Here Are Effective Sleep Apnea Treatment Options You Should Know

Loud snoring or unusual tiredness after waking up in the morning could be a sign that you had a long day or you went through so much stress. It could also be a symptom of sleep apnea.

When a person stops breathing and continues again while sleeping, it’s most likely due to sleep apnea. Other symptoms of sleep apnea include

• Gasping to breathe while sleeping
• Struggling to pay attention
• Insomnia
• Hypersomnia
• Headache, and
• Irritation.

Not everyone who snores while sleeping has sleep apnea, however, you should visit a doctor if you are experiencing some or all of the symptoms listed above.

There are three types of sleep apnea

• Obstructive Sleep Apnea, occurs when the throat does not allow for proper breathing while sleeping.
• Central Sleep Apnea, occurs when the brain does not communicate to the muscles in charge of breathing.
• Complex Sleep Apnea Syndrome, which occurs when a person has both obstructive sleep apnea and central apnea.

There are a lot of factors that could cause a person to have sleep apnea, some of them are excess weight, narrow airways, being a male, smoking, age, and some other medical conditions. On the bright side, some treatments can help you overcome sleep apnea.

Sleep Apnea Treatment Options

If you have sleep apnea or you notice symptoms, you should visit your doctor immediately. The doctor will examine you to know the possible cause(s) of your symptoms. If it is sleep apnea, the doctor will refer the patient to a sleep disorder center to see a sleep specialist. The sleep specialist will evaluate the whole situation and monitor the patient’s body functions. This monitoring might require the patient to spend the night in the sleep center or do some home testing. If you spend the night in the hospital, nocturnal polysomnography will be carried out. Do not be scared by the big name, it involves monitoring the movement of different parts of your body while you sleep.

You could also be sent home with instructions on how to monitor your body functions while asleep. When the results of the test are ready, the doctor will be able to choose from any of these treatment options;

• Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP): This is the most common treatment solution for people with sleep apnea. People with sleep apnea wear a mask that helps them sleep better by delivering air pressure while they sleep. The air pressure is less dense than the pressure of your surrounding so your airways are open while you sleep and you do not have to snore.
• The CPAP mask is comfortable for some people while others have difficulty using the mask. You might need to test some masks to determine the one that is most comfortable for you. Other than the CPAP, there are alternative therapies for sleep apnea.
• Airway Pressure Device: The CPAP is the most common airway pressure device used in the treatment of sleep apnea. However, other airway pressure devices perform other functions like adjusting the air pressure when you breathe or supplying bilevel positive airway pressure.
• Oral Appliances: Oral appliances are more comfortable to use than CPAP though less effective. They are worn on the mouth and designed to keep the throat open while sleeping. Keeping the throat open while sleeping will significantly reduce snoring and any other sign of sleep apnea.
• Adaptive Servo-Ventilation (ASV): This is a new device that is used to study and record your breathing pattern. While you are asleep, the device will use the information that it has recorded to supply pressure that will help you breathe properly and preclude the pauses in your breathing. ASV has the potentials of being the most effective means of treating sleep apnea although it cannot be used by people with central heart failure and central sleep apnea.
• Surgery: When all of the treatment options above have failed, one last sleep apnea treatment in Mesa that you will be considered is surgery. Before settling for surgery, your doctor will encourage you to try other methods for at least three months.
  Surgery options differ with the condition of your apnea. Your surgery might be tissue removal, tissue shrinkage, jaw repositioning, implants, tracheostomy, nerve stimulation, and so on.

Make sure that you discuss whichever treatment option that you want to use with your doctor or sleep specialist. There are a lot of adverts about sleep apnea treatment but confirm from your doctor about the risks involved in using any of them.