Dr. Durham:
'What I tell you is one thing,
listen to what other people say':
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Claire: I feel like a new person
I was walking around paranoid. It was a feeling I couldn’t seen to shake. I was sure my co-workers were suddenly making plans that didn’t include me. No more lunch invites. No mention of after-work drinks. I had always been included before. It seemed whenever I would wander into a group discussion, everyone suddenly excused themselves. I had done nothing I was aware of – why all of a sudden were they avoiding me?
This paranoia didn’t stop with my co-workers. It seemed to stretch to my friends. I sensed they were doing the exact same thing. Suddenly dinner invites stopped coming. Invitations to events no longer existed and it felt like they were making up excuses not to see me. At last, I confronted my best friend and she spilled the beans. Everyone was irritated with me. Irritated with my negativity, my temper, my crankiness. The old Claire, the fun-to-be-around Claire, had been replaced with a horribly selfish and miserable replica. I knew my lack of sleep was having an affect on my commitment and focus at work but I had no idea the impact it was having on my personal life.
After my visit with Dr. Durham, I feel like I am a new person. I feel like I have a brand new lease on life. I not only am able to sleep through the night but I feel like I have re-invented myself. I have control over my personality and over my emotions. Once again, I am positive and overwhelmingly happy. I have tolerance and patience with people instead of being consumed with weariness and fatigue. And the best part is everyone wants to be around me again. No one is avoiding me and my life is back to where it’s supposed to be.
Let us know about your sleep problems - fill out our 'Sleep Disorder Evaluation Form'
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Drew: Who would have thought my dentist was the answer to my problems?
I couldn’t stand when people would say “ah man, I slept like the dead last night”. Argh! I wanted to know what that felt like. What did they mean? I wanted to know how it felt to go to bed in the evening and sleep through the entire night. I wanted to know how if felt to wake up in the morning completely invigorated and revitalized.
For as far back as I could remember I had not slept completely through the night. I couldn’t remember the last time I woke fully energized and ready to greet whatever the day had in store. It never seemed to matter if I slept for 4 or for 9 hours – the first thought I always had in the morning was “man, when can I go back to bed?” Every morning I was indisputably, categorically exhausted. The fatigue stayed with me all day and soon it just became part of my normal state of being.
At a routine dental check-up, Dr. Strickland was asking about my overall health. I was telling him how I couldn’t sleep through the night and how exhausted I was. He was paying close attention and listening attentively. When I finished explaining my situation, he immediately offered some advice, some treatment options and a potential solution. Who would have thought my dentist was the answer to my problems? Now that I’ve had my treatments, I can barely believe how long I lived in my sleep deprived state. It was infuriating and avoidable. Thank you Dr. Strickland for everything you did.
Let us know about your sleep problems - fill out our 'Sleep Disorder Evaluation Form'
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Lorraine: I had actually considered ending my marriage
When we first met and fell in love, Jim was the perfect man in my eyes. Our relationship quickly grew and we found ourselves following our dreams. We built an incredible life together; a life of travel and adventure, child rearing and cultivating friendships. It was a page out of a book.
It was evident at the start of our marriage that Jim would snore on occasion. It was nothing unusual or alarming. Just harmless snoring. However, over the years, Jim’s snoring became progressively worse. We ran through the gamut of every option we could think of. We explored sleep centers and bought over-the-counter solutions. We tried homemade remedies and we altered our sleep environment. We exhausted ourselves coming up with solutions. At one point, Jim’s snoring became such an issue between us I had actually considered ending my marriage.
I was becoming more and more bitter and it wasn’t long before I began resenting our relationship. I was angry and frustrated and because of the sleep deprivation, we were both irritable and ill-tempered. Soon, we began taking out our frustrations on one another. I was left feeling deflated and feeling like I had no options. I didn’t know what else to do.
I was at my regular teeth cleaning appointment and I mentioned the snoring to Dr. Durham. We chatted for awhile about the possible contributing factors and he suggested an appointment with Jim the following week. Hurray! One visit was all it took and we suddenly understood the cause of Jim’s snoring. Dr. Durham suggested some appropriate treatment options and they netted great results. Now, Jim and I spend a lot less time talking about our sleep problems and a lot more time devoted to one another.
Let us know about your sleep problems - fill out our 'Sleep Disorder Evaluation Form'
Paulette: Sleepless in . . . Savannah
Late night television. Every infomercial ever made. Every old black-and-white movie every produced. I could tell you, with specific detail, about anything televised after midnight. What Ingrid Bergman said to Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca. Which vacuum cleaner does more than just clean your floors. Which food chopper slices and dices the fastest and has the quickest clean up. Every single night, almost all night long, I was up. And television was my form of entertainment.
Television was not only my company but it was quickly becoming my only friend. Friends and family members didn’t want to be around me any longer. Because I wasn’t getting any sleep, my personality was being directly affected. I was miserable, cranky and judgmental. I just wasn’t any fun to be around. It had gotten to the point that my sleep disorder was disrupting more than my night’s. It was upsetting my relationships, altering my personality and ruining my life.
It just seemed that getting to sleep was so hard for me. I would take sleeping pills, try home remedies and count sheep for hours on end. The frustrating and exhausting cycle of insomnia just continued and became increasingly maddening.
Dr. Strickland was inquiring about my overall health at a dental visit and I mentioned my insomnia. Not only did he understand my exasperation but he approached the whole matter with kindness and compassion. After seeing Dr. Strickland, the difference in my life is phenomenal. He took the time to talk with me and answered all my questions. And, he gave me a solution – one that worked! No more infomercials and old movies. No more sleepless nights. Now, there is only sleeping in Savannah.
Let us know about your sleep problems - fill out our 'Sleep Disorder Evaluation Form'
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Charlie: Potentially, my dentist saved my life!
As far back as I could remember, I had a problem with snoring. Even back in high school and university, I was always teased and ridiculed. My roommates and sports teammates gave me the nickname of “Buzz” and it has stuck with me to this day.
Shortly after college, I fell in love and married Elizabeth. She knew, from the get-go, that I was a snorer and we would have many discussions about the subject. At the breakfast table after a ‘loud’ night, we would talk about our options and cures to stop my snoring. We would talk about how disruptive the snoring was and how it was impacting our lives. We found lists of experts and spent hours researching on the internet. The conversations we had were endless and unfortunately, they never led to a solution.
Then, one night, Elizabeth suddenly shook me awake. She said she was awake and was listening to me snore when all of a sudden I had stopped breathing. She was so scared she was shaking and right then & there we decided more was going on than we had anticipated. After that night, she began monitoring my night-time breathing and she was amazed to see how frequently I would stop breathing each and every night.
When Dr. Durham noticed how exhausted I looked and commented on it at a routine check-up, I mentioned what was going on and he immediately detected the problem. Right away he knew the problem was sleep apnea and he mentioned if I left it untreated, it could potentially lead to a fatal disorder. He said persistent snoring can be a pre-cursor to sleep apnea but he reassured me that he had treatment options. He quickly recommended one that worked for me! Now, my snoring has decreased significantly and I finally have my sleep apnea under control. I still thank my lucky stars that I went to see Dr. Durham for a teeth cleaning and potentially, my dentist saved my life.
Let us know about your sleep problems - fill out our 'Sleep Disorder Evaluation Form'
To optimize your health and get answers to your snoring-, sleep apnea-, insomnia-, and all sleep disorder questions, your search is over.
Contact Dr. Durham or Dr. Strickland today at (912) 257.4733
