Jun
01
2010
What is sleep apnea? I have read a lot about it, but would like to know some information.?
Posted by: Alan in Obstructive Sleep Apnea, tags: About, Apnea., Information, Know, Like, read, Sleep, Some, Would
How dangerous is it? I have noticed my husband stop breathing and then gasping for air along with snoring.
Please any personal experience would be very helpful.
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June 1st, 2010 at 7:12 pm
Sleep apnea is when the person stops breathing (apnea being Latin for no breath) from either a second or two to longer periods of time and can also occur up to 25 or more times an hour.
What your husband is doing sounds like a mild form of sleep apnea.
This usually makes the person quite tired the next day because of the interruption to a good quality night’s sleep.
To accurately diagnose it, he’d need to visit a sleep apnea clinic where they use several devices to record activity during sleep.
These generally include an (EEG) to measure the brain waves and an (EOG) to measure eye and chin movement to monitor the different stages of sleep; (EKG) to measure heart rate and rhythm; chest bands to measure breathing movements; and additional monitors to sense oxygen and carbon dioxide levels in the blood as well as monitors to record leg movement.
No needles involved and it doesn’t hurt at all.
Once you’re connected up to all this you just do your usual routine before bed i.e. television, read etc. (you can’t go too far from the bed because of the wires).
You go to sleep and next morning all the results are there and from that can be diagnosed how bad if any the sleep apnea is and what can be done about it.
Has your husband been checked out for any sinus conditions such as polyps or anything like that?
Might be best to have a talk to your doctor so he can arrange a sleep clinic test if he thinks it’s needed.
I’ve had it now for around five years.
June 1st, 2010 at 7:48 pm
sleep apnea is when the soft tissues in your throat relax and close off your breathing. this can be very serious, depending upon the degree of apnea that u have. a sleep study should be done and a cpap machine that helps u breathe easier and pop open the airways.