Sleep Apnea Machine

Good evening Rose here….

Since on my last article I wrote about my mother Poly’s sleep apnea. I wanted to elaborate on the sleep apnea machine she has used since having her tonsils removed. Removing her tonsils alleviated her symptoms, but since she is not undead, she will snore from time to time and using the CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) sleep apnea machine helps reduce the obstruction in her throat by applying continuous air pressure.

The CPAP machine blows air at a set pressure also known as the titrated pressure usually determined after a sleep study with a polysomnography. The titrated pressure is the amount of air needed to prevent sleep apnea and hypopneas, and it is usually measured in centimeters of water.

The CPAP treatment helps patient with obstructive sleep apnea with an improvement in their quality of sleep as well as a benefit to their sleep partner. Since sleep apnea is a chronic health issue and is only controlled, ongoing care is recommended to maintain CPAP therapy.

Poly was fitted with a mask and at first had difficulty falling asleep. She knew it was good for her but she found it uncomfortable. She would wake up in the middle of the night and take it off, replace it and take it off again…it was an ongoing cycle. She would wake up from snoring and wake up wearing the mask…the proverbial catch 22. It took her close to six months before she could fall asleep easily and stay asleep during the night with the mask on.

With anything once you do it for a period of time you get used to it. If you avoid the treatment you may cause other health problems such as high blood pressure, stroke or a heart attack. Your mental function will suffer and you will be restless and irritable during waking hours. So once you get a sleep apnea machine learn what you can about it and use it even if you are traveling.

As a recap, the CPAP machine is a small electric blower that pushes air through a hose. The hose is attached to a mask and held on to your head with straps. The hose supplies the air with a determined amount of pressure needed to keep your airway clear. The determined amount of air pressure is calculated when you have an apnea sleep test at a sleep center.

Mask. This is the most important feature, because the mask needs to fit you well in order for you to be comfortable enough to get used to it and sleep through the night. Along with the CPAP unit you have to make some lifestyle changes such as weight loss, if needed and it’s recommended that you sleep on your side.

Sleeping on your side may cause pressure from your pillow making the mask slip and air to leak out. When the air leaks out it makes a noise which can be as loud as or louder than snoring! It may be advisable to try a smaller mask to deter any leaks. There is a mask that also delivers air to your mouth instead of your nose. Your might consider buying both and interchanging them to avoid chafing.

Humidifier. To keep your airway passages from drying out, some models have an integrated heated humidifier.

Battery pack. Essential for travelling, your battery pack will provide eight hours of sleep with the humidifier on.

Data storage. Many units monitor and capture your sleep data that can be forwarded to your doctor so that he can maintain your recordings and make changes to your air pressure if necessary.

Hose length. The standard hose length is six feet, anything longer that that will not deliver the required pressure you need.

There are other attachments you can purchase with your CPAP such as International AC Outlet if you are travelling internationally or a DC adaptor to hook up to a car battery if you are camping.

All in all, your sleep apnea machine will provide you with better health and a longer life. Moms still going at 79, so make sure you USE it!

Good Day,
Rose Sheepskill

Sleep Apnea Test

Rose here….good evening everyone. As you know from my previous article I have been talking to my sister, Apnea. Apnea was given her name because our mother, Polysomno Pickwickian (Poly for short), suffered from Obstructive Sleep Apnea especially during her pregnancy with her. Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) may be a common form of sleep apnea, but the constant repetitive episodes of cessation of breath due to her large tonsils and the pressure on her lungs due to her pregnancy; she experienced excessive daytime sleepiness, morning headaches, dry mouth and heartburn. Poly, born in the 20th century, complained to her doctor, William Osler about her symptoms and Poly was the first person to be diagnosed with a sleep apnea test.

Dr. William Osler coined sleep apnea the ‘Pickwickian Syndrome’ and wrote a paper that became the well known Pickwick Papers, an accurate clinical picture of adult obstructive sleep apnea syndrome…..and everyone thought he named it after Charles Dickens.

Dr. Osler found that the cessation of breath is associated with the reduction in blood oxygen saturation when the airway becomes obstructed by excess tissue, large tonsils, large tongue and/or sometimes the jaw or nasal passages can be a factor. Other symptoms include; loud snoring, depression, insomnia, frequent nighttime urination, overweight, high blood pressure and rapid weight gain. Some symptoms are not even recognized by the patient and their bed partner/spouse is the only one aware that there is a sleep apnea problem.

Major life threatening risks are heart attacks, strokes, impotence, erratic heartbeat and heart disease if OSA is untreated. Also, you might experience drowsiness when you are awake making it dangerous to drive or operate machinery. Fortunately for my mother her symptoms dissipated after Apnea was born and her tonsils were removed.

It was many years after Dr. Osler’s Pickwick Papers that a machine was invented to monitor and diagnose sleep apnea. Since my mother was the first person diagnosed with sleep apnea the sleep apnea test was called polysomnography. There are two types of sleep apnea tests; one an overnight test that involves monitoring the brain waves, muscle tension, rapid eye movement, breathing and oxygen level in the patient’s blood, the second test is a home monitoring test where a patient takes a polysomnograph home, is instructed how to use it and returns the next morning. These are painless test and might be covered under your health insurance.

If you are like Poly some treatment involves lifestyle changes or minor surgery. Other lifestyle changes are; losing weight and/or just sleeping on your side. If these changes aren’t enforced the patient’s sleep apnea will worsen as they age.

Some patients will use an oral mouth device to help keep the airways open by bringing the jaw forward, elevating the soft palate or preventing the tongue from falling back and obstructing the airway. There are many oral mouth devices on the market today

If the patients has severe sleep apnea it is recommended that they are treated with a C-PAP or continuous positive airway pressure machine that with a nose mask keeps the airway open and unobstructed by blowing air into their nose.

Other severe sleep apnea is caused by facial deformities and can be corrected by surgery. Some of these deformities are; a small jaw causing a small opening at the back or their throat, deviated septum, large tonsils and/or adenoids. All of these can be corrected with minor surgery.

Other surgeries include:

Prior to 1980, a tracheotomy was performed where a small hole was cut into the neck and a tube with a valve was inserted to eliminate obstructions. This procedure is only performed today as a last resort to alleviate the patient from respiratory distress or other major medical complications.

Today the uvulo-palato-pharyngoplasty is preformed for those that cannot tolerate the C-PAP. The uvulo (the skin that dangles in the back of your throat) is removed along with any excess tissue. If you are considering this surgery please discuss the risks involved. Statistics show that the procedure helps 50% of those who have had it and due to scar tissue some may still need to use the C-PAP.

For those with a small jaw which causes the tongue to obstruct the airway a mandibular myotomy is preformed. This surgery involves cutting a piece of bone from the jaw to which the tongue muscles are attached. The bone is pulled outward, rotated 90 degrees and reattached thus pulling the tongue forward and eliminating the air obstruction. This surgery requires a high trained, experienced surgeon in both ENT surgery and maxillofacial surgery.

There are two other surgeries; a LAUP or laser assisted uvuloplasty (removes the uvula) and a somnoplasty aka RF or radiofrequency (shrinks the uvula) that improve airflow and eliminates snoring. Also there is a new treatment that has been approved by the FDA, in which radiofrequency reduces the tongue. This RF treatment to the tongue involves inserting a needle and heating the inner tissues to 158 to 176 degrees causing the tissue to shrink. Since this procedure is new it may not be covered by health insurance.

Luckily for my mother the only thing she had to have done was have her tonsils removed, but in the 20th century it was still considered a major surgery. If it wasn’t for Dr. Osler she would have never been diagnosed with sleep apnea with a sleep apnea test. Today the polysomnography is used to diagnose, or rule out, many types of sleep disorders including narcolepsy, restless legs syndrome, REM behavior disorder, parasomnias, and of course sleep apnea.
Good Day,
Rose Sheepskill

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

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