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Sleep Apnea is when your breathing becomes either shallow or pauses while you are asleep.  The pauses can occur over five times an hour and can happen three or more times a week.  This can be caused by your brain not telling the muscles that make you breath it is time to do so, but the more common cause of it is obstructive (when your airway is blocked or collapsed) sleep apnea.

If left untreated, it can cause your risk of heart attack, hypertension, stroke, diabetes and obesity to increase.  Your doctor may try treating you by suggesting lifestyle changes, surgeries, mouthpieces, or breathing devices, such as a Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) machine.  CPAP therapy, which is the most common form of treatment for adults who have moderate to severe cases, works by blowing a continuous flow of air pressure, which helps to keep the airway walls from narrowing or becoming blocked.

One of the main complaints of the sleep apnea machine is that the mask covers both the nose and mouth, which seems overwhelming and can make the patient feel claustrophobic.  Some of the other side effects are a stuffy or dry nose, which can be helped with a nose spray or attaching a heated humidifier to the machine, the mask can cause skin irritations or allergies, changing masks may help this.  A dry mouth may be from breathing with your mouth open, in which case a chin strap to hold it shut may help, if not, try the heated humidifier attachment.  Runny nose or congestion, sinusitis, sneezing or nosebleeds may be alleviated with a saline solution, a mask refit, or the heated humidifier, while the stomach bloating probably needs the setting to be adjusted.

In the event your doctor prescribes surgery, it will be for the purpose of widening the breathing passageway.  This is done either by getting rid of the excess tissue or stiffening it.  They get rid of the excess tissue by shrinking it, or removing it from the mouth and throat, while the tissue can be stiffened by inserting a piece of plastic in it.  They will also reset the jaw.

Since there are no blood tests to diagnose sleep apnea, many people have it without realizing it.  Not getting a good sleep is an indication you may have it.  Having your spouse listen to you carefully at night can be a big help to your doctor.  It is a serious disease for which there is help, so please see your doctor if you suspect you have it.

I decided to make a quick post about the treatment of choice for obstructive sleep apnea.  I know a lot of people who suffer from sleep apnea, and have seen some of their struggles and  successes with the appropriate therapy.  I am talking of course about the almighty sleep apnea machine.  I will try to keep this post simple but hopefully informative.

In order for someone to qualify for a sleep apnea machine (or “cpap” machine as it is more commonly known), the individual must have been diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea. The person must first be referred by their physician to  have a sleep study done at an accredited sleep lab or hospital.  After the diagnosis of  obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) has been made, the individual will once again be referred by their physician to a durable medical equipment company (DME) which will supply them and instruct them with the proper sleep apnea machine as ordered by their doctor.

The purpose of the sleep apnea machine is to help the individual stay asleep throughout the night, allowing the body to get the much needed rest it  has been severely lacking.  More about that in another post.  However, not all is well in the beginning as many people find it extremely difficult  to use a sleep apnea machine (cpap machine).

Although it varies person to person, there is a period of time, (sometimes lengthy)  in which the individual will need to become accustomed to using the unit.  It can be safely assumed that most people will generally require about a 1 month period in which they will need in order to become used to the therapy.  Others require a little more time, and some a little less. The important thing to keep in mind is the the sleep apnea machine must be used consistently on a nightly basis if they hope of achieving any success with the therapy.  Once this is accomplished, they will be happy they stuck with it as they will see the result of getting a good night’s sleep.

One of the key factors with therapy compliance is being fitted with the correct cpap mask.  Most of the time this is done at the sleep lab where one is fitted with the appropriate nasal interface to be used that night.  Later, when the person receives the sleep apnea machine from their DME provider, they will many times carry the nasal interface that was used during the sleep study.

After time , the person who has stuck with the therapy will ultimately sleep and feel much better than before.  It truly is amazing what a good night’s sleep can do for a body.  For people who have been diagnosed with sleep apnea and have yet to use a sleep apnea machine, all I can say is at least give it a try, you’ll be happy you did.

Hopefully this article was informative to all of you.  In the near future,  I will be posting a lot more in depth posts to help those of you with OSA or suspected OSA in hopes of achieving success with therapy.