Obstructive Sleep Apnea

• Being told that your snoring disturbs your bed partner’s sleep
• Waking up often during the night
• Concerns about the times you stop breathing at night
• Waking up at night feeling like you are choking
• Decreased ability to concentrate or remember things
• A decrease in sexual intimacy
• Frustration
• Irritability
• Impatience
• Decreased energy
• Falling asleep during the day if not stimulated or active
• Having an extremely large neck; i.e., 17" or larger
• Sudden weight gain - especially a large amount

If you suspect you may have sleep apnea, the first thing to do is see your doctor. Your doctor will let you know treatment options, such as:

• Losing weight
• Avoiding alcohol before bed
• Avoiding sleeping pills
• Lying on your side or stomach while sleeping
• Taking medication to alleviate congestion in the nose

If those treatment options don’t work, you may need to have an overnight sleep study to determine if other options would be effective, such as:

Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP): the most common and effective treatment for OSA. Each night a patient wears a mask that fits over the nose and/or mouth and gently blows air into the airway to keep the throat open during sleep. There are three different kinds of PAP Therapy:

• Continuous (CPAP): Air blows at a continuous pressure throughout the night. This type of PAP therapy is generally used the most.
• Automatic (APAP): the machine automatically adjusts the pressure needed to keep the airway open. Throughout the night, pressure will change depending on the automatic needs of the patient.
• Bilevel: Bilevel machines alternate between two different pressures throughout the night. During inhalation, the pressure is higher to keep the airway open; the pressure then drops to make it easier to exhale. This sequence of two different pressures continues throughout the night.

Dental Appliances: reposition the jaw and tongue to bring the lower jaw forward and open up the airway. This treatment option is most effective for those with mild to moderate sleep apnea.

Surgery: is another option for patients who do not feel comfortable wearing a CPAP mask at night. Common surgeries require removal of the uvula and soft palate to remove the extra skin that is blocking the airway. Other surgeries physically move the jaw forward and remove part of the tongue.

If you cannot access a sleep center, have time constraints for scheduling an appointment, or would rather sleep in the comfort of your own bed, you have another option.

At-home sleep studies are now available to confirm the presence of Obstructive Sleep Apnea.

The device is compact and easy-to-use with a high rate of successful study data recordings. An instruction manual and DVD is included, and the device can be worn for one night, and then easily sent back to University Services to interpret the data.

How it works:

• A patient is referred to University Services & schedules an appointment with one of our board certified sleep physicians
• Our sleep physician will determine if they are “at risk” for Obstructive Sleep Apnea
• If the patient is “at risk” for OSA, but are unable to schedule an overnight study, they will receive an easy-to-use ambulatory device that fits comfortably on the wrist
• The patient uses the device for one night and returns it to University Services
• University Services interprets the data and begins the necessary treatment options

To learn more about this process, including insurance information, contact your local sleep center.