by Tenisha Dixon

Created on: March 28, 2009

Sleep Apnea is a serious condition that most people leave untreated because of not being aware of how dangerous it is . Sleep apnea is a condition that that when you sleep at night you stop breathing. In simple terms your airway gets blocked off by your tongue and relaxed throat muscles. In children it comes from enlarged tonsils and adenoids. There are different types of sleep apnea, central and obstructive are the two I was educated about.. Central sleep apnea is less common and occurs because of certain medical conditions like a stroke. I really do not know that much about it, however I do know about obstructive sleep apnea because I have been diagnosed with it.

The syptoms of sleep apnea are different for each person but most people do not realize that they are showing signs. Most of the syptoms are related to other medicial issues and wind up getting treated as other problems. Depression, high blood pressure, and developing heart conditions are common d syptoms of sleep apnea. My syptoms were depreeion like and bothersome. I suffered from high blood pressure, miagrianes during my sleep, and always falling alseep at akward times like whem i was driving are just a few. The physical signs are just as numerous. When people are overweight they are more likely to have sleep apnea. Snoring, tossing and turning while sleep, night sweats, dry mouth, and sleeping with your mouth open plagued me for years. These problems are the main type of problems others complain about too.

There are medical conditions that I was lucky enough not to experience them. These conditions are life threatening like heart failure, irregular heart beat, stroke, and coronary artery disease are a few examples. Sleep apnea can be very dangerous because of those conditions and other problems. Falling asleep while driving is unsafe for you and others on the road. Not breathing and low oxygen levels at night causes your body to react in a negative way. Oxygen loss causes problems for everything in your body. It makes your blood flow irregular, it takes much needed oxygen and blood flow to your organs this can result in you having a stroke or heart attack in your sleep which can result in death. sleep apnea makes it hard to lose weight and can leave you fatigue and restless.

If you think that you have sleep apnea it is vital that you get it checked out. The testing is simple. The first step is to call your doctor and set up a appointment with a sleep study doctor. At the first visit they give you an examination and ask you questions. If the doctor finds it necessary they will schedule you for an overnight sleep study, The sleep study will be a little uncomfortable because you have lots of wires attached to your body. Then two weeks later you get your results. My results shocked me to the bone. I found out that I have severe obstructive sleep apnea. I stop breathing about 101 times an hour, the longest I stop breathing for is 35 seconds, and I only get 57 percent of my oxygen when ever I sleep. The next step is they measure you for a cpap machine and order you one this is the most common treatment. A cpap machine blows air down your airway to stop the blocking and give you much needed oxygen while you sleep. Once you receive your machine and learn how to use it you are well on your way to recovery. Believe me you feel better as soon as you start your treatment. I get the best sleep ever now, and you can too.

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