Sleep Apnea Worries: Treatment or Surgery?

Sleep apnea is a widespread sleep condition that disrupts your sleep by stopping your breathing repeatedly while you are unconscious. The goal of treating sleep apnea is to enhance sleep quality by reducing the number of pauses in breathing, which are known as apneas. After receiving a diagnosis of sleep apnea, you will be able to start treatment. Your healthcare professional will begin the process of diagnosing sleep apnea by asking you questions about how you feel and your medical history.

A concise reference on sleep apnea has been compiled by our team, featuring information about various treatments as well as other pertinent facts. Keep in mind that it is essential to discuss with a healthcare expert any concerns about your health that you might have.

Sleep Apnea Treatment

Obstructive sleep apnea and central sleep apnea actually represent the two categories of this condition. Obstructive sleep apnea, often known as OSA, is the most frequent kind. Because of this, the muscles in the throat become relaxed, which prevents air from reaching the lungs. The condition known as central sleep apnea (CSA) makes it difficult for a person to breathe while they are sleeping. This is caused by the brain failing to provide the appropriate signals to the muscles that govern breathing.

Sleep apnea may have negative effects on both your emotional and physical health if it is not addressed. It may cause issues in recalling information, maintaining concentration and focus, deciding what to do, and keeping one’s actions and emotions under control. In addition to this, it has been associated with headaches, throat pain, high blood pressure, issues with blood vessels, and even weight gain.

Oral appliances, changes in lifestyle, positive airway pressure, adaptive breathing devices, and maybe much more might all be part of the treatment plan. The continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) treatment is effective for the majority of instances of sleep apnea, even the milder types. However, what about the more severe instances of sleep apnea?!

A CPAP machine may cure all forms of sleep apnea as well as breathing problems that occur throughout the night, and it can provide advantages that are both short-term and long-term in nature. Other types of airway pressure devices include the auto-CPAP and the bilevel positive airway pressure (BiPAP) systems.7 Auto-CPAP makes adjustments to the pressure on its own while you sleep, whereas BiPAP gives you a higher pressure when you inhale and a lower pressure when you exhale.

Sleep Apnea: the Surgical Treatment

When alternative treatments have been tried and shown to be unsuccessful, surgery may be an option for patients who suffer from sleep apnea. Before even considering surgical intervention, your healthcare practitioner may encourage you to give alternative therapies a few months’ worth of your time. And if such is the case, some of the surgical alternatives you have are as follows:

• The removal of tissue or the reduction in the volume of tissue
• Surgical procedures for weight loss
• Surgical procedures to correct issues with the jaw structure
• A procedure called a tracheostomy to remove swollen tonsils and adenoids

If you are not observing any changes, you may want to consult with a sleep expert who is board-certified. This professional will be able to assist you in finding treatments that are likely to be of the most assistance to you in reducing your sleep apnea difficulties.