obstructive sleep apnea

If you're one of the millions of Americans who suffer from obstructive sleep apnea, you know how important it is to get a good night's sleep. But what you may not know is that there are treatments available that can help you get the rest you need. Obstructive sleep apnea occurs when the muscles in the back of your throat relax too much to allow normal breathing. These muscles support structures including the back of the roof of your mouth (soft palate), the triangular piece of tissue hanging from the soft palate (uvula), the tonsils and the tongue.

When the muscles relax, your airway narrows or closes as you breathe in, hampering your breathing for 10 seconds or longer. This can lower the level of oxygen in your blood and cause a buildup of carbon dioxide. Your brain senses this impaired breathing and briefly rouses you from sleep so that you can reopen your airway. This awakening is usually so brief that you don't remember it. You can awaken with shortness of breath that corrects itself quickly, within one or two deep breaths. You might make a snorting, choking or gasping sound.

This pattern can repeat itself five to 30 times or more each hour, all night long. These disruptions impair your ability to reach the deep, restful phases of sleep, and you'll probably feel sleepy during your waking hours. People with obstructive sleep apnea might not be aware of their interrupted sleep. Many people with this type of sleep apnea don't realize they haven't slept well all night.

Diagnosis

If you think you might have obstructive sleep apnea, it's important to see a doctor who can diagnose and treat the condition. At Plaza Facial Surgery, our experienced doctors will evaluate your condition based on your signs and symptoms, conduct a thorough examination, and run a few different types of tests.



During the physical examination, we will examine the back of your throat, mouth and nose for extra tissue or abnormalities. We might measure your neck and waist circumference and check your blood pressure. Our sleep specialists can conduct additional evaluations to diagnose your condition, determine the severity of your condition and plan your treatment. The evaluation might involve staying at a sleep center overnight to monitor your breathing and other body functions as you sleep.

Polysomnography

During this sleep study, 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. You might be monitored all night, or part of the night in a split-night sleep study. In a split-night sleep study, you'll be monitored during the first half of the night. If you're diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea, staff may wake you and give you continuous positive airway pressure for the second half of the night. This sleep study can also help look for other sleep disorders that can cause excessive daytime sleepiness but require different treatments, such as leg movements during sleep (periodic limb movements) or sudden bouts of sleep during the day (narcolepsy).

home testing

Under certain circumstances, your doctor may provide you with an at-home version of polysomnography to diagnose obstructive sleep apnea. This test usually involves measurement of airflow, breathing patterns and blood oxygen levels, and possibly limb movements and snoring intensity.