Sleep Apnea

What is sleep apnea?

It is a common disorder in which you have one or more shallow breaths or breathing pauses that last from seconds to minutes. Occurring often 5 to 30 times more an hour and usually with a loud snort or choking sound normal breathing starts again.

Sleep apnea is ongoing and will disrupt your sleep three or more nights per week. You will sleep deeply then into a light sleep when you’re breathing becomes shallow or pauses resulting in sleepless nights and restless days.

Usually doctors can’t detect sleep apnea symptoms and often it will go undiagnosed because people don’t know they have it because it only happens during sleep. Usually a family member or partner will be the only ones who will notice the signs of sleep apnea.

Obstructive sleep apnea is the most common type which means the airway has collapsed or is blocked during sleep causing the shallow breathing or breathing pauses. When you try to breathe the air is squeezed past the blockage causing you to snore. Statistically sleep apnea has an effect on people that are overweight, but anyone can be affected. There is even sleep apnea in children.

A less common type of sleep apnea is central sleep apnea caused by your brain not sending the correct signals to your breathing muscles. Your brain forgets to tell your lungs to breathe for brief period of time. Central sleep apnea and obstructive can occur together or alone and snoring usually doesn’t happen with central sleep apnea.

If sleep apnea goes untreated it can increase the risk of high blood pressure, heart attack, stroke, obesity and diabetes. Increase the risk for/or worsen heart failure, make irregular heartbeats more likely and increase the chance to have a diving accident.

People have tried mouthpieces, surgery, sleep apnea devices, a sleep apnea pillow and changed their lifestyle to treat sleep apnea. A changed lifestyle is necessary to treat obstructive sleep apnea because it can be very serious. Sleep apnea treatment relieves sleepless nights and tiredness during the day. It also may lessen the development of high blood pressure, heart disease and other health problems.

See your doctor regularly so he can monitor your treatment and also see if the sleep apnea treatments are causing any side effects. Ongoing care with your doctor is especially important if you're getting continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) treatment with a sleep apnea machine. You may have to adjust to the use of CPAP, if the sleep apnea mask hurts or isn’t working properly your doctor may give you a different sleep apnea device or mask. The CPAP helps alleviate side effects. Weight loss may also relieve your sleep apnea.

Due to the fact that sleep apnea causes you to be drowsy during the day, until you are properly treated, know the dangers of driving or operating heavy machinery. Another precaution, if you are having any surgery let your anesthesiologist know so they can take steps to make sure your airways stay open.

As I stated before people with sleep apnea usually don’t know it and a family member or partner is the first one to notice the signs. They can do the following things to help a loved one who has sleep apnea.
• Tell the person if he or she snores loudly during sleep or has breathing pauses.
• Encourage the person to see a doctor.
• Help the person follow the doctor's treatment for sleep apnea, including CPAP.
• Provide support.

Good Evening,
Rose Sheepskill