Sleep Apnea Treatment
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Sleep Apnea Specialist Maryland
Sleep apnea is a common but serious sleep disorder that needs a proper diagnosis. At Sleep Services of Maryland in Rockville, Germantown, Frederick, and Columbia, Maryland, our team of sleep specialists offer sleep studies and other diagnostic testing services to confirm sleep apnea. They provide customized treatments to reduce your risk for heart disease, heart attack, and other serious side effects of untreated sleep apnea. Call the Sleep Services of Maryland LLC office nearest you to schedule a diagnostic evaluation for sleep apnea or book an appointment online today.
Sleep Apnea Doctors Maryland
Snoring is a sign of Sleep Apnea, a disorder where one “gasps for breath while asleep”. Pauses in the airflow result in a drop in the oxygen level, and the brain responds by “frequent awakenings during sleep.” A major sign of sleep apnea is “excessive daytime sleepiness and tiredness”. “. Other symptoms include morning headaches, memory issues, depression, irritation, and sore throat, which, if unnoticed, can lead to high BP, heart attack, neurological disorder, etc.
Recognizing the signs
Common symptoms:
- Excessive daytime sleepiness
- Snoring
- Gasping for breath while asleep
- Frequent awakenings during sleep
- Waking with dry mouth or sore throat
- Morning headache
- Frequent night time urination
- Fatigue
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What is sleep apnea?
Sleep apnea is a sleep disorder affecting how you breathe during sleep. People with sleep apnea repeatedly stop breathing for moments during sleep, which causes them to snore loudly and frequently wake up gasping for breath.
The type of sleep apnea depends on what causes the breathing interruptions.
The main types of sleep apnea are:
- Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA),which is the more common form that occurs when throat muscles relax and block the flow of air into the lungs
- Central sleep apnea (CSA), which occurs when the brain doesn’t send proper signals to the muscles that control breathing
- Treatment-emergent central sleep apnea, also known as complex sleep apnea, which happens when someone has OSA — diagnosed with a sleep study — that converts to CSA when receiving therapy for OSA
Without treatment, sleep apnea can result in high blood pressure, neurological disorders, heart disease, and other potentially life-threatening conditions.
How is sleep apnea diagnosed?
It’s important to schedule an evaluation for sleep apnea if you have symptoms like:
- Dry mouth
- Sore throat
- Loud snoring
- Morning headaches
- Frequent nighttime urination
- Excessive daytime sleepiness
- Daytime tiredness
An evaluation often involves overnight monitoring of your breathing and other body functions during sleep testing at a sleep center. Home sleep testing also might be an option.
Tests to detect sleep apnea include:
- Nocturnal polysomnography. During this test, you’re hooked up to equipment that monitors your heart, lung and brain activity, breathing patterns, arm and leg movements, and blood oxygen levels while you sleep.
- Home sleep tests. Your healthcare provider might provide you with simplified tests to be used at home to diagnose sleep apnea. These tests usually measure your heart rate, blood oxygen level, airflow, and breathing patterns. Your provider is more likely to recommend polysomnography in a sleep testing facility rather than a home sleep test if central sleep apnea is suspected.
If the results aren’t typical, your provider might be able to prescribe a therapy without further testing. Portable monitoring devices sometimes miss sleep apnea. So your health care provider might still recommend polysomnography even if your first results are within the standard range.
How is sleep apnea treated?
Therapies for OSA
- Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP). Although CPAP is the most common and reliable method of treating sleep apnea, some people find it cumbersome or uncomfortable. Some people give up on the CPAP machine. However, with practice, most people learn to adjust the tension of the straps on the mask to obtain a comfortable and secure fit.
- Other airway pressure devices. If using a CPAP machine continues to be a problem for you, you might be able to use a different type of airway pressure device that automatically adjusts the pressure while you’re sleeping (auto-CPAP). Units that supply bilevel positive airway pressure (BPAP) also are available. These provide more pressure when you inhale and less when you exhale.
- Oral appliances. Another option is wearing an oral appliance designed to keep your throat open. CPAP is more reliably effective than oral appliances, but oral appliances might be easier to use. Some are designed to open your throat by bringing your jaw forward, which can sometimes relieve snoring and mild obstructive sleep apnea.
Surgery for OSA
Surgery may be an option for people with OSA, but usually only after other treatments have failed. Generally, at least a three-month trial of other treatment options is suggested before considering surgery. However, for a small number of people with certain jaw structure problems, surgery is a good first option.
Nerve stimulation( Inspire Therapy). This requires surgery to insert a stimulator for the nerve that controls tongue movement (hypoglossal nerve). The increased stimulation helps keep the tongue in a position that keeps the airway open. More research is needed.
Other types of surgery may help reduce snoring and contribute to the treatment of sleep apnea by clearing or enlarging air passages:
- Surgery to remove enlarged tonsils or adenoids.
- Weight-loss surgery, also known as bariatric surgery.