Sleep Apnea: Is it Just a Medical Term for Snoring?

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People who snore experience difficulty in breathing while they are sleeping. It can be characterized by moments when breathing stops and then they continue snoring. It is rare for them to go through a whole night of uninterrupted sleep. They therefore lose out on the benefits of having a good night’s sleep, which is very important for the body’s systems.

Snoring is only a sign of sleep apnea. This means that sleep apnea is a condition that should be taken care of as soon as possible. Some people think that it is just something that can never go away and they have to live with it. The following article by Felix Clay describes why you should not take it as just another “bad habit”:

4 Things Everyone With Sleep Apnea Should Understand

I have sleep apnea. You’ve probably heard of it before, and are maybe aware of what it means. I snore. That’s what most people think apnea consists of. It also ensures that I get no more than about three hours of sleep in a row on any given night, and I also have extremely high blood pressure and a host of other complications. My doctor once took my blood pressure five times in a row with three different machines, before calling in a second doctor to check with yet another machine. The reason, I was told after, was that they’d never seen a living person with blood pressure like mine who wasn’t experiencing a severe cardiac episode. My blood pressure is that high. Every day.

Needless to say, I don’t enjoy this, so I’ve endeavored to help myself out. It’s a bit of a process, but the prize for success is not dying, so I’m motivated. Read more at Cracked.com

 

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Felix’s story gives you a hint that sleep apnea is not something to ignore. It isn’t like a stomach bug, which you already know will go and probably come back again some other time. It isn’t just about snoring, so you may want to have a thorough check-up done to establish that you are not, like Felix, suffering from another health condition.

In the following article, Dr. Joseph Mercola gives expert information about the conditions associated with sleep apnea from a medic’s point of view:

The Hidden Health Dangers of Sleep Apnea

Sleep apnea typically refers to impaired breathing from an obstructed airway during sleep, which can have serious health consequences. It’s a common problem, affecting more than half of all men and over one-quarter of women.

It’s also becoming more prevalent among children, largely due to lack of breast feeding and eating processed foods. Snoring is a related problem, caused by a restriction in your airway stemming from either your throat or nasal passageway.

The vibrations produced as the air struggles to get past your soft palate, uvula, tongue, tonsils, and/or muscles in the back of your throat causes the snore.

Fortunately, there are ways to address these kinds of breathing problems that don’t necessarily involve resorting to a CPAP machine. Two treatment alternatives that offer a great deal of hope are oral myofunctional therapy and learning how to breathe properly while you’re awake. Read more at Mercola.com

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Seeing that there are different types of sleep apnea as described in the post, it must be understood that each of them can cause other complications. Nevertheless, it is a great relief to learn that there are remedies to this problem that don’t call for the extreme of using the CPAP machines described in the first article. Jeannie Lancaster explains an invention that helps those struggling to use the mask:

 Solutions unmasked for patients with sleep apnea

Physicians and researchers frequently remind us that getting a good night’s sleep is very important. The National Sleep Foundation notes that, “If sleep is cut short, the body doesn’t have time to complete all of the phases needed for muscle repair, memory consolidation and release of hormones regulating growth and appetite.”

“When you don’t sleep well and you’re not rested, the effect on your awake time is profound,” said Dr. Mark Petrun, a UCHealth pulmonologist who specializes in sleep medicine. “It affects your concentration, alertness and ability to get things done.”

Driving and working while sleep deprived can lead to serious injury. Read more at Reporter Herald

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The Upper Airway Stimulation Therapy described in the above article does much to avoid the discomfort experienced by obstructive sleep apnea patients. More research continues to find more solutions to the challenges of sleep apnea.

At Fort Collins Headache Center, we specialize in treating one of the most often overlooked causes of sleep apnea: problems with the temporomandibular joint (TMJ). We correct the issues with TruDenta, a breakthrough diagnostic and treatment system that is FDA approved, uses no drugs and no needles and is completely painless.

After a short 20-minute exam we can tell you whether you’re a candidate for our program. If you are, we will create a personalized treatment plan for you that will have you pain free in 12 or fewer weekly visits. Call Fort Collins Headache Center today at 970-672-8517 or use the contact form on this page. We look forward to hearing from you.

Our goal is to make you smile!