Sleep Apnea

Symptoms and treatment of sleep apnea

Loud and chronic snoring is one of the most frequent symptoms of sleep apnea, a common sleep disorder in which people experience one or more pauses in breathing or take shallow breaths during the night. 

People with sleep apnea may experience pauses in snoring, followed by choking or gasping. The loudest snoring usually occurs when people sleep on their back, and it becomes less loud when people sleep on their side. 

Snoring isn't always an every-night thing for people with sleep apnea. Over time, though, snoring usually occurs increasingly often and gets increasingly loud.  

However, not everyone who snores has sleep apnea.

Another of the common symptoms of sleep apnea is drowsiness during the day, at work or while driving. For example, simply not being active -- having a quiet moment during the day -- can be enough for someone with sleep apnea to fall asleep. 

Sleep Apnea: More Signs and Symptoms
Other possible signs and symptoms of sleep apnea include: 

• Memory or learning problems and inability to concentrate.
• Irritability, depression, mood swings and personality changes.
• Headaches in the morning.
• Having to get up to urinate at night.
• Waking up with a dry throat.

 Medical and family histories, a physical exam and sleep study results are usually used to diagnose sleep apnea. Often, a primary-care doctor is the first to evaluate someone's symptoms. If needed, a sleep specialist can be called in. 

Sleep specialists include doctors who are lung, nerve or ear, nose and throat specialists. Having your sleep analyzed in a sleep study often (but not always) involves an overnight stay in a sleep disorders center or a sleep laboratory, which may be part of a hospital or an independent unit. 

Treatments for Sleep Apnea
Once a diagnosis is made, treatment can begin. Mild sleep apnea is often relieved by a custom-made mouthpiece designed to adjust the lower jaw and tongue to help keep the airway open during sleep. Or, lifestyle changes often help, including: 

• Losing weight if you're overweight or obese.
• Quitting smoking.
• Avoiding alcohol and medicine that can make you sleepy.
• Sleeping on your side to help keep your throat open.
• Using nose sprays or allergy medicines to keep nasal passages open at night. 

Moderate to severe sleep apnea may require surgery or nighttime use of something called a continuous positive airway pressure, or CPAP, device. It gently blows air into the throat to keep the airway open during sleep.