Sleep apnea symptoms reddit communities discussions

Sleep apnea symptoms reddit communities mostly discuss their experiences. First, let’s know about apnea. Apnea is a functional sleep disorder associated with a short—term decrease or complete absence of pulmonary ventilation. Temporary respiratory arrest dramatically reduces the oxygen content in the blood. Increasing the volume of carbon dioxide. As a result, the brain urgently comes out of the sleep phase to restore the muscle tone of the larynx. During the night, up to several hundred such episodes may occur. It interferes with full rest and normal working capacity during the day. Therefore, apnea needs to be treated. We suggest you find out in the article why apnea syndrome occurs and what therapy should be.

Changes in the body of sleep apnea symptoms reddit community members

Apnea is a disorder or disorder characterized by periodic cessation of breathing during a night’s sleep. In addition to breathing pauses. A person suffers from pronounced snoring, chronic fatigue, and drowsiness in the morning or afternoon. Stopping breathing at night is dangerous for health. It associates with unstable work of the heart and blood vessels and hemodynamic disorders.

Some of the Sleep apnea symptoms reddit community members experience breathing breaks, the duration of which reaches 10 seconds. It provokes hypoxia and hypoxemia in the blood. Which stimulates constant awakenings to resume normal breathing function. The number of episodes per night is up to 100 times within an hour. Depending on the severity of the disorder. The total time break in breathing for one night can be up to several hours. Pathology seriously disrupts sleep — it becomes superficial, heavy, and uncomfortable.

Sleep apnea symptoms reddit communities also share that the disease is detected in 5% of men and 2% of women. Sometimes it diagnoses in childhood. Over the years, the risk of developing pathology increased.

Kinds of sleep apnea symptoms

Sleep apnea symptoms reddit communities also tell us that the pathogenetic mechanism of apnea development determines two forms of pathology:

central: sleep apnea syndrome occurs due to disorders of the central mechanisms of the nervous system regulating breathing. Which occur against the background of damage to brain structures or pathology of the respiratory center. when an episode of respiratory retention occurs. The muscles of the bronchi and lungs cease to receive the usual nerve signals or impulses, chest movements are absent. There is no ventilation of the lungs.

obstructive: according to sleep apnea symptoms reddit communities pathology develops due to obstruction of the respiratory tract. With the preservation of the regulation of the work of the respiratory center from the central nervous system, with obstructive sleep apnea or OSA. The airflow continues to enter the bronchopulmonary system in a small volume or does not penetrate at all. But at the same time, the respiratory movements remain intact.  Sometimes they are enhanced by activation nerve impulses sent by the central nervous system.

Sometimes there is a mixed syndrome — a combination of central and obstructive forms. In such a clinical case, disorders of the nervous system are accompanied by difficulties with the flow of air into the bronchi due to problems with the respiratory organs. The mixed form is diagnosed infrequently, but this condition poses the greatest risk to health.

Reasons for sleep apnea

According to sleep apnea symptoms reddit communities the central type of apnea is caused by the following reasons:

Injuries, damage to the stem of the central nervous system;

Organic lesions of brain structures;

Postencephalitic parkinsonism.

The cause of the central form of the disease in children is insufficiency or pathology of the respiratory center. It associates with alveolar hypoventilation of the lungs. Which manifests itself in cyanosis of the skin, and apnea syndrome with absent cardiac and pulmonary pathologies.

The obstructive form of the disease develops due to the following reasons:

hormonal disorders affecting the functioning of the thyroid and pancreas;

Frequent stresses negatively affect the work of the bronchopulmonary system, provoking failures at the level of sleep physiology;

Individual anatomical features of the respiratory tract: wide neck, narrowed nasal passages, pathologically enlarged tonsils and palatine uvula;

Pathology of the maxillary system: pathological bite, hypoplasia, or underdevelopment of the jaw;

Heredity: the factor is related to the genetic features of the structure of the respiratory tract, their patency;

Taking drugs with a hypnotic effect: medications of this group significantly relax the muscles of the pharynx, narrowing the lumen of the respiratory tract.

Symptoms

Sleep apnea symptoms reddit communities members share their personal stories that they first learned about their pathology from people who sleep nearby. The main nocturnal manifestation of the disease is snoring. Restless heavy sleep with fairly frequent awakenings, and breathing breaks in sleep. Against the background of his inferiority, neurophysiological disorders appear — let’s list the most common of them:

Headaches in the morning;

General deterioration of well-being, increased morning or afternoon drowsiness;

Deterioration of performance;

High level of fatigue;

Violation of concentration, and attention;

Irritability, forgetfulness, depression.

In children, the presence of the syndrome is more often indicated by signs such as mouth breathing during daytime. Enuresis, excessive sweating during sleep, lethargy or excessive slowness, behavioral disorders, and nervousness.

Complications

In the absence of treatment, apnea largely affects the quality of life. Deterioration of concentration or attention increases the risk of injury or accidents at the wheel, or at work. The gradual progression of the disease leads to the following complications:

Arterial hypertension;

Arrhythmia, heart failure;

Weight gain, obesity;

Sexual dysfunctional disorders;

Panic attacks.

The relationship of the syndrome with cardiovascular pathologies is obvious. Over time, the disease increases the risk of heart attacks or strokes — conditions whose consequences can be irreversible. At the same time, apnea leads to resistance or resistance of the body to hypotensive treatment (lowering blood pressure). Therefore, it is recommended that all people with consistently inflated blood pressure indicators exclude night-time breathing delays if hypotensive therapy does not help.

Diagnostics

In the diagnosis, contact with the patient’s loved ones is valuable, their direct assistance in confirming the fact of respiratory interruptions in sleep. For diagnosis, polysomnography is prescribed — a complex method with high information content, including:

electrocardiogram removal;

registration of electroencephalography;

electrooculography;

pulse oximetry or oxygen and carbon dioxide content in the blood;

assessment of the airflow entering the lungs.

Additionally, an otolaryngologist’s consultation may prescribe to exclude pathologies such as sinusitis, curvature of the nasal septum, etc.

Treatment

Therapeutic measures aims at eliminating snoring, restoring oxygen content in the blood, reducing breathing pauses during sleep, and normalizing it. Timely therapy significantly reduces the clinical manifestations of the disease, which means it prevents its progression and the development of possible complications.

Today there are two methods of treating apnea:

Surgical method. It includes ENT operations (tonsillectomy, septoplasty, uvulopalatoplasty, etc.) and orthognathic interventions. ENT operations indicates for uncomplicated snoring and mild pathology. In the complicated stage of apnea, ENT operations are not performed due to insufficient effectiveness. Orthognathic interventions on the jaw — upper or lower, are applied regardless of the severity of the disease.

Conservative method. An alternative to orthognathic operations is the use of intraoral devices or devices that expand the upper respiratory tract at the level of obstruction. CPAP therapy is in widely use – a technique of noninvasive ventilation of the bronchi and lungs with constant positive pressure. Teaching patients CPAP therapy eliminates obstruction of the respiratory system, reducing the risk of episodes of its stopping during sleep.

Prognosis and prevention

Sleep apnea does not belong to a harmless pathology. The progression of the disease over many years can lead to disability, and sometimes death.

Preventive measures include:

maintaining a healthy lifestyle, giving up bad habits;

alternation of work and rest regime;

regular moderate physical activity;

timely treatment of ENT pathologies;

maintaining a normal body weight.

When identifying apnea syndrome, it is necessary to pay attention to non-specific prevention: undergoing treatment for nasopharyngeal diseases, giving up smoking, drinking alcoholic beverages, and uncontrolled use of sleeping pills.

Treatment of apnea with a special intraoral mouth guard

Intraoral mouth guards fix the lower jaw in a position that excludes airway obstruction. The cap is according to individual parameters for each patient after a diagnostic examination. The use of the device guarantees positive pressure indicators inside the respiratory organs, which eliminates episodes of respiratory arrest at night.

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