My Life and Sleep Apnea

One problem with the CPAP mask that I haven’t heard much about is claustrophobia. The mask can be cumbersome for most at the beginning because it is so unnatural to have a mask on your face while you are sleeping. I wrote about my experiences in an earlier post, but for some, the problems might be a little more frightening. Claustrophobia is a panic disorder that causes anxiety from the fear of enclosed places. Most sufferers fear the lack of movement that a tightly enclosed place puts them in or they fear a lack of oxygen. Training the patients to identify their fears and change their behaviors is the most common treatments. Sleep Apnea patients who are claustrophobic due to their CPAP mask can find relief by wearing it during the day for a few hours to adjust to the feel and the sound of the machine. They can also try out nasal pillows where tubes are inserted into the nostrils without having any straps on their face. Relaxation exercises might also be tried to control t...

There had to be a point where you knew something was wrong. You were tired in the morning, even on the mornings where you could sleep in you were still tired. Or maybe your short term memory wasn’t as good as it used to be. You never felt rested but you just couldn’t figure what the problem was. What was your first sign of sleep apnea ? Although blockage of the airway is the common thread among sleep apnea patients, how you first become diagnosed varies greatly. It used to be before sleep apnea became known that people with OSA just lived with it or tried things like sleeping pills (which make matters worse). But today sleep apnea is widely known there shouldn’t be any problem being diagnosed. Unfortunately there are still many people out there that don’t know that they have sleep apnea. They may think that they just have insomnia or some other problem, dismissing the idea that they could have sleep apnea. I could be that they are leery about sleep apnea because of the horror stori...

After my first sleep study I was told that I slept with my mouth open all night. I already knew that and so did my wife. Apparently the significance of that was that I would need a full face mask with my cpap machine. The next sleep study was scheduled and this time I would be fitted for a cpap. There was a little mix up at the sleep clinic because when I arrived they didn’t have a full face mask just one that covered over the nose. The mask was put on and the machine started. The technician told me that I had to keep my mouth shut or the air would blow out of my mouth. How was I supposed to do that? I tried to sleep but the thought of just breathing through my nose was unnatural to me. I keep opening my mouth and the weird sensation of the air leaving my mouth occurred. The technician was getting irritated with me. He came into the room carrying what looked like a strap. He wrapped the strap under my jaw and over my head. He assured me that this would help me keep my mouth. It ...

Adults aren’t the only ones who can have sleep apnea children also may suffer from it. Unlike symptoms found in adults where loud and interrupted snoring occurs, in children it isn’t that easy to detect. Although heavy snoring is also found in kid’s sleep apnea there are other common signs that your child has sleep apnea Attention problems Lack of weight gain Mouth breathing Daytime sleepiness Enlarged tonsils Adults who have Obstructive Sleep Apnea tend to be overweight but that isn’t necessarily the case with children who have it. Although children who do have a weight problem may exacerbate the condition. Enlarged tonsils and adenoids are the most common reason that children have sleep apnea. Tonsillectomy is a common surgery for hundreds of thousands of children every year. Children can also be fitted for the cpap machine. A cpap machine delivers air through a hose that is connected to a mask worn over the face. The constant air keeps the air passage open. This usually...