My Life and Sleep Apnea

There are many sleep apnea treatments and procedures; here are just a few of the main ones. The easy way to help with your sleep apnea is to lose weight . It probably won’t completely end your sleep apnea but it should help, although if you have central sleep apnea this wouldn’t help. The chin strap is simple device that fits around the top of the head and around your chin. The idea behind it is to keep your mouth shut. Some people use it with the cpap machine others just by itself. Dental devices fit in your mouth at night in order to keep the airway open. This is usually only effective with mild sleep apnea. Somnoplasty is a procedure that uses a radio frequency directed at the soft palate and the uvula. This in effect stiffens the soft palate eliminating the snoring. This is an outpatient procedure. Another outpatient surgery is the laser assisted uvula palatoplasty or LAUP . This procedure vaporizes the soft palate and the uvula. Done on an outpatient basis it takes more...

A procedure (or surgery) to alleviate sleep apnea is somnoplasty. Somnoplasty , developed by Somnus Medical Technologies, Inc. is relatively new it received its clearance for treatment by the FDA in 1998. Basically this procedure attempts to minimize the effects of the vibrations of the soft palate and uvula during sleep. Radio frequency energy is directed at the soft palate and uvula causing clotting beneath the soft palate and uvula. Lesions are formed when this is done. Over the course of several months the lesions are reabsorbed making the soft palate stiff eliminating the snoring. The procedure is done in an outpatient setting, much like the LAUP procedure . A local anesthesia is given and the whole thing only takes about 30 minutes. It is relatively painless and the recovery is quick. The success of the procedure will usually be determined within 6 to 8 weeks. Another treatment may be necessary. I was informed by my doctor that this procedure probably wouldn’t help me bec...