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...

This subject will probably take more than one blog entry. So this will just be an introduction to the various types of surgery for Sleep Apnea. Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty (UPPP ) I know that's a mouthful, excuse the pun. This surgery removes tissues from the back of your mouth and if you haven't already had your tonsils out they might take them too. It requires a hospital stay and they use a general anesthetic. Its more successful for stopping snoring than Sleep Apnea because there may be more tissue farther down the throat. Maxillomandibular advancement The upper and lower part of your jaw is removed from your face bone. That sounds great doesn't it. It enlarges the space between your tongue and soft palate eliminating some of the obstruction. Tracheostomy This is for severe sleep apnea when all else has failed. A hole is made in your throat in order for a tube to be placed in it. During the day the hole is covered up but at night it's open and you breath through ...