Sound Sleep Guide

If you suffer from sleep apnea, you need to be aware of the risks of anesthesia. While there are many real and potentially serious concerns, the negative effects of anesthesia can be minimized or even eliminated with the proper procedures and careful monitoring.

What Should I Do?

If you need surgery, it’s important to make sure that the anesthesiologist is aware of your condition. Certain precautionary measures would have to be taken to insure that breathing difficulties will not jeopardize your time under anesthesia. In obstructive sleep apnea, the throat muscles relax, thereby closing or narrowing the airway. This, in turn, interrupts the normal flow of oxygen to the lungs, which affects the brain.

The brain will sense the reduced lack of oxygen and will signal you to wake up. When you are under anesthesia, this is not possible. Being under anesthesia also contributes to more interrupted breathing spells. When an anesthesiologist has a patient with sleep apnea, he will take special care to keep airways open. Close monitoring is kept on the patient in surgery and in the recovery room.

Side effects from anesthesia can linger for hours after surgery so constant care is given to the patient during this time. A Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) machine may be used to ensure the airways remain open for an even, continuous flow of oxygen. Generally as the body adjusts to the medications given for surgery, the immediate dangers will pass. In some severe cases, mechanical ventilation may need to be given.

Should I Cancel My Surgery?

Theres no reason to cancel a surgery because of potential problems as long as youve made your medical personnel aware of your sleep apnea disorder. This will allow them to plan for the monitoring needed during surgery and immediately afterward.

It should be noted that many times people are not aware that they have sleep apnea, which can cause complications in surgery. If you are not sure you have this condition, or if you suspect that you do, a few simple questions may lead you to an answer. Do you snore? Do you feel tired and groggy in the mornings? Do you fall asleep during the day? If you can answer “yes” to these questions, perhaps you should speak to your doctor about the possibility of sleep apnea. Diagnosing sleep apnea before having anesthesia is a crucial first step to your total recovery.

Have you ever had a look at some of the anti snore devices that are available on the market and wondered how those strange products came to be invented?  They were by no means deliberately intended as anti snore devices.There have been products such as the nasal stips that by chance have helped stop snoring.  But there are some which you know without a shadow of a doubt that they were created by a non- snorer who was required to live years in the same room as a snorer. 

The Snore Ball 

Many snorers are capable of stopping their snoring once they have rolled over on their sides.  But once on their side and they continue to snore, then they probably have sleep apnea and require a doctor’s help.  So, these are somewhat unkind anti snore devices created to forbid even the soundest sleeper from rolling over onto their backs.  Perhaps the inventers were trying to impose just a bit of their unhappiness onto the snorers of the world. 

One such anti snoring product is known as the Snore Ball.  It came out in the early twentieth century.This ball is strapped to the small of your back and is very hard.  When you roll over onto your back, you immediately regret that you did and have no choice but roll over onto your side.  Some stick to your pajamas while others come with their own straps. 

The Sandler Pillow 

Along a similar vein, the Sandler Pillow also makes it next to impossible for a sleeper to snore on his or her back.  The pillow is named after inventor Peter Sandler (no known relation to popular comedian Adam Dandler).  It is a tiny, long pillow too thin for the whole head. 

Shock Therapy 

The most drastic and downright dangerous of anti snore devices has to be the Snore Stopper.  This is an anti snoring bracelet, which can be worn around the wrist.  When you start to snore, it gives you a jolt of electricity, which wakes you up.  The manufacturers claim that the sensation you feel from the Snore Stopper is no more painful than a “small pinch.”  You can’t help but wonder how many chronic snorers receive this as a wedding anniversary present.  (”Oh, honey, you REALLY shouldn’t have.”) 

What’s even better is that there is also a Snore Stopper that is specifically for the tongue.  It shocks the tongue whenever it presses against the back of the mouth. Bon appetit.

Among the sleep disorders most frequently signaled with virtually all group ages, sleep apnea is one of the most common. Passing usually unnoticed when one sleeps alone, sleep apnea is mainly signaled when a relative or a bed mate notices it. Yet there are some sleep apnea symptoms that one could also distinguish by close observation of the sleep-wake pattern. Among the sleep apnea symptoms that are not easily noticed include snoring and breathing cessation during sleep. However, snoring is not considered a relevant symptom for the diagnosis of sleep apnea, as there are people who snore without suffering from this disorder.

It is true that when snoring only a small amount of oxygen reaches the lungs, but this is not a rule. If you know you have a snoring problem, ask for a doctor’s advice and see what you can do to learn more, and see whether you have other sleep apnea symptoms or not. If the two are associated, then the health issue is very serious given by the obstruction of the airways, the tissues don’t get enough oxygen, a condition that can result in brain damage, stroke, heart failure and so on. It is therefore recommended that you analyze your sleep pattern carefully and see whether snoring and sleep apnea go hand in hand or not.

General Sleep Apnea Symptoms

A real breathing problem during sleep can be diagnosed when there are other sleep apnea symptoms that characterize the night rest pattern. Thus, a person that experiences breathing cessation repeatedly over a determined period of time is very likely to wake up choking and gasping when he or she doesn’t get enough air to the lungs. Then, awakenings to restart breathing are also very common for patients who suffer from sleep apnea, and they can be accompanied by headaches, mouth dryness and sore throat in the morning. Moreover, daytime drowsiness with the inability to concentrate on daily tasks is another immediate consequence of a chronic sleep deficiency.

Sleep Apnea Subtle Symptoms

There are more subtle signs that can indicate a sleep disorder, besides the very general sleep apnea symptoms that are usually present with the majority of patients. Sleep apnea triggers excessive swelling of the legs for overweight people, then, there could also be sweating, chest pains and unpleasant taste in the mouth when you wake up in the morning. There are also patients who claim heartburn at night and memory problems during the day.

There are also patients who claim heartburn at night and memory problems during the day.