Treating sleep apnea is the only way to guarantee you get a full night of uninterrupted sleep. Even if you don’t remember waking up, it is still affecting you on a day to day basis. You’ll be amazed at how much better you function without these pauses in your breathing. Effectively treating sleep apnea requires a specialist to differentiate between the types: you may have central, obstructive, or mixed sleep apnea.
Treatments need to be performed based on the type. Central sleep apnea, for example, is a problem with the respiratory control center of the brain while obstructive sleep apnea is more of a physical problem, with the airways being actually blocked. Mixed is a combination of the two. Sleep apnea surgery is usually more effective for obstructive sleep apnea treatments. Sleep apnea medications, on the other hand, are able to better regulate a centralized problem.
The way to diagnose sleep apnea is to see a sleep specialist. These doctors will give you a physical examination, take information regarding your medical history and will usually perform a sleep study, also known as a Polysomnogram. This test will evaluate what goes on while you sleep, from your brain functionality to the amount of times you experience a pause in your breathing. You can be hooked up to as many as 23 wires and all of them are connected to a specific finding. A sleep specialist will look at these results combined with the physical exam and your medical history in order to come to a diagnosis.
Sleep apnea surgery can be performed by a maxillofacial surgeon. East Manhattan doctors strive to offer the latest methods of treating sleep apnea so as to get the best possible results. If you have any questions about surgically treating sleep apnea and whether it’s the right treatment for you, it’s important that you meet with the doctor beforehand.
If you find yourself frequently tired, cranky, and unfocused day after day despite getting a seemingly full night of sleep, it might be time to consult with a sleep specialist. They will evaluate your symptoms and determine what the best course of action is; usually they will try oral devices or continuous airway pressure devices before resorting to sleep apnea surgery, but it all depends on your case and how well you are responding to the initial treatment methods.