The purpose of treating sleep apnea (obstructive) is to allow the patient to be able to breathe regularly as they sleep. The treatment also helps to get relief from snoring loudly and being chronically sleepy during the day.Treatment of sleep apnea also helps to reduce medical problems, such as heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure and other medical conditions.
Types of Treatments
There are different types of treatments to use for sleep apnea. Here are some of the more common ones:
- Lifestyle changes
- CPAP
- Mouthpiece or oral appliance
- Surgery
- Therapies
With treatment, you can get more sleep and get rid of being tired and sleepy during the daytime. Your overall health will improve along with you being happier that you are able to get more sleep without being interrupted at night. It can also help your mate get more sleep as well. You won’t be disturbing them by getting up at different times of the night making snorting and gasping noises.
Lifestyle Changes
If you sleep on your back, you are subject to develop sleep apnea. The way you position yourself as you lie down on the bed can make or break you. It can determine how many times you experience Obstructive Sleep Apnea. It also determines how mild or severe the sleep apnea can affect you.
Sometimes it has to do with gravity. Gravity can cause your throat not to get enough air when you are lying on your back. For those who sleep on their back can experience up to 80 apneas per hour. They can get rid of this dilemma is they change and sleep on either their left or right side. However, if you are overweight or obese, this may not help much.
You can make some lifestyle changes in order to deal with Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Central Sleep Apnea:
- If you are overweight or obese, losing weight can help. Weight loss can help your throat to be less restrictive. Eat more healthy fruits and vegetables. Be more physically active. If you are not sure how to go about losing weight, consult with your physician.
- Leave the sleeping pills and related medicines alone. Also, don’t drink alcohol as a sedative to get you to sleep.
- The passageway of your nasal area should not be blocked. If you have trouble keeping them open, use a nasal spray or stick. You can also use decongestants, but it’s not for long-term use.
- If you are used to sleeping on your back, that can pose a problem. Try sleeping on your side or your stomach. If you sleep on your back, your tongue and soft palate of your throat will sit on the back. This creates a blockage of the throat’s airway. One unique idea is place something like a small back in the back of your nightgown or pajamas.
- Elevate the head of your bed to improve your level of oxygen that you’re taking in.
- If you smoke cigarettes, you will have to kick the habit as soon as possible.
Alternative medicine treatments, such as acupuncture have been used to treat sleep apnea, but there is more research to be done. Because of this, do not use this method as a means to get rid of this condition. Consult with your physician before considering any alternative treatment for sleep apnea.
If lifestyle changes don’t help to treat your sleep apnea, then your case is more severe than what you first thought. Here are some other treatments that may help:
CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure)
CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) is a method where a machine produces air pressure. In order to receive it, you have to wear a mask. The mask is situated on your nose while you’re sleeping.
When you are using CPAP, you receive more air pressure than you would if you were just breathing in air from the outside. The air pressure with this machine helps to keep the passageways of your upper airway open. This helps to prevent snoring and apnea.
In the beginning, not everyone that uses this machine will feel comfortable with it. Because of the way it’s made, it may not feel right at first. However, with adjustments and making the straps fit properly, you will be able to get used to wearing it.
However, if the mask you have is not settling in, then you may have to find another one. In addition to that, you can use a humidifier along with the CPAP for additional comfort. There may be times when you have other problems. However, don’t stop using it. Instead, check with your physician to see what can be done and make additional corrections or adjustments. If you have gained weight, the settings for the air pressure any have to be changed.
Possible Side Effects With CPAP
During the first few nights that you wear this device, it can get on your nerves because it is not automatically comfortable to wear. It makes you want to stop the treatment for sleep apnea. However, it would defeat the purpose. What you can do is use the device with low air pressure starting out.
Most people that use CPAP say that they experience side effects. Most of them are dealing with the mask itself. You can select a mask that provides comfort and prevents it from leaking a lot of air pressure.
Here are some of the side effects that you may experience with the device:
- Irritated eyes.
- More air pressure than usual—you can have a difficult time exhaling when that happens.
- Experience infections in the upper respiratory area if you don’t keep the device clean.
- Nose and throat irritation.
- Dry mouth.
- Sore mouth.
- Congestion in the nasal area.
- Nose sores from wearing the device too tight.
- Discomfort of the chest muscles
There will be other times when the CPAP will have to be adjusted. Your physician or a sleep specialist can teach you how to do this. Once you learn how to do it, you will be able to save money by not having to make visits to see your physician or specialist (unless absolutely necessary). You can also get devices that will help you to get more air in your throat. They are adjustable and made to fit your needs in order to get more air flowing through your throat. The device adjusts the air pressure while you’re sleeping. You don’t have to push a button or use a dial to adjust it. The adjustment is done automatically as you sleep.
Mouthpiece or oral appliance
A mouthpiece or an oral appliance is another option if the CPAP doesn’t work out for you. This device is used to keep your throat open so that you can get air. It can help those who are dealing with mild sleep apnea.
Even though the CPAP is more effective than the mouthpiece, the latter has been proven easier for some people to use while they’re sleeping. It opens your throat by moving your lower jaw forward. Doing this can help your snoring and treat the mild Obstructive Sleep Apnea.
You can get a mouthpiece from a dentist. It may take a moment to find the right one that you can be comfortable with. It’s important that you check with the dentist every six months after you start wearing it. After the first year of wear, you can check with the dentist once a year. You want to make sure that it is still fitting right and working properly. If you are feeling any discomfort, don’t hesitate to contact the dentist for a possible adjustment.
Surgery
Surgery is another option to use in order to treat sleep apnea. With the surgical procedure, excess tissue is removed from your nose or your throat. This procedure is only performed in a hospital.
Another option is to shrink or stiffen the excess tissue or the lower jaw can be reset. When the tissue is being shrunk or stiffened, the procedure is usually performed in a doctor’s office or it can be performed in a hospital.
If the shrinking procedure is performed, you may have to get some shots in the tissue area. If the excess tissue needs to be shrunk more, you may need other treatments besides the shots. Also, the stiffening process includes the physician creating a small cut in the excess tissue and placing a small piece of plastic which is stiff.
During the pre-surgery, you will be administered some medicine that is to make you go to sleep. So, during the surgery, you will be out and not feel anything until you wake up. When the surgery is performed in the hospital, you may experience pain in your throat for approximately 7 to 14 days afterwards.
Here are some surgical options to treat sleep apnea and help you rest better:
- UPPP (Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty) This is a procedure where tissue is taken from the back of your mouth. Tissue is also removed from the top portion of your throat. In addition to removing tissue, your tonsils and adenoids are also removed.
With this surgery, your snoring may stop; however, since there is still tissue further down in your throat, it is unlikely that it will treat or cure your sleep apnea. With the tissue remaining there, your air passage is not open. With UPPP surgery, you will have to go to a hospital to have the surgery.
With this surgery, you will experience a lot of pain. You will be recovering for several weeks. This surgery is only performed on people who are experiencing severe Obstructive Sleep Apnea. Even then, there are only some who undergo this procedure.
This is not one of those surgeries where you can get up and it’s back to business as usual. If you’re able to have the UPPP surgery, you may risk having some complications, including:
- The soft palate and throat muscles may not work properly.
- Your throat may get infected if no antibiotics are given prior to the surgery.
- You may have problems swallowing.
- You may experience fluids coming up through your mouth or your nose.
- You may not be able to smell.
Having surgery to help you sleep better is not a guarantee. You may still have a recurrence of sleep apnea episodes. Even using CPAP will not be as effective after the surgery. There are some oral surgeries that can be performed:
- A tracheostomy – this surgery is performed if previous treatments did not help you. It is also used if your sleep apnea is severe to the point where it’s a matter of life of death.
From an opening in your neck, a tube made of metal or plastic is inserted and used for you to breathe from. The opening stays covered in the daytime and uncovered at night. You need air to come in and out of your lungs as you sleep.
- Maxillomandibular advancement – This surgical procedure is used to prevent obstruction of your throat by making the space larger where your tongue and soft palate is situated.
The upper and lower portion of your jaw is moved toward the front. This is how the enlargement is created. This procedure is complex, that it may take an oral surgeon and orthodontist to perform it together.
Surgeons use lasers to get rid of unnecessary tissues in the back of your throat. They can also use radiofrequency energy. Both of these procedures are good to use for treating snoring. Even though they can be use to relieve snoring, they should not be used to treat Obstructive Sleep Apnea.
There are additional procedures that are used to relieve snoring. Some of them can help with treating sleep apnea. However, the procedures are not cures for this sleep disorder.
They include:
- Getting rid of enlarged tonsils or adenoids
- Nasal surgery – polyps are removed or a partition positioned between your nostrils is straightened out.
Additional surgical procedures that are used may deal with abnormalities on your face. There are also surgical procedures that deal with additional obstructions. Both of these can cause you to have sleep apnea. The procedures can be performed together or solo.
Other surgeries include:
- Plastic surgery on the chin
- Tongue advancement – this procedure involves a cut at the intersection of the jawbone and the tongue.
- Hyoid surgery – the bone under the chin that can move is moved toward the front. As it moves, the muscle of the tongue moves with it.
Having surgery to treat apnea is not a guarantee. If depends on what kind of surgery it is and the details of the sleep apnea.
For central and complex sleep apnea, different therapies can be used. Some of them include:
- Medical treatments for heart, neuromuscular issues
- BiPAP (Bilevel Positive Airway Pressure) – this is when higher pressure is used for inhaling. When you exhale, the air pressure gets lower. This helps to strengthen your breathing pattern if you have central sleep apnea. The device can be set to automatic mode if it detects that you haven’t breathed into it after a few seconds.
- ASV (Adaptive servo-ventilation) – This is a new airflow device that gets a feel for how you breathe normally. It keeps your breathing pattern information in a computer.
While you’re sleeping, the ASV works to keep your breathing pattern at a normal rate and get rid of any breathing pauses. If you have central sleep apnea, this method may work better for you than CPAP.
Sleep Apnea Pillows
There are some people who do get the recommended amount of sleep, but still get up fatigued. This can be related to their snoring. Snoring is a very serious medical issue. To combat that, sleep apnea pillows can be used.
Sleep apnea pillows have been known to treat sleep apnea in some people. Before you try one, you must know whether or not you are just snoring or if the snoring is a result of sleep apnea (obstructive). However, even it is snoring without the condition, you can still use one of these pillows to reduce your snoring, if nothing else.
Sleep apnea pillows can help the airway of your throat stay open. Because sleep apnea causes your breathing to be irregular and interrupted, the pillow works to make your breathing regular again. The irregular and interrupted breathing usually happens during the evening when you are sleeping.
The special pillows are designed with panels of foam that are elevated, unlike a regular pillow. The elevation works to keep your head slanted. This helps to increase your breathing pattern to make it regular and uninterrupted again.
Sleep apnea pillows can be made to where they can be used in more than one sleeping position. They are adjustable, so that you can sleep in the way that is most comfortable for you. They provide you with plenty of support so that you can get a good night’s sleep.
The sleep apnea pillow also helps in the following ways in regard to sleep apnea:
- Blocked airways are opened—this helps with snoring relief and sleep apnea
- Provides comfort and support so that you can get a good night’s sleep
- Relieves you from the fatigue that you experience as a result of your sleep apnea condition
- The pillow allows you to sleep like a baby
There are people who are chronic snorers that have never used these types of pillows and don’t want to try them. They would rather get sleeping pills and end up getting dependent on them. Medication is not a good alternative to assist you with your snoring or sleep apnea. In fact, medication is not recommended because it has proven not to be effective.