Sleep Apnea and You
You sit in your meeting at work and begin to yawn. “Oh wow. I am so tired. What is going on?” you mumble to yourself as another powerpoint presentation drones on.
When you arrive home from the day at the office, you feel like you could fall face first into your mashed potatoes at dinner. “This has been happening more and more lately,” you mention to your wife. “I just feel so exhausted all of the time.”
Your wife looks over to you as she takes a bite of her chicken, “Well it is no surprise that you are so tired!” she says. “You have been waking up like a hundred times during the night!”
You might be suffering from the sleep disorder: sleep apnea. Sleep apnea is a serious sleep disorder that occurs when a person’s breathing becomes interrupted during periods of sleep. These interruptions can occur hundreds of times over the course of a night!
So what can you do to treat sleep apnea? The answers lie in Dr. Roberto Monteagudo’s blog, so keep reading to learn more about sleep apnea and you!
Symptoms of Sleep Apnea
Sleep apnea can affect all areas of your life, especially when exhaustion sets in to interrupt your days. Some other symptoms of sleep apnea can include:
- Waking with a sore throat
- Loud snoring
- Waking with a choking or gasping feeling
- Sleepiness when driving
- Headaches in the mornings
- Mood changes
- Less interest in sex
- Forgetfulness
- Insomnia or recurrent awakenings
- Restless sleep
As you can see, these symptoms are aggravating, at the very least. They can affect all of your day to day functioning. So what can you do to alleviate the symptoms if you are suffering from sleep apnea? Keep reading!
Diagnosis and Treatment of Sleep Apnea
Believe it or not, but many people do not know that they are suffering from sleep apnea. It is usually a partner who identifies the sleeping issues and then reports them.
To diagnosis sleep apnea, a variety of sleeping tests are conducted to evaluate your sleeping patterns, nasal air flow, and snoring. These tests give doctors such as Dr. Roberto Monteagudo the tools to develop a proper diagnosis and create a treatment plan that is right for you.
Treatment protocol can be as basic as: losing weight, avoiding alcohol and sleeping pills, shifting sleeping positions, ceasing to smoke, or even avoiding sleeping on your back. All of those can be easy fixes that can help your overall health!
In addition, Dr. Monteagudo might recommend a dental device that can help keep your airways open during sleep. All of these treatments will be discussed with you during your consultation with Dr. Roberto Monteagudo.
If you think that you or someone that you know is suffering from sleep apnea, don’t wait, call Dr. Monteagudo today! We will make sure that you are on the path to restful sleep and active days!
References:
Dr. Roberto Monteagudo. Sleep Apnea. http://www.wisconsinsmiles.com/sleep_apnea.html
WebMD. Sleep Apnea. http://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/sleep-apnea/sleep_apnea_treatments
