My husband snores LOUD! One night about 6 months ago, I couldn't sleep (again) and went to the computer in our den to search for anything that might help. A little background: we're in our late 40's, a couple kids, a little on the chubby side (about 20
pounds or so for me, maybe 35-40 for him). We are working to lose some extra pounds. Over the past 5-6 years he has tried chin tape, nose clips & tape, mouth guards (we have 3-4 in the bedside drawer, one from our dentist that cost over a thousand dollars-did NOT work!), sprays, pillows, chin strap... just about anything that we've found online, in magazines, on TV or recommended by his doctor. Obviously, nothing worked very well (or at all).
He looked into getting the Pillar surgery, but it's expensive and our insurance doesn't cover that. He got tested for sleep apnea, insurance covered that. Doesn't have it. Our doctor suggested maybe a CPAP mask, but a specialist he referred us to said that once you start down that path, you can't really stop. And, he doesn't need it, thank God.
Anyway, I found a site called put an end to snoring and read what they had to say about snoring aids. Since we've already tried just about everything the site had listed, I was pretty discouraged. Then I read about a product called a snorender, kind of like a chin strap but different. I ordered it mainly because the chin strap that we had tried about a year ago actually did help reduce his loudest snoring, but it kept falling off at night. I'd get to sleep and within a hour or two, he'd be snoring loud as ever.
I'm not that much into alternative health, but we take GNC vitamins and go to a chiropractor, and she's really helped us both and our sons over the years. So, I kept going back to the site over the next couple of days and found all kinds of information about snoring and different ways to try to stop it. One thing I liked about the site was the information it has, 20 pages, and way it was pretty honest about their own products and also that they have a one year money back guarantee. We got the pro version and they refund 50% of the purchase price but since these are pretty much custom made, I'm OK with that. They also suggested using something called a neti pot. We got one at a local health food store. It took a bit of getting used to, you basically wash out your sinuses with it. But, WOW. What a difference it has made. We both use it at least once a week, more in colder months or when the pollen count is high in the Spring.
So, did the snorender do anything? Actually, yes, it did. Didn't stop all his snoring all the time, but I'd guess that it stopped maybe 70-80% of it. And when he does snore, it's not nearly as loud or as long anymore. Anyway, I love that I can sleep all night now. He's more rested, maybe because I'm not poking him in the side so much. The snorender site says that their product won't work for everyone and they even printed letters from people who returned the product, expecially people who have trouble breathing thru their nose. But it works just fine for us and we use that neti pot too.