FAQ Sleep Apnea » chronic sleep apnea

Obstructive Sleep Apnea

admin — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 01:51:43 +0000

Sleep Management Solutions partnered with Philips brings you a detailed look at obstructive sleep apnea. What are the signs and symptoms and what you and your doctor can do about it.

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Managing Sleep Apnea with Alternative Treatments

admin — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 08:46:42 +0000

Not everyone likes traditional medicine. They feel a more natural solution is better for the body. Some people with sleep apnea seek alternative treatments as opposed to CPAP or surgery. Homeopathic medicine, yoga, and acupuncture are just a few alternative treatments available.

As with any treatment for a medical condition, caution should be taken when participating and always get a second opinion if something doesn’t seen right.

Homeopathic medications are all natural, not synthetic chemicals. These are thought to be healthier than laboratory created medicine. Even with natural remedies, certain medications are well suited for some people, but not others. Homeopaths are trained to assess the whole person and treat accordingly with the proper remedy.

Some sleep apnea alternative treatments and homeopathic remedies include; Sambucus for difficulty breathing or asthma at night, Sulfur for sleep issues and disturbances involving chronic conditions, Opium for those people needing more energy during the day to stay awake, and Arsenicum Album for breathing conditions that get worse at night. There are other medications homeopaths may prescribe depending on individual needs.

Yoga techniques target the whole body, striving for balance. It involves the mind, spirit, and body and creates a healthier you with peace and harmony. Many of the yoga breathing techniques can improve night time breathing problems.

The science of breathing, Pranayama, stresses the importance of proper breathing in our everyday lives. It also claims that what we consciously learn during the day will be remembered while sleeping. We can effectively train ourselves to breathe better in sleep.

Between January 2002 and August 2004 at the Sleep Division, Universidade Federal de Sao Paulo (UNIFESP), Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil, a study was held to assess the benefits of acupuncture in sleep apnea patients. Surprisingly, it was found that acupuncture significantly decreased apneic events in the test group and not the control group. These findings were against what traditional scientists and doctors assumed they would be. Based on the results of this study, acupuncture seems to be a safe sleep apnea alternative treatment.

Patients with sleep apnea want alternative treatments for many different reasons. Some want a more natural treatment plan, others are searching for a cure out of desperation.

One thing that should be kept in mind while searching for an alternative remedy is that sleep apnea can be deadly. No alternative treatment can make you start breathing again if death occurs. The best course of action would be to try alternative medicine while complying with the CPAP and then slowly attempt to wean off of the positive pressure machine.

Several sleep apnea alternative treatments are acceptable, some are questionable, and many depend on the person. Not all treatments work for everyone. When looking for natural remedies, remember to ensure ongoing health during your search.

Always consult your doctor before beginning any treatment plan. Even if attempts at natural healing do not improve your sleep apnea, most alternative treatments will improve your mental well being.

http://www.sleepapneaosa.com

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Methods Used to Treat Obstructive Sleep Apnea

admin — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 05:29:55 +0000

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) can be treated in numerous ways. What needs to be looked at is the patient’s medical history, the disorder’s severity, and crucially, the exact cause of the airway blockage.

Kids that have OSA do so typically due to chronically enlarged adenoids and tonsils. Tonsillectomies and adenoidectomies are successful at diminishing OSA substantially. The difficulty level associated with operations to reduce OSA in children can be very high, as for example with cases of reduced growth of the body alongside poor development of the right side of the heart. Fortunately, when OSA-associated high exhalation pressures are lowered complications to the cardiovascular system tend to reverse of their own accord. Careful precautionary practices are adhered to during the important postoperative period in children.

OSA treatment in adults who have poor oropharyngeal airways in combination with a large upper body frame are open to a variety of treatments. Unfortunately, this most common form of OSA tends not to have particular treatment methods that habitually work, each case needs specific evaluation over the best course of action.

Such methods for relieving obstructions consist of changes to the sufferer’s lifestyle, e.g. reducing alcoholic intake, avoiding medications that may relax the central nervous system (CNS) (e.g. sedatives, muscle relaxants), stopping smoking and reducing weight. Specially designed devices, such as pillows, that stop the sufferer from sleeping on their back can be effective in reducing OSA.

Oral appliances are sometimes used, these keep the patients airways open whilst they are asleep. Mandibular advancement splints (MAS) are sometimes advised to lessen mild to moderate OSA. MAS consists of a mouth guard, similar to that used with impact sports to protect the teeth, which holds the lower jaw a little more down and forward from its usual relaxed position. When in use the users tongue is moved farther from the back of the airways, possibly far enough so that some OSA sufferers are able to gain improved breathing.

When such methods fail to make enough of a beneficial impression GP’s will often suggest the use of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP).

CPAP comes in the form of a mask attached to the face which has a tube running from an air pump to the sufferer’s mouth and/ or nose, forcing controlled bursts of air through the obstructed air passageways and into the lungs. CPAP uses a constant air pressure found by performing an overnight test or ‘titration’ on the sufferer. Recent models of CPAP contraptions are able to reduce the exhalation pressure for improved performance and patient comfort.

Variable positive airway pressure (VPAP), known also as bilevel or BiPAP, monitors the patients breathing with an electronic circuit. Two different pressures are adopted here, inhalation has a higher pressure than exhalation. This system is more expensive than CPAP and is often used on people that have other respiratory problems or who find sleeping with higher exhaling pressures from CPAP difficult.

Automatic positive airway pressure (APAP) uses sensors that measure air pressure in conjunction with a computer that monitors the patient’s performance with breathing. Pressures exerted by the air pump are constantly adjusted, i.e. heightened when the user is finding breathing difficult, lowered when pressures are considered higher than necessary.

Various surgical ways of widening airways, or removing or tightening tissues in that area are used, the success rate tends to be low with these practices. In some cases patients adopt a combination of such therapies to reduce their OSA. Surgery is typically a last resort, used when none of the above, as well as other more experimental OSA reduction methods (e.g. pharmaceuticals like methylxanthine theophylline and modafinil, and neurostimulation e.g. pacemaker stimulation), have been deemed effective.

www.sleepapneafacts.info/Why-You-Should-Stop-Snoring.php . This sleep dedicated website contains a vast array of information specifically designed to help you get an improved nights sleep.

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Sleep Apnea: i used to have it, could it come back? do i still have it and it’s just not active or something?

admin — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 05:29:50 +0000

hola, mmkay when i was little i had sleep apnea and i had to be monitored when i slept. and i guess i dont have it anymore because im not monitored and i dont take any medicines or anything.
what i’d like to know is:

*could sleep apnea come back one night?
*do people usually grow out of it
*is it usually in just babies/kids?
*is there medicines to take if it does/can come back?

Thanks <3

yes im sure it was sleep apnea, one night i stopped breathing and my mother woke up to the sound of me sleeping.

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Snoring and Obstructive Sleep Apnea – What’s the Difference?

admin — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 16:07:00 +0000

He gasps, he snorts, and he is grappling for breath! He likely has sleep apnea. (This can happen with women as well.)

You’ve probably heard these telltale signs.

It’s also scary. If you’ve ever lain beside someone with sleep apnea and literally watched that person stop breathing – it is scary!

Snoring
The actual loud snoring sound is created as the soft palette and the uvula vibrate. The uvula is the little fleshy bit of skin that hangs down at the back of your throat. From physics, we know that any rapidly moving air will try to elevate and vibrate the objects in its path; hence, voluminous airflow passing through the nose or mouth causes this loud, intense vibration. It’s the irregularity of the air movement when it’s not consistently even, that causes the sporadic vibration of the soft pallet. The National Sleep Foundation research suggests that about 44 women snore and this snoring affects their bed partners. When someone snores loudly and constantly every night, it is considered chronic snoring. Other times, snoring only occurs on an occasional basis and can be due to excessive tiredness, overeating, sleeping on one’s back, excessive alcohol consumption etc.

Obstructive Sleep Apnea
Obstructive sleep apnea, on the other hand, is where the sufferer’s breathing actually stops for a brief period of time – anywhere from 10 seconds to a minute. The initial culprits that trigger the onset of sleep apnea are weight gain, aging, and lose of muscle tone, though this can also occur in younger people without the typical triggers. In a home setting, sleep apnea is often misdiagnosed, as very often, it is accompanied by loud snoring, though snoring does not need to occur for the person to be having apnea events. When the throat muscles relax during sleep, the windpipe collapses. This then prevents the oxygen from flowing. As the blood oxygen level decreases, the brain finally kicks in and say, ‘Hey! It’s time to give me oxygen’, so it wakes you up just enough for you to tighten up the upper airway muscles and open your windpipe. This results in a huge intake of air and causes snorting and gasping, literally for breath. This pattern can repeat hundreds of time through the night and the sufferer is never the wiser. This is why it is so important to monitor your daytime behavior and how you feel. My husband suffers from very mild apnea events and he can always tell when he’s had a ‘bad’ night as his throat tends to be sore the next day, and he is very tired and groggy upon waking. If left unchecked or untreated, it can lead to intense irritability and depression, as well as morning headaches, loss of sex drive and a decline in cognitive functioning. There can also be an increased risk of high blood pressure, irregular heartbeats, and an elevated risk of heart attacks and strokes.

Millions of people have their sleep interrupted with this disturbing medical condition…and millions go undiagnosed. This extremely common sleep disorder is one that definitely needs medical attention. It is diagnosed by spending a night or two in a sleep lab hooked up to Polysomnography equipment that monitors your heartbeat, breathing and brainwave activity.

Once sleep apnea is diagnosed, the common solution is to sleep with a CPAP mask (continuous positive airway pressure) over your nose and mouth. It provides regulated flow of air through the nasal passages, which prevents your windpipe from closing. For milder cases of sleep apnea, learning to sleep on one’s side often will correct the situation. Extreme solutions involve surgery to correct structural deformities. All solutions must be discussed with your medical practitioner.

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How can I treat my sleep apnea without a C-pap?

admin — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 19:18:21 +0000

I am not overweight. Surgery is not an option (if you have researched it, you’d know why). I have feverishly tried using my C-pap on and off for the past 5 years and always have to eventually stop using it because I’m not getting any sleep. People say “if you wanted it enough, you’d get used to it”. Not true. If I ever do fall asleep on it, I wake up gasping every minute (even with a chin strap). What can I do? I have nothing going on in my life right now because the chronic fatigue prevents me from holding a job or going to school. I’m so dysfunctional, everything seems pretty pointless and it seems like I have reached the end of any advice. People just repeat themselves. I’ve run out of solutions.
I’ve tried provigil. It made me crazy and irritable to the point of not being able to function productively.
..I’ve also tried all of the masks they have to offer. The “nose pillow” is the best for me out of them all but still doesn’t seems to work. I have had the pressure adjusted many times. Maybe they just screwed it up the last time. I’ll have too look into that. Thanks.
Nicole: Haha.. that seems the only option I have left!

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Is Sleep Apnea Ruining Your Life?

admin — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 02:07:39 +0000

While sleep apnea might not sound like a very serious problem it can have very serious effects on your life. Experts agree that in order to function properly, most adults need around seven or eight hours of sleep each night and most of this should be uninterrupted to allow the brain to get into its deep sleep rhythms. If you have sleep apnea, however you’re probably being awakened many times during the night and thus unable to get into a deep sleep.
People with this condition often wake up unrefreshed even though they’ve been in bed for eight hours. Sometimes they might wake up with a headache, sore throat or dry mouth. If you’re not getting the necessary sleep at night or not feeling good when you wake up then chances are you are not performing your best at work and may even be falling asleep at your desk, or worse yet while driving.
Sleep apnea can affect your personal life too. If you’re not getting enough sleep, your probably cranky and not too much fun to be around. Of course, this can have adverse effects on any relationship and also diminishes your enjoyment of life.
So if you have sleep apnea, you’d see why it would be important to get to your doctor in order to have the appropriate diagnosis, wouldn’t you? Then why are so many people suffering with this when there are treatments available? The simple reason is that over 90% of the people with it don’t even know that they have it!
Sleep apnea can be a very subtle problem and because it is happening while you’re asleep, you might not even remember them waking up in the middle of the night. Therefore, you probably want to be aware of some other symptoms that might indicate the need for a trip to the doctor. Here are some things to look out for:
1. Loud snoring (many people that don’t have sleep apnea snore however this may be an indication).

2. Choking or gasping for air during the night.

3. A waking suddenly.

4. Waking up in the morning and feeling like you didn’t get enough sleep.

5. Waking up in the middle of the night in a sweat.

6. Being sleepy during the day for no good reason.

7. Waking up with a dry mouth, headache or sore throat.
Sleep apnea can be caused by a few things, the most common type called obstructive sleep apnea is caused by an obstruction that blocks your breathing. This can be either that you have large adenoids or tonsils, you have a smaller than normal airway due to the shape of your neck, your soft palate is getting in the way of your breathing or your tongue and throat muscles relax too much when you are sleeping.
The two other types are central sleep apnea which is very rare and is the cause of a central nervous system disorder caused by a brain infection, brain tumor, stroke or injury and mixed sleep apnea which is a combination of the other two.
In addition to wreaking havoc on your relationships and your enjoyment of life, sleep apnea can have some pretty serious health problems as well. When you stop breathing during the night not only does it cause sleep deprivation, it also causes oxygen deprivation. These can in turn affect her life in the following ways:
1. Daytime tiredness

2. Emotional imbalance

3. Poor mental function

4. Compromised immune system

5. Low energy

6. Slow reaction time

7. Heart abnormalities

8. High blood pressure and stroke

9. Memory problems

10. Weight gain

11. Sexual dysfunction

12. Depression

13. More apt to falsely driving, thus causing a car accident
If you do have sleep apnea, however, don’t despair! There are quite a few treatments available and you should be able to find something that suit you. Some of the treatments involve lifestyle changes such as losing weight, sleeping on your side and not smoking. Some make use of medications and devices that help open airways. And if nothing else helps, there are some surgeries that can help the problem.

Get the latest on sleep apnea by visiting http://www.sleepapneaanswers.com – a website that offers information on sleep apnea symptoms, causes and treatments.

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How does severe chronic sleep apnea affect arterial blood gas levels?

admin — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 00:19:19 +0000

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Novel Patent Targets The Most Common Sleep Complaint: Chronic Insomnia

admin — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 00:40:56 +0000

Novel Patent Targets The Most Common Sleep Complaint: Chronic Insomnia
Consolidated Research of Richmond, Inc. (CRI) announces the awarding of United States Patent 7,654,948 – which is a novel, drug-free system for treating people suffering from the most common sleep complaint: Chronic Insomnia. An estimated 10-20% of the industrialized world’s adult population suffers from moderate to severe chronic insomnia, yet, unlike sleep apnea, there is a significant lack of …

Read more on Medical News Today

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Sleep apnea and oxygen deprivation during sleep?

admin — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 16:22:57 +0000

Are the effects of chronic sleep apnea similar to the ramifications of sleeping in a reduced oxygen environment? For example, a room with poor ventilation.

Hello Asker P,

Some effects of sleep apnea are the same with the side effects of sleeping in a reduced oxygen room. A patient with sleep apnea stops breathing in sleep for a lot of times, let’s say…200 times. And with every pause in breathing ( sometimes 40 seconds or more), your oxygen level from your blood drops and this can affect your brain and your heart.

In a reduced oxygen environment, your brain will have the same situation. The level of oxygen from your blood will be very low and it can affect your health.