In an earlier post I wrote about how important it was to sleep on your back and elevated, especially if you have acid reflux and sleep apnea. So I went ahead and bought a wedge pillow to see how it affected my sleep apnea.
First of all the wedge pillow really doesn’t seem like a pillow at all. It is more of a ramp, a slightly soft ramp. The first time that I laid down on the thing it didn’t seem very comfortable. I certainly was elevated and that is the point of the pillow, to not only be elevated at the head but also the upper torso. I could tell right away that I needed another small pillow under my head. That seemed to make it more comfortable. It was strange at first because I felt like I was in a hospital bed the way I was lifted up. But I was determined to give it a chance.
The first night it took me a while to fall asleep because strangely enough I was having problems with acid reflux, I thought that the wedge pillow would help with it.
The next morning I really didn’t feel like I sleep any better. I had no illusions about my sleep apnea going away since I was using this pillow but I thought that it would help a little. It didn’t that first night. Another problem was my shoulders were a little stiff, I guess from the position they were in all night.
As the week went on I became more and more used to the wedge pillow and the acid reflux doesn’t seem to be a problem any more. (I still take my meds for it though) I think it does help with the sleep apnea at least a little bit because after a week on the wedge pillow I do feel more rested.
So if you have a problem with acid reflux you might want to give the wedge pillow a try. The one that I bought was only around 30$.
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Sunday, December 6, 2009
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Sleep apnea and swallowing
When I was a kid I had the worst time swallowing pills. My parents couldn’t understand why I just couldn’t swallow one small pill without me acting like it was choking me. It seems to all make sense now knowing that there is a connection between sleep apnea and swallowing.
Even today I find it very difficult to swallow pills, especially the large capsules; it is for the same reason that my airway gets blocked at night. I have an enlarged tongue that blocks the back of my throat. The first doctor that I saw for my sleep apnea was amazed that I could get any sleep at all with that much blockage in my throat.
But it didn’t seem to bother my sleeping when I was young. I got plenty of rest at least that is what I remember. Of course as I have posted before I use to sleep on my stomach till I had that problem with my back. Since then I mostly sleep on my back and occasionally on my side.
The surgery that would alleviate my sleep apnea and presumably my swallowing problem would be the Maxillomandibular advancement surgery where the jaw is moved forward. At some point I may consider having it done but not right now.
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Even today I find it very difficult to swallow pills, especially the large capsules; it is for the same reason that my airway gets blocked at night. I have an enlarged tongue that blocks the back of my throat. The first doctor that I saw for my sleep apnea was amazed that I could get any sleep at all with that much blockage in my throat.
But it didn’t seem to bother my sleeping when I was young. I got plenty of rest at least that is what I remember. Of course as I have posted before I use to sleep on my stomach till I had that problem with my back. Since then I mostly sleep on my back and occasionally on my side.
The surgery that would alleviate my sleep apnea and presumably my swallowing problem would be the Maxillomandibular advancement surgery where the jaw is moved forward. At some point I may consider having it done but not right now.
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Sunday, November 29, 2009
Undiagnosed sleep apnea
It is hard to believe in this age of instant information, where all the health issues seem to be just a few clicks away, that some people haven’t heard of OSA and what is worst they may even have undiagnosed sleep apnea.
As I have written in past posts I have had sleep apnea for years. My wife complained about my snoring and I tried sleeping on my side, sleeping on my stomach, I put those bandage like things on my nose but nothing stopped my snoring.
A friend of mine went to have a sleep study done and he told me that he had sleep apnea, which was something that I had never heard about before. I did a little research on what sleep apnea was and what you could do about it. I made an doctor’s appointment and he set me up for a sleep study. Like so many people I was diagnosed with sleep apnea.
At that time I also realized that my father had sleep apnea. He wasn’t diagnosed with it. He also had heart disease. As I wrote in my last post the study of sleep apnea barely had begun when my father had died.
I truly wish that there was more attention given to this terrible and life threatening disorder. But even today there seems to be little information about it. Many people think that sleep apnea only occurs to those who are overweight and that simply isn’t true. Although being overweight is common in sleep apnea patients, you can also be thin and have it too. And of course there is central sleep apnea which has nothing to do the blockage of the airway in the throat. It too can be deadly.
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As I have written in past posts I have had sleep apnea for years. My wife complained about my snoring and I tried sleeping on my side, sleeping on my stomach, I put those bandage like things on my nose but nothing stopped my snoring.
A friend of mine went to have a sleep study done and he told me that he had sleep apnea, which was something that I had never heard about before. I did a little research on what sleep apnea was and what you could do about it. I made an doctor’s appointment and he set me up for a sleep study. Like so many people I was diagnosed with sleep apnea.
At that time I also realized that my father had sleep apnea. He wasn’t diagnosed with it. He also had heart disease. As I wrote in my last post the study of sleep apnea barely had begun when my father had died.
I truly wish that there was more attention given to this terrible and life threatening disorder. But even today there seems to be little information about it. Many people think that sleep apnea only occurs to those who are overweight and that simply isn’t true. Although being overweight is common in sleep apnea patients, you can also be thin and have it too. And of course there is central sleep apnea which has nothing to do the blockage of the airway in the throat. It too can be deadly.
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Wednesday, November 25, 2009
The history of sleep apnea
As I have mentioned in a previous post my father had sleep apnea. I believe that his sleep apnea played a part in his heart problems and subsequent fatal heart attack. That was in 1977. No one at that time even mentioned that he might have had sleep apnea. Of course people have been suffering from this sleep disorder for a long time. Treatments for sleep apnea are relatively new.
The history of sleep apnea
Strangely enough the first mention of sleep apnea came in a round about way from literature. A 20th century physician, William Osler, a fan of Charles Dickens, noticed that one of the characters in the Pickwick Papers had a sleeping disorder that now could be considered Obstructive Sleep Apnea. Osler referred to patients who had similar problems as “Pickwickian. “
In 1965 a group of French Doctors, lead by Dr. Gastault determined that the interruption of sleep happened over and over again every night. In 1978 a Harvard Physician Dr. John Remmer made the connection between the blockage of the airway and the interruption of sleep. Dr Remmer also coined the phrase “obstructive Sleep Apnea.”
One of the earliest methods of relieving sleep apnea was having a Tracheotomy which was an extreme cure for sleep apnea.
The invention of the cpap (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) came about in 1981 by an Australian doctor, Dr. Colin Sullivan and his associates made the first cpap machine. Since then the cpap has improved over the years and has become one of the most effective methods of relief from sleep apnea.
Today, not only is the cpap and its various forms are used to cure sleep apnea, there are also surgeries and dental devices. The type of treatment depends greatly on the severity of your sleep apnea.
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The history of sleep apnea
Strangely enough the first mention of sleep apnea came in a round about way from literature. A 20th century physician, William Osler, a fan of Charles Dickens, noticed that one of the characters in the Pickwick Papers had a sleeping disorder that now could be considered Obstructive Sleep Apnea. Osler referred to patients who had similar problems as “Pickwickian. “
In 1965 a group of French Doctors, lead by Dr. Gastault determined that the interruption of sleep happened over and over again every night. In 1978 a Harvard Physician Dr. John Remmer made the connection between the blockage of the airway and the interruption of sleep. Dr Remmer also coined the phrase “obstructive Sleep Apnea.”
One of the earliest methods of relieving sleep apnea was having a Tracheotomy which was an extreme cure for sleep apnea.
The invention of the cpap (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) came about in 1981 by an Australian doctor, Dr. Colin Sullivan and his associates made the first cpap machine. Since then the cpap has improved over the years and has become one of the most effective methods of relief from sleep apnea.
Today, not only is the cpap and its various forms are used to cure sleep apnea, there are also surgeries and dental devices. The type of treatment depends greatly on the severity of your sleep apnea.
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Sunday, November 22, 2009
The differences between Sleep apnea and narcolepsy
I have known people who have had narcolepsy. They would fall asleep at the drop of the hat. Luckily I don’t have it, but I do have sleep apnea. While some sleep disorders have similarities narcolepsy and sleep apnea don’t. What are the differences between sleep apnea and narcolepsy?
Narcolepsy is a chronic sleep disorder characterized by excessive daytime sleepiness in which someone has extreme fatigue or falls asleep quickly, according to Wikipedia. Their sleeping goes quickly into REM which is out of the ordinary for usual sleeping and especially unusual for anyone with sleep apnea. The quick sleep which could be brought on sudden range of emotions only lasts for only a few minutes. Sleep apnea patients suffer from fatigue every day but they usually don’t fall asleep instantaneously.
Unlike obstructive sleep apnea the problem with narcolepsy is neurological. Also unlike sleep apnea narcolepsy is not very common. One common feature of the 2 disorders is that heredity might play a role in having sleep apnea and narcolepsy.
Although there isn’t a cure for narcolepsy, there are things to help with the symptoms such as eating lightly during the day and scheduling short naps. Sleep apnea cures are the cpap mask, dental devices and surgery.
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Narcolepsy is a chronic sleep disorder characterized by excessive daytime sleepiness in which someone has extreme fatigue or falls asleep quickly, according to Wikipedia. Their sleeping goes quickly into REM which is out of the ordinary for usual sleeping and especially unusual for anyone with sleep apnea. The quick sleep which could be brought on sudden range of emotions only lasts for only a few minutes. Sleep apnea patients suffer from fatigue every day but they usually don’t fall asleep instantaneously.
Unlike obstructive sleep apnea the problem with narcolepsy is neurological. Also unlike sleep apnea narcolepsy is not very common. One common feature of the 2 disorders is that heredity might play a role in having sleep apnea and narcolepsy.
Although there isn’t a cure for narcolepsy, there are things to help with the symptoms such as eating lightly during the day and scheduling short naps. Sleep apnea cures are the cpap mask, dental devices and surgery.
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Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Do you have a face for sleep apnea?
Sleep apnea is caused by the blockage of the airway in the throat. An enlarged tongue, tonsils and loose soft palate tissue are the usual suspects causing sleep apnea. There are also other reasons why this happens and the structure of your face is one of them.
The last ENT that I went to told me that the structure of my face (I have a round face) lends itself to sleep apnea. My father also had the same shape of face, very round and full even though he wasn’t overweight. As I have written before I believe that sleep apnea was a major contribution to his heart disease and subsequent death.
I probably could lose some weight but I don’t think that weight loss alone would eliminate my sleep apnea. My ENT said that it was either to make the cpap mask work or the surgery where the jaw is moved forward and screws are placed in the jaw to relieve my sleep apnea. Weight loss by itself wouldn’t be enough.
Is anyone else in a similar situation?
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The last ENT that I went to told me that the structure of my face (I have a round face) lends itself to sleep apnea. My father also had the same shape of face, very round and full even though he wasn’t overweight. As I have written before I believe that sleep apnea was a major contribution to his heart disease and subsequent death.
I probably could lose some weight but I don’t think that weight loss alone would eliminate my sleep apnea. My ENT said that it was either to make the cpap mask work or the surgery where the jaw is moved forward and screws are placed in the jaw to relieve my sleep apnea. Weight loss by itself wouldn’t be enough.
Is anyone else in a similar situation?
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Sunday, November 15, 2009
Sleep Apnea and anxiety
Sleep apnea causes many health related problems from heart disease to diabetes. Sleep apnea can also bring on anxiety, which can be just as bad as any other ailment.
In a previous post I wrote about how sleep apnea had contributed to my depression. Not being able to sleep due to sleep apnea and feeling depressed is an awful combination if you are trying to get some rest. Since your mind doesn’t enjoy the rejuvenating effects of REM, your depression keeps on building. The same can be said about anxiety, without a deep sleep your brain never gets a break from anxiety.
And it isn’t just the usual anxiety of everyday living such as dealing with relationships, work and money; it is also dealing with the anxiety that comes on because of sleep apnea. Every night you try to go to sleep only to wake up every few minutes. It gets to the point where you don’t want to even try to go to bed, but you do hoping that you will at least get a little rest. Night after night of this and you become a nervous wreck.
There is also anxiety trying to make different treatments work. Most people who have had any luck with the cpap had to go through some trying times before they got used to the mask. And just the thought of some of the sleep apnea surgeries are enough to make anyone anxious.
So if you are feeling anxious about your sleep apnea situation you are not alone. As with any illness or disorder, persistence at finding the right treatment is the best way to get rid of your anxiety and stress.
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In a previous post I wrote about how sleep apnea had contributed to my depression. Not being able to sleep due to sleep apnea and feeling depressed is an awful combination if you are trying to get some rest. Since your mind doesn’t enjoy the rejuvenating effects of REM, your depression keeps on building. The same can be said about anxiety, without a deep sleep your brain never gets a break from anxiety.
And it isn’t just the usual anxiety of everyday living such as dealing with relationships, work and money; it is also dealing with the anxiety that comes on because of sleep apnea. Every night you try to go to sleep only to wake up every few minutes. It gets to the point where you don’t want to even try to go to bed, but you do hoping that you will at least get a little rest. Night after night of this and you become a nervous wreck.
There is also anxiety trying to make different treatments work. Most people who have had any luck with the cpap had to go through some trying times before they got used to the mask. And just the thought of some of the sleep apnea surgeries are enough to make anyone anxious.
So if you are feeling anxious about your sleep apnea situation you are not alone. As with any illness or disorder, persistence at finding the right treatment is the best way to get rid of your anxiety and stress.
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