My Life and Sleep Apnea

When most people think about sleep apnea they think about obstructive sleep apnea where the airway in the back of the throat is blocked causing the sleep apnea sufferer to gasp for air many times per hour while they are sleeping. This is by far the most common form of sleep apnea. The other sleep apnea is central sleep apnea which has nothing to do with a blocked airway in the back of the throat but it can be as dangerous as obstructive sleep apnea. What causes central sleep apnea? Central sleep apnea is where the brain sends signals that cease breathing. According the WebMD “Central sleep apnea is often associated with other conditions. One form of central sleep apnea, however, has no known cause and is not associated with any other disease. In addition, central sleep apnea can occur with obstructive sleep apnea, or it can occur alone.” Possible illnesses or conditions ALS  Parkinson’s disease  Alzheimer’s  Stroke  Injury to the brain stem...

It is well known that sleep apnea can cause heart disease among other things. What is really disturbing is that sleep apnea can cause the actual deterioration of the heart muscle which is called cardiomyopathy . Cardiomyopathy is where the function of the heart muscle is at risk which could lead to a heart attack. Dilated cardiomyopathy is the most common type where the heart is enlarged and its ability to pump blood is diminished. The left ventricle of the heart is usually affected. The most common cause of cardiomyopathy is ischemia where there is a shortage of blood supply to vital organs like the heart. This lack of blood and oxygen can cause tissue damage of leading to cardiomyopathy. Symptoms of cardiomyopathy are: Being dizzy  Being tired  Shortness of breath  Swelling of ankles and legs  Chest pain  High blood pressure  Loss of appetite  The connection between sleep apnea and cardiomyopathy is that sleep apnea contribu...

This past week the weather here in the Atlanta area has been horrendous. In the part of the metro Atlanta area that I live in had over 20 inches of rain in the past 7 days. Luckily we were spared any flooding damage. But the weather did make my meniere’s disease and my sleep apnea worse. Sleeping with sleep apnea is always difficult but for some reason it is particularly hard when the weather is bad. I had to do a little research to find out why. It seems that the atmospheric pressure has some effect on OSA patients. Whereas altitude changes have more effects on central apnea patients. My source for this information is MedPageToday.com . Although they found a connection between sleep apnea and weather changes they are not exactly sure why it occurs. I think a lot of my problems this week were due to the sound of thunder and the amount of stress I had worrying about the house being flooded. But everything seems to be okay now; of course I still have the sleep apnea. I still int...

Five things to know about sleep apnea 1. There are two types of sleep apnea, central sleep apnea, mainly caused by heart attacks or strokes, and obtrusive sleep apnea which is much more common. Obtrusive sleep apnea is caused by a blockage of the back of the throat due to enlarged uvula or enlarged tonsils or anything blocking your airway. 2. You actually stop breathing while you are sleeping. The lack of oxygen that you receive will panic your body and make you wake up. 3. Losing weight isn't the only way to stop sleep apnea. You can be thin and still have a problem with sleeping. Although most doctors will tell you that losing weight will make the sleep apnea less severe. 4. The effect that sleep apnea has on your body can result in high blood pressure and heart disease. 5. There are machines called cpap and bipap that can help in the control of sleep apnea. But they don’t always work for everyone. Feel free to comment and please subscribe to my RSS Feed Thanks