addition to Pharma Gaba and Magnesium. I combined 1/2 tsp sodium ascorbate C in 8 ounces of pure water, with 250 mg magnesium malate, or magnesium oil applied transdermally, and 100 mg Pharma GABA. I would take this combination 1/2 to 1 hour before bedtime.

I have not have anymore occurances of apnea ....

Many, many thanks to Earth Clinic and the large family of contributors, I no longer have this problem!

Thanks, I have recently been searching for info about this subject for a long time and yours is the greatest I have came upon so far.

I have been struggling with sleep apnea so bad, and for so long that my husband has abandoned the bedroom and I have been bone tired for years.

I started taking Betaine HCl with Pepsin, a long time ago, but only took one or two with each meal. Well I got frustrated, because my digestion didn't seem to be much better, so I started increasing slowly, adding one or two additional capsule each day. Finally, my digestion got better, my reflux WENT AWAY, and guess what else happened? Yes, MY APNEA WENT AWAY TOO. I no longer snore loudly and wake up hundreds of time a night. Most mornings I wake up in exactly the same position I went to sleep in, and I remember my dreams. I won't say how many capsules I take, because everyone is different, but I will say it looks like I had ZERO stomach acid of my own. Also my yeast symptoms have gone, and I no longer crave something all the time. I finally feel satiated, and have lost 10 pounds. I feel better in so many ways I can't list them all.

I am so urgent to share what I have learned, but really don't know how to get the word out there. I guess I could write a book, lol. I want to shout this from the rooftops, but then they'd put me away.

Hi EC/Ted, John from Thailand. After 65 years of chronic rhinitis, infections plus 45 years sleep apnea I have got rid of the itchy, running nose, infections & maybe sleep apnea. Hooray! ... I think. A very small pinch of borax [no, not boron nor boric acid] in every litre of Thai water, Lugols Iodine 6 drops [2ds x 3 drinks], ACV bi carb water, and drinking more water daily. Not forgetting vegy diet, no dairy, meat or supermarket rubbish. This Is Thailand so I think it's Lugols that I bought from the local hospital. If it isn't Lugols what would I be feeling after drinking iodine for external application? Can't find Lugols here so if you know where to get it, let's know. The apnea I must wait for the next full moon. Don't laugh, I've kept a record and a majority of apnea seem to occur then, and no, I haven't noticed my face getting hairier or teeth getting longer. John.

Thank you so much for posting this... I am on iodine and supplements for adrenal stress and estrogen dominance. I suspect heavily that I have a thyroid problem but my holistic doctor hasn't yet put me on dessicated thyroid but she is keeping an eye on it. I ran out Iodine recently and began to have all sorts of issues and my thyroid swelled up. I have recently begun on it it again but the swelling hasn't gone all the way around. Ever since I have had these issues I have awoken, gasping for air and it's clear to me I have some sort of sleep apnea. But it only came along with all the other issues that I noticed. No matter what symptom I end up having, I keep coming back to thyroid issues and iodine even when I'm not looking for that specifically. I will definitely try to get some money to get back into that doctor and take another thyroid test and express to her my wishes to try dessicated thyroid.

I was reading the lungs page and saw a post which mentions a potential cure I thought would be good to mention on the sleep apnea page - b/c dessicated thyroid and lugols iodine combination is mentioned there specifically for sleep apnea

https://www.earthclinic.com/cures/lungs.html

The post:

06/12/2010: Bill from San Fernando, Luzon, Philippines writes: "The Thyroid, Iodine and Asthma

Here is an article which might help people suffering with lung problems in general. This interesting article is by Dr David Berry who specializes in the use of dessicated thyroid and lugol's iodine with respect to asthma and lung problems and whose research, experience and advice in this area is extensive and is, perhaps, a good illustration as to why adequate amounts of iodine are so necessary and important in our diets.

Here is what he has to say:

"In the mid 1980s I had a chronic asthma patient who developed an inflammation of his thyroid. After consultation with an endocrinologist he was put on Eltroxine (T4). One day when the patient came in later he mentioned that the thyroid treatment improved his asthma considerably. At the same time, my office receptionist had severe asthma since the age 12 requiring constant medications and multiple hospital visits. She knew about the results on this patient, she asked if she could try thyroid as well. I started her on 180 mg of desiccated thyroid and within a month raised her to 250 mg. This was in about 1986. She has been free of asthma symptoms since then. She still takes some medication occasionally but has not been in hospital for asthma since.

Encouraged by these results, I proceeded to work my way through all of my chronic asthma patients. At the time there were 22 severe asthmatics who came into my office on a regular basis for asthma attacks. Some came into the office once a month (or more often when in trouble) and some twice a year. Over about a 2-3 year period I gradually put all of them on desiccated thyroid. All patients improved tremendously. I would not say all of them were completely cured but the improvement was striking. Two things followed from this. By 1990 all asthma patients were on thyroid and thus from 1990 to 2002, I did not see another acute asthma attack in my office and none of these 22 patients came in for their asthma. The other slightly embarrassing problem was for a few months my waiting room became quite slow because of the absence of these asthma patients. From there I went on to learn what other benefits thyroid medication might have.

So it is my impression asthma is a low thyroid problem which can be better controlled and dealt with by thyroid treatment. Two patients who have been on these doses of thyroid for more than 15 years have had bone density tests show their bone density was completely normal. Prednisone (cortisone) used for acute severe asthma attacks has more serious potential for causing bone problems. Thyroid treatment, especially with supplementary iodine (Lugol's one drop daily) does not alter bone density short term or long term.

The only literature I can find on asthma and thyroid hormone was from the early part of the last century when many physicians found thyroid improved asthma. One 1911 study in a large Paris asthma clinic found thyroid treatment effective treatment for asthma. (1) However, adrenaline was discovered at the same time. Consequently all severe asthma patients went on daily injections of adrenaline for many years. The potential for using thyroid to help asthma was gradually forgotten. There was a study in 1968 in which they used growth hormone and thyroid to treat asthmatic children. They attributed the improvement to the growth hormone not the thyroid. (2) It has been noted repeatedly that asthma incidence is increasing in all age groups. I feel this is the result of a lower intake of iodine occurring in many families from decrease consumption of table salt. (3-6) The lower intake of iodine tends to make thyroid glands work poorly and cause hypothyroidism and thus increase the chances of asthma in those who are susceptible.

We know that by tracing radioactive thyroid hormone injected into animals shows the hormone concentrates in the aveoli of the lungs. These are the lower air sacs that we have to exchange oxygen with. Also for a good 100 years iodine preparations have been used on chronic chest problems and asthmatics. Iodine is excreted in the lung mucus. In fact iodine in excreted in all mucous secretions such as the mouth(saliva) stomach, bowels, cervix, and lungs. The iodine in the mucous likely helps to kill any bacteria or viruses. Thus both iodine and thyroid hormone are involved in lung physiology. For example most, if not all, sleep apnea patients are fixed with adequate doses of thyroid. Chronic obstructive lung disease (COPD) also is helped by thyroid hormone treatment.

The amount of iodine in the lung mucus possibly explains the paradox that the Japanese who are amongst the heaviest smokers in the world also have one the lowest lung cancer rates. It is likely the high levels of iodine in their blood is excreted in the lung mucus. This iodine then by apoptosis (natural cell death)could be killing off any abnormal cells as they develop that are caused by the cigarette carcinogens. In addition iodine reacts directly with carcinogens and chemical to render them inactive. (7) The Japanese have had an average dietary iodine intake of about 10 mg for many centuries. If the level of iodine intake is above 2-3 mg daily then the thyroid gland becomes saturated within two weeks and does not take iodine up anymore. Thus the most of the iodine can then go to the other parts of the body to carry out iodine's mulitple important functions. The most important of these is relataed to killing off of pre-cancerous abnormal cells. Our intake of iodine as laid down by the WHO is around 15-200 micrograms. This is about one tenth the needed dose to saturate the thyroid gland. So most iodine or a large part of the dietary iodine in Westerners goes to the thyroid gland. This leaves less than optimal amounts going to the rest of the body."

About 12 years ago I felt lethargic. Always tired and sleeping approximately 16 to 18 hours in a 24 hour period. I often complained to my doctor about it. Had blood work done and I seemed to be very healthy. One day after telling one of my neighbors she mentioned that I could have sleep apnea. Long story short, I did have sleep apnea and my blood reading for B12 was extremely low and needed to go on weekly shots. They were extremely painful for me. After complaining about the pain, they came out with B12 in tablets at 1200 micro grams. I now take these and I am a normal human being again. But the thing is sleep apnea can cause you to have a stroke. So do go see your doctor and ask him for a B12 blood test. It should be at the very lowest 140. I was at 110. Also get checked out for sleep apnea. You cannot overdose with B12 at 1200mcg. You will pass all exess in your urine.

@ Blazicekj from Prague, Czech Republic:

Hi, you said you would try those herbs for the apnea. How did that go? Have you learned anything new since posting? Thank you!

@ Twirled Piece from Laguna Beach, Ca

AND

@ Francisca from Michelbach-le-bas, Alsace, France

OMG - Wow! How do you know you won't die? What if you develop sinus congestion overnight and have no open nasal passage to breathe with? Tell me more, please!

Thanks!

@ Steve from Niwot, Co., Thanks for that article. Where did you get it from?

Hello there. I just wanted to share my thoughts on this. About 4 months ago, I started having trouble breathing while falling asleep. I have since talked to my doctor about this and went to see about 3 other specialists (heart, lungs... ), who could not explain it. So I gave up on that matter. The thing is, although I wasn't checked for sleep apnea, I don't think that's my problem. It only happens to me when falling asleep and feels like gradually stopping to breathe, but not caring about it until I stop almost entirely. It gets worse when I eat something heavier in the evening. When I sleep, I seem to breathe just fine. It may be more likely that it's simply some sort of neurological reaction to my lifestyle.

Anyway, I have found out, that when I drink a multivitamin, my problems seem to dissapear. Doctors laughed me out with that and told me it's a placebo effect. I have since tried the vitamins separately, and although I haven't yet settled on a single vitamin, C doesn't seem to help by itself. My guess is B. If it was a psychological / neuro problem, B, from what I know about vitamins, would be logical.

Now I was never a much of a believer in any sort of medicine... Natural or prescription based. I have felt that most pills simply don't help me that much and if I think I can get through any illness without them, I do. But in the last few years, I have actually found, that vitamins and some natural remedies do in fact affect me. Not much, but if nothing else they definitely work pretty well as a prevention. I have always suffered from common colds and various other minor diseases, but I have not had a single problem for last two years in that regard. As to why, beats me. I think I am a pretty rational person. 22yrs old, studiyng robotics and cybernetics, strong believer in science. It however seems only logical to fight ilnesses by supporting natural immunity (I have been diagnosed with minor cell imunity deficiency inherited from my mother in that regard) instead of surpressing the symptoms, which is what most pills do.

Anyway, just my two cents worth of experience. I will try some of the suggested herbs as well and see what it does.

Interesting, although I don't suffer from sleep apnea I have a very dry mouth during the night and I had thought of taping it. What a coincidence to hear from someone else who does it.... It won't be too comfortable though.... but then I got so used to sleeping with ear plugs that I can't sleep without them anymore, so it is maybe the same thing for the tape.

For years I suffered from sleep apnea, waking out of breath with dry mouth and dehydration almost every night. Chin straps and breathing strips only provided partial success. I found complete relief by taping my mouth shut with a strip of first aid paper tape. I cover it completely and wake up feeling refreshed. Despite mild sinus congestion it feels like I'm getting more oxygen. Three months of taping and I even have less fatigue! Amazing.