SLEEP APNEA
PROBLEM
You have been diagnosed with sleep apnea. During your sleep your tongue and throat relax, causing less air to go down into your lungs. When you sleep and snore you have short periods when you stop breathing and may wake up gasping for breath. Your bed partner may shake you awake because of your loud snoring or may notice that you have stopped breathing. The sleep apnea makes you very tired, leading you to take daytime naps.
CAUSES
A.Being overweight and having a thick neck
can cause sleep apnea.
B.As you get older you are more likely to have sleep apnea.
C.After menopause, women may start having sleep apnea.
D.If you have not had your tonsils removed, they may be part of the problem as your tongue and throat relax.
E.Alcohol and some medicines cause sleep apnea.
F.Allergies may also cause some sleep apnea.
PREVENTION
A.There is no way to prevent sleep apnea once you have it.
B.One way to help your sleep apnea is to lose weight.
TREATMENT PLAN
A.Review all of your medicines and any herbal products with your healthcare provider.
B.You may be told to sleep with your head up on two pillows, use a tennis ball under your pillow, or even sleep with a back pack under your pillow. This holds your head up higher and prevents your tongue from making your wind pipe smaller.
C.You may also need a mouthpiece to help your tongue from relaxing when you sleep. Your dentist will need to help you find the best one.
D.You may be sent to a lung specialist to help with your treatment.
E.You may be told you need to have a sleep study to check out and measure how often you stop breathing at night.
F.After your sleep study, your lung specialist may order you to have a sleep machine called continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) or biphasic positive airway pressure (BiPAP):
1.The sleep machine uses nose tubing, a nasal mask, or a full face mask.
2.The machine is small and portable.
3.Your CPAP machine can be taken through the airport.
4.You will have a supplier send you more tubing, machine filters, and breathing tubes/masks on a regular schedule.
G.Continuing to use the prescribed treatment for sleep apnea is important to your overall health.
Activity:
A.You will continue to need to sleep with your head higher, use the mouthpiece, or use the sleep machine to keep from having sleep apnea.
B.Exercise; losing even a small amount of weight will help with sleep apnea.
Patient Teaching Guide Nicotine Dependence.
It is never too late to quit smoking.
D.Avoid alcohol, especially near your bedtime.
Diet: There is no special diet for sleep apnea, but losing weight helps.
Medications:
There are no medicines for sleep apnea.
You Need to Notify the Office If:
A.Your bed partner complains that your snoring or sleep apnea has worsened.
B.You want to make an appointment to discuss having a sleep study.
C.You are having difficulty with your sleep machine or other equipment.
D.Other: ___________________________________________________________
Phone: ____________________________
RESOURCE
The National Sleep Foundation at www.sleepfoundation.org.
PATIENT TEACHING GUIDE