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Sleep apnea is a medical condition with brief, repetitious episodes of breathing cessation during sleep. The effects on the body are cumulative from chronic, inadequate rest that impact memory, create excessive, chronic fatigue with poor reactive ability. The byproducts are increased risks for accidents, inability to focus and less productivity on the job.

Apnea disturbs sleeping patterns in three forms. Most common is Obstructive (OSA), whereby the lax musculature within the neck falls as sleeping occurs, with gravity allowing airway blockage. Central (CSA) is initiated when the central nervous system misfires the impulses that control breathing at the respiratory level. Complex involves varying combinations of the other two forms. Health conditions, such as obesity, respiratory or central nervous system diseases contribute to the propensity for this episodic breathing dysfunction.

Symptoms that define this at-rest disorder are ambiguous and share commonalities with other health issues. Sleeping issues, such as hypersomnia, snoring, occasional shortness of breath when awakening and difficulty staying asleep are common signs of myriad conditions. Dry mouth, morning headaches, difficulty maintaining focus, and pervasive, personality changes will require a thorough workup with your physician to ascertain the correct diagnosis.

Risks increase with being male, stress, including anxiety and depression. High-blood pressure, cardiovascular or arteriovascular disease or a narrowed airway place individuals at risk. Obesity, large neck circumference measured at beyond 17-inches, family history, sedentary lifestyle, smoking, excessive alcohol, mind-altering drugs, aging, senility and hypothyroidism increase the risk of disorders related to apnea.

Some possible complications are the direct result of excessive fatigue that occurs with apnea that can lead to accidents while driving, or inattentiveness creating hazards during manual labor or when operating machinery. Permanent brain damage or death can result from recurrent episodes of inadequate oxygen to the brain. Heartbeat irregularities and congestive heart failure can be initiated or worsened with episodic lack of oxygen over a period of time.

Diagnostic measures include observation of symptoms by someone close to you, medical history and exam by a physician, laboratory studies that measure oxygen in the blood, chest-wall movement and nasal air flow. Usually, a brain wave study via electroencephalogram (EEG) is performed, in addition to overnight studies known as a polysomnogram, done in a controlled, laboratory environment for confirmed diagnosis.

Treatment is dependent on the severity of the condition, health problems and daytime functioning. Treatments range from a prescription dental appliance to continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP), where the patient wears a mask over the nose and mouth when sleeping, while a small air-compressor forces air into the nasal passages maintaining an open airway. Treatment may include surgery, such as tonsillectomy or enlarging the larynx.

Surgery and some successful lifestyle changes can be curative. Otherwise, all measures strive to improve the quality of life for patients and prevent the consequences of uncontrolled sleep apnea Ottawa. Daytime fatigue is sometimes helped through medication. All supportive measures to control the disorder are a lifetime patient responsibility.

Sleep apnea Ottawa is a sleep disorder many battle, but aren’t aware of the CPAP supplies Ottawa available to them, or where to find information on symptoms, CPAP Ottawa, and the next steps to take.

There are a couple of things particularly upsetting and unnerving about the disorder called primary or idiopathic hypersomnia. First of all, the usual time of onset is when the victim is at the prime of life - between 15 and 30 years of age; moreover, the condition remains a lifelong disorder not responding satisfactorily to any kind of treatments.

Another disturbing aspect of this disorder is its manifestation. One of the leading symptoms is too much sleeping during the day, a sign most people choose to ignore. It is a general idea that excessive sleepiness ought to be a sign of over-exhaustion or lack of good sleep the night before.

Affecting close to 5% people in the US, this condition has been recognized as a ‘rare disease’ by the Office of Rare Diseases (ORD) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). There is no difference between the primary and idiopathic kind as they mean the same kind of disorder. Interestingly, ‘idiopathic’ means ‘no known cause’. This means that all treatments can only provide symptomatic relief from the symptoms.

What exactly is this sleep disorder?

If one was to discuss excessive sleep with a doctor, it is likely that the term ‘hypersomnolence’ would crop up often. The scientific term for excessive sleeping is hypersomnolence and the name of the illness is hypersomnia. Two types of this disorder exist: Idiopathic and Recurrent.

Symptoms

Some typical symptoms include persistent sleeping during the day, frequent daytime naps that do not seem to be rejuvenating, confused feeling on waking up, sleeps for unusually long hours (10 hours or more), parallel mood disorders like irritability and depression, hallucinations, slurred speech and cloudy thinking, lack of appetite, focusing problem, and poor memory.

How do they treat this disorder?

Doctors normally take a multi-prong strategy for treating this condition. one of the important components of the total ‘treatments’ package is professional counseling help for the family, friends and colleague of the patient. This helps the group to understand various implications of this disease which in turn help the patient to cope better.

Treatments related to self-help include doing physical workouts, sleeping at regular hours, quitting alcohol and other psychoactive substances, doing relaxation exercises like yoga, deep breathing, etc.

Treatments can also be done with the help of following drugs: (1) Modafinil, sodium oxybate, amphetamine, methamphetamine, dextroamphetamine, methylphenidate, and selegiline; (2) Tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs), monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs), clonidine, levodopa, bromocriptine, amantadine, and methysergide

Conclusion

No matter how ‘rare’ the disorder is, it is a fact that one can easily fall victim to this completely disabling illness at a very young age. Though there is no treatment guaranteeing 100% recovery, the victim can get substantial from the frequency and intensity of the symptoms if treatment is sought early.

Marc MacDonald is an independent sleep researcher on primary hypersomnia, narcolepsy, and sleep apnea. To learn more about this article’s main topic, please visit his Hypersomnia website.