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Do you snore loudly and consistently, keeping your wife or husband from a restful night’s sleep? Do you wake up several times a night, have trouble staying awake during the day and even fall asleep on the job or while driving? Do you have low libido and can’t explain why or sometimes wake up in the night with your chest feeling tight, gasping for air? If so, you may have a sleeping disorder called sleep apnea that with a little investigation on your doctor’s behalf may be curable and treatable!
Sleep Apnea is generally caused either by excessive weight gain, a restricted airway passage in the throat that while sleeping may cause individuals' hearts to momentarily stop beating, causing their bodies to gasp for air in a panic; a heart stopping panic that sufferers of sleep apnea may be completely unaware of. Yet, the next day, after an unfulfilling night’s rest, sufferers may literally fall asleep where they are, some while conversing with another, others while driving, at a movie theater or working. This could be quite dangerous for some with physically high risk jobs or who drive home from work on interstates. As the condition develops, sufferers may also begin to experience low libido for no apparent reason, which may even cause marital problems with spouses who don’t understand the cause or symptoms associated with sleep apnea.
While snoring does not always indicate a sleep apnea disorder, it certainly is one of the symptoms doctors look for in indicating a sleep apnea patient. Sleep apnea patients snore deeply and fully, usually through the mouth rather than nose, their chest rises with more severity as the patient falls into a supposed deep sleep, and as they fall deeper into sleep the snoring stops for a few seconds, at which time the patient’s breathing becomes less and less prominent, pausing to a stop, and suddenly the patient snores loudly and may even begin gasping for air and wake themselves in the process. And even if the patient doesn’t wake, the patient is prevented in reaching a rem sleep state due to the constant struggle for air during the night. As the patient’s condition develops without treatment, the libido of the patient decreases due to the lack of sleep and the constant exhausted state of the body. The condition may even cause a lack of personal or professional motivation and even the simplest of tasks may become more than the patient has energy for. In severe cases, the condition may even become life threatening. It is not uncommon at this level for the patient who undergoes a sleep study to register as waking up hundreds of times a night. This means the heart is either not beating at all momentarily or is coming close to not beating, which could cause a heart attack and suffocation. Many people with sleep apnea may not even know they have it, and may only know they are often tired, suffer from low libido and low motivation and have no idea why.
There is good news for those who believe they have this condition. Sleep apnea can be cured with little or no effort!
The first step in curing sleep apnea is contacting your doctor for advisement if you feel you suffer from this disorder. Your doctor will then schedule you for a time you will go to a sleep study center to undergo a sleep study. The on duty nurse will then hook you up to a sleep and heart monitor which will register your sleep patterns and how many times a night you are waking or your heart is coming close to stopping. From there your doctor will decide the best course of action. Generally a breathing machine, called a CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) monitor will be ordered that most insurance companies cover, with your specific monitor setting adjusted by the sleep study division of the hospital. Some hospitals also have visiting therapists who will visit your home, assist you in situating the monitor in a comfortable spot in your bedroom, will teach you how to attach the breathing hoses and tubes and help you situate the adjustable face mask, which should be comfortable and painless while sleeping.
Your doctor might also advise a diet and exercise plan if you are overweight and might suggest a humidifier be ordered for attachment to the CPAP machine for patients who complain of dry or cold air within the attached hoses. The CPAP purpose is to push the air into the nasal passages and trachea so that they do not collapse.
Dental attachments are also available that keep the mouth open and the airway clear during sleep. Surgery is also available in severe cases, but most doctors will refuse to prescribe such measures until the patient has lost weight if weight might be the problem and until the patient has been on the CPAP machine for a reasonable amount of time, hoping these two prescriptions combined will solve the patient’s sleeping dilemma without having to go under the knife.
If you believe you have sleep apnea you should contact The American Sleep Apnea Association, where you’ll find a wealth of information on the subject and be able to clearly indicate if you suffer from this condition. You may also look up information regarding the nearest sleep study center to you at this website. If, after visiting this site, you indicate you are a sufferer of sleep apnea, you should consult your physician for a referral to a sleep study clinic and make an appointment with your physician so you might discuss your options and get his professional advice. Remember sleep apnea is a life threatening condition just like high blood pressure or many other health altering condition, that while treated are controlled and stabilized, left untreated can be damaging to the patient and life threatening. Don’t underestimate the power of the body to cure, breathe or kill.
Call your doctor if you suspect you suffer from sleep apnea.
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