	You Can't Cure Sleep Apnea But You Can Beat It

It's A Good Thing My Wife's A
Light Sleeper

I woke up one fine morning several years ago only to find my wife with a concerned look on her face.

É?Whatߣs the matter?É? I asked.

É?I was listening to you sleep last night and I would swear you stopped breathing several times,É? she said.

I was shocked. É?I stopped breathing,É? I said. É?I mean like for a few seconds or a minute or what?É?

É?I wasnߣt counting the seconds, but it seemed like it was for maybe 10 seconds.É?

Now, I have been plagued with sinus problems my whole life so I figured it must have something to do with them.

É?Was I snoring?É?

É?You snored some,É? she said, but this seemed different. It was like you took in a breath and then just didnߣt exhale. I think you have sleep apnea.É?

Sleep apnea? I had never even heard of sleep apnea so I quickly made an appointment with our family doc.

What our family physician had to say

My next step was to see our family doc. He explained that sleep apnea occurs when breathing stops during sleep for at least 10 seconds at least five times an hour and that it is fairly common. In fact, about 12 million Americans suffer from sleep apnea in one form or another.. He said that it is a progressive condition (gets worse as you age) and should not be taken lightly because it can be life-threatening if left untreated.

É?In fact,É? he said, É?sleep apnea sufferers also have a 30% higher risk of heart attack or death.É?

Boy! Did that get my attention.

The two kinds of sleep apnea

I learned through further research that there are basically two kinds of sleep apnea: central sleep apnea and obstructive sleep apnea.

In Obstructive Sleep Apnea, your breathing is interrupted by a physical block to airflow. In adults, the most typical individual with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome is obese, with particular heaviness at the face and neck but even thin people (me) can have it.

In central sleep apnea, the basic neurological controls for breathing rate malfunctions and fails to give the signal to inhale, causing you to miss one or more cycles of breathing.

OK, I sort of lied. There are really three kinds of sleep apnea, but the third is called Mixed Sleep Apnea because it involves both Central and Obstructive Sleep Apnea.

The test for sleep apnea

What I learned next from my doctor is that sleep apnea is most often discovered just the way it was in me ߝ by someone who witnesses the you during episodes or you suspect you have it because of its effects on your body (always being tired, etc.).

However, as my doctor explained, there is a test for sleep apnea called a polysomnogram. The test is administered ߝ usually in a hospital. It requires that you sleep overnight, hooked up to a bunch of monitors.

On that fateful night

I reported to one of our local hospitals a few weeks later and, believe me, I had some concerns ߝ like could I really spend the night in a strange bed while being monitored.

Fortunately, my fears turned out to be unfounded. The technician hooked me p ߝ it was totally painless ߝ and off I went to sleep. In fact, I dropped into such a good sleep, the tech actually had to wake me up the next morning.

My results

I saw my family doctor a few days later and was told that I did have É?a moderate case of sleep apnea, and that my wife should keep an eye on me but that, at least for now, I didnߣt require any kind of treatment.

Whew!

How do you treat sleep apnea?

Since itߣs been several years since my last polysomogram and I have, darn it, grown older, my doc wants to do another test.

Iߣll probably learn that my sleep apnea has grown worse, so Iߣve been research possible treatments.

What I learned is that there are three ways to treat sleep apnea:

Ø Natural cures

Ø Surgical treatments, and

Ø Non-invasive or therapeutic interventions

For more information about sleep apnea of any alternative treatment, just click on one of the links below.

Sleep apnea and the power of tea

Natural treatments for sleep apnea

Sleep disorders and cardiovascular disease