Apnea means without breath. Sleep apnea is when a person stops breathing during sleep. You may not realize there’s a problem.

Sleep apnea can be serious if untreated. It can cause or contribute to high blood pressure, poor memory or forgetfulness, headaches, weight gain and impotency in men. It can impair your judgment at work and may lead to automobile accidents.

There are different levels of sleep and your body needs to go through these levels for your body and brain to rest. With sleep apnea you don’t get to the most important level of restorative sleep or you don’t spend enough time at that level. When you stop breathing your heart rate changes and your oxygen level drops. Your body doesn’t know what’s happening but it arouses you just enough for you to start breathing again. These arousals may not be significant enough that you’re aware of them but your body suffers as a result. You’re not getting enough sleep. This is why you may wake up feeling tired when you thought you slept an entire night. You may stop breathing a few times during the night or you may stop hundreds of times.

If you are waking feeling tired, waking up with headaches, having trouble staying awake during the day. If you can’t sit through a movie without falling asleep or your spouse or partner complains of your snoring you need to mention this to your doctor. Your doctor may refer you to a specialist in sleep disorders. You will most likely be scheduled for a sleep study.

Sleep Study
When you are scheduled for a sleep study will most likely be spending the night at a clinic, either free standing or in a hospital. This study may be scheduled over 2 nights, either consecutively or several days or weeks apart. The first night you will arrive at the clinic and be taken to a bedroom. You will bring your pajamas or some comfortable clothes for sleeping. You will most likely be told not to have any caffeine the day of the study. After you change your clothes you will be wired. The technician will attach small electrodes to your scalp to measure brain waves. You will have electrodes on your chest to monitor your heart and chest movement for breathing. You will have an airflow sensor on your upper lip which measures airflow from the nose and mouth as well as a small sensor on your eyelid. This measures eye movement during sleep. In addition there will be electrodes or bands on your legs to measure leg movement for restless leg syndrome and you’ll have a probe on your finger to measure your oxygen level. There’s also a small camera in the room so they can watch you while you sleep.

Now you’ll be asked to go to sleep. At this point you’re thinking, yeah right, like I could sleep with all this on. You’d be amazed that you actually do fall asleep. It may not be as restful as your use to at home but you do fall asleep. The technician is in another room watching monitors with all your electrical readouts and a TV monitor.

The technician will wake you in the morning and you can change clothes to go home or go to work. Yes, some people go directly to work after a sleep study.

The second night is called a titration study. You are wired the same with one addition. You are hooked up to a CPAP machine. This machine delivers a constant flow or air that you breathe during the night. It is delivered through a mask either nasal or full face. A nasal mask covers your nose only and a full face mask covers both the nose and mouth. A full face mask is used for people who breathe with their mouths open. At this point you’ll again be instructed to go to sleep. You may feel like you slept as much or should I say as little as you did the night before but what you don’t realize is, you got a more restorative sleep. You might notice you’re not as tired the next morning. If you usually wake with a headache you don’t have one.

During the night the technician was adjusting the pressure on the CPAP machine and the electrodes were measuring how you did at each level. The physician will look at this data and determine which CPAP pressure is best for you.

Treatment
Now that you’ve had the sleep study and titration study the doctor will order a CPAP machine for you. These are obtained from a medical equipment center. The technician or respiratory therapist will instruct you in the use and cleaning of your machine. You will also be fitted for a mask. There are various brands of masks available as well as nasal prongs and nasal pillows. The right mask for you is the one that works and is the most comfortable. I know, you’re thinking nothing will be comfortable but I guarantee, once you start using one and give it enough time you won’t want to sleep without it. You can do a search for CPAP Masks on the internet and you’ll see the many options available. There are fewer options for people who are mouth breathers than those who are nose breathers but they are coming out with more and more options all the time.

If you feel the pressure on your machine is too high and you can’t sleep try using the ramp setting. This will drop the pressure down to a more tolerable level for a period of time, usually 20 minutes or more, allowing you to fall asleep. The pressure will gradually increase during that time until the prescribed pressure is reached. By this time you’re sleeping and not even aware of it. If you wake during the night you can always press the ramp button again. If you’re use to waking during the night to go to the bathroom or just being unable to sleep don’t be surprised if you find you’re sleeping the entire night.

If you’re having trouble with the mask you’re using, talk to your home care provider and look for alternatives. Don’t put the machine in a closet and forget about it. Untreated sleep apnea can lead to serious health problems and permanent heart problems.

Before you say I don't know what I'm talking about, I don't know what it feels like to sleep with that machine and mask on my face I have to tell you, I not only did education on the use of the machines but I've used one myself for 2 years. It took some getting use to but I'm sleeping much better and I would not sleep without it.