Sleep Apnea Blog

Archive for September, 2009

I recently had throat surgery for sleep apnea. My throat is exptremely sore, especially when I swollow. How long will this last?

I had a client who had the same surgery you describe and it took her about 6 weeks to finally feel normal. Take care of yourself and get as much rest as you possibly can – this will help your body heal. You’ll probably feel some residual from the surgery (depending on how sensitive you were to the anesthesia they gave you) for about another month or two.

Well I’ve had unrefreshing sleep for about idk 2 years, luckily it hasn’t deteriorated my school grades too much. I’ve also been diagnosed with major depression but I’m thinking is it depression that is affecting my sleep or could it be something else? It always feels as though I never actually go into deep sleep.
basically what are the symptoms of sleep apnea? and you reckon i should check whether i have it just to be completely sure because my antidepressants have done nothing for my sleep.

Sleep apnea can have several causes. The most common is obesity, leading to the neck and throat tissues to narrow the airway while sleeping.

Symptoms include loud snoring, pauses in breathing while asleep followed by an abrupt "snort" or gasp. These would be observed by someone other than you. A person with sleep apnea actually wakes up to start breathing, though they are not conscious of it. They cannot get to the deep levels of restorative sleep. Daytime symptoms include "Pickwickian" spells, or falling asleep while doing normal activities. (like talking, driving, and other things where people don’t normally fall asleep)

So, have a family member or your bed partner watch you sleep to see how many times per night you stop breathing. For sleep apnea it is often 15-100 x per night.

However, depression is a leading cause of poor sleep, and this is most likely what you have. Some antidepressants actually hinder sleep, so ask your doctor. You may also need a sleep aid for 4-6 weeks to "retrain" your body to get deep sleep.

Other things that can lead to poor sleep: poor sleep hygeine (not going to bed a the same time each night, exercise before bed, and many more), chronic caffeine use, other medications, restless leg syndrome.

Talk with your doctor. If it looks, walks, and quacks like a duck, then it’s a duck. I’d bet that your depression is the cause of your sleep problem.

Best of luck

I KNOW THAT YOU DO NOT WANT TO HEAR THIS:

>>>>>> BUT YOU NEED TO READ ALL THESE ANSWERS !!!!<<<<<<<

I HAD INSURANCE !!! BUT DID NOT GET PROPER SLEEP TREATMENT UNTIL LAST YEAR. I AM NOW 61 YEARS OLD AND I SWEAR TO GOD I FEEL LIKE I HAVE REGAINED BACK OVER 40 YEARS OF MY LIFE!

I APPARENTLY NEVER KNEW WHAT SLEEP WAS!

DO WHATEVER YOU CAN TO GO TO A SLEEP CLINIC, BEG WHATEVER YOU CAN IF YOU HAVE APNEA, AND YOU GET A CPAP YOU WILL SHORTLY BE A NEW YOU!!!

FOLLOW THE DOCTORS DIRECTIONS ORDERS, AND ALL SORTS OF WONDERFUL THINGS WILL HAPPEN!

IT IS POSSIBLE THAT A CPAP COMPANY HAS A PROGRAM, MY DAUGHTER IS ON A MEDICAL PLAN FROM THE MANUFACTURER FOR FREE AS SHE DOES MOSTLY CHARITY WORK FOR OTHERS. ONLY A DOCTOR WILL KNOW THIS, OR SALESMAN OF A CPAP MACHINE , AT ANY RATE IT WOULD CENTER AROUND A CLINIC.

I AM POSITIVE THAT THE CLINIC WILL WORK OUT SOMETHING REASONABLE. BUT THE RETAIL COST OF THE MACHINE IS $2000.00 AND THAT OVERNIGHT STAY CAN COST JUST ABOUT WHATEVER THEY WANT IT TO. IF A PERSON HAS INSURANCE THEY MAKE IT 2 NIGHTS AND A TOTAL COST OF SAY $15,000.00+ TO THE INSURANCE COMPANY FOR THE CLINIC. WITHOUT INSURANCE THEY CAN DO IT IN ONE NIGHT AT A COST OF FROM NOTHING TO SOME NOMINAL FEE PAID OVER TIME WORKED OUT AHEAD OF TIME.

MAIN THING IS SEE A DOCTOR WITH A CLINIC AS SOON AS POSSIBLE FOR ADVISE! IT WILL BE THE BEST THING YOU WILL EVER DO FOR YOURSELF!

JUST ASK AT THE CLINIC NEAREST YOU!

I SWEAR YOU WILL NEVER REGRET IT! AND IF YOU ARE MARRIED, AND OLDER I KNOW YOUR WIFE WILL GET THE POINT!

GOOD LUCK AND GOOD DREAMS,

APS

Can Coffee cause anxiety and sleep disorders?
And does Coffee increase your metabolism ?

Thank you.

Coffee increases the basic metabolic rate, which helps burn more calories. It increases mental clarity, as well as muscular coordination, can help to increase respiration rates and gives also a boost to low blood pressure. Indeed, several studies have concluded that metabolic rate or energy expenditure is positively affected by coffee consumption. For example, a study in the American Journal of Physiology in 1995 showed that energy expenditure increases by about 10% in response to caffeine ingestion.
Caffeine is the world’s most popular psychoactive drug. It boosts metabolism and energy levels, making you feel more alert by interfering with the action of drowse-inducing adenosine in the brain. It also manipulates the same channels in the brain as amphetamines, activating the brain’s pleasure centers. A recent study from Brazil finding that people who drink coffee with milk each day are less likely to have depression. Also, studies have shown that coffee drinkers have a lower incidence of suicide than the rest of the population. Caffeine is a stimulant which, in moderate amounts, helps with fatigue associated with depression. Coffee has been shown to contain small quantities of monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs), which are natural antidepressants.

Just make sure you drink GOOD coffee and not the cheapest stuff you can get your hands on! Coffee should be handpicked, and best are Arabica beans. Order coffee farm direct, and you’ll be surprised how well it tastes, let’s you sleep, and you’ll never go back to the regular supermarket shelves for it.

Ok I belive I have sleep apnia cause I have times(every since I was little) where I can’t breathe or wake up (this was confirmed by my doctor as he wanted me to get a referal to a sleep doctor (that what I call him) but with his appointments not opening up till either September or October and me not being sure where I’m going to school, what can I do to limit my sleep apania issues. Also I wonder does the medicine I’ve been taking recently (Steerra and Lamictal) have anything to do with it.

Try propping yourself up on some pillows so you breathe better. Sometimes it’s hard to breathe if your nose gets stuffy when you sleep, or if you have too much salvia sitting in your mouth. So try that. If you know you have trouble breathing through your nose when you sleep, get one of those nasal strips that’s supposed to help with snoring (since that’s caused by the same thing). You might also want to try sleeping on your sides if you can’t fall asleep propped up on pillows. It puts less weight on your chest so you can breathe a little easier, especially if you are overweight at all. My roommate’s mom has sleep apnia as well, and her doctor told her it was because of excess weight on her chest which inhibited her from breathing too deep. But if you’re not overweight, that’s not a problem. Make sure the room isn’t too dry, sometimes a little humidity can help. Get a humidifier to keep in your room. It won’t make the room feel any hotter, but it will be a little moister so you can breathe easier. You can also trying getting up every couple hours and walking around a bit (get a cup of water, go to the bathroom, etc) just to get your blood pumpin a little bit and start breathing a little deeper, maybe that will help stop your breathing from slowing down too much while you’re asleep.

That’s all I can think of, but it never hurts to do a Yahoo search or something. Those are just some of the things my boyfriend’s dad does because he has Sleep Apnia too. Try a couple different things and see what works best for you. Good luck!!

My fiance has sleep apnea and needs a sleep test done so that he can get the machine to help make it better. He has no insurance as he is out of work. We have been trying to find free sleep tests in Ohio but have had no luck.

alot of medical research companies have free testing for certain types of illnesses. Go to the NIH website. That is National Institue of Health. Or contact a medical school or a University hospital associated with one.