Alternative Cures for Sleep Apnea

Sleep Apnea is a sequence of involuntary interruptions of breathing during night. The reason can be an obstruction in the airway (Obstructive Sleep Apnea/OSA) or an unsufficient initiation of the breath intake through the brain (Central Sleep Apnea/CSA) or both (Mixed-/Complex Sleep Apnea).

Obstructive Sleep Apnea is for more common and makes up for approximately 95% of all sleep apnea cases. Sleep apnea is far more frequent in men where 24% suffer from at least a mild form meanwhile only 9% of women do before the menopause (after menopause the numbers for women are close to that for men). About 6 Million Americans suffer from some form of sleep apnea. In general it can affect anyone, but only rarely occurs in children.

For more information on the three forms of sleep apnea click here

It is estimated that 38,000 cardiovascular deaths per year are somehow related to sleep apnea. This includes cases of high blood pressure and stroke.

For patients with a precondition of heart failure, high blood pressure and stroke doctors set a benchmark of 5! failed air intakes per hour as the criteria for a medical condition. For otherwise healthy people the benchmark is set to 15 failed air intakes.

Following this criteria 4% of men with sleep apnea and 2% of women with sleep apnea are diagnosed with a medical condition that needs immediate attention. Sadly many people do not realize that they have sleep apnea if they are not lucky enough to have someone who can bring it to their attention.

I'll keep this short, as there is a lot of information available on this. Basically Sleep Apnea does two things:

1. Sleep Apnea decreases you physical well being through sleep deprivation exposing your immune system as an easy target to all kinds of illnesses and leaving you with less energy to lead a happy life. Sleep deprivation often affects the hormones that regulate appetite and often results in weight gain and obesity. Sleep deprivation can also easily lead to mood disorders and depression.
2. Oxygen deprivation can and will harm organs like the liver, kidneys etc. over time. It also is a major factor in strokes and heart failure. Thus it seriously harms multiple organs at the same time, deteriorating a person's medical condition at an ever faster pace.
   

Well known and often feared cures for sleep apnea are:

Surgery

Nasal Surgery: Often performed only to allow for CPAP treatment. The turbinate size is reduced, correcting the deviated septum or enlarging the nasal valve.

Radiofrequency: Using Radiofrequency the volume of soft tissue of the nasal turbinates, soft palate or tongue is reduced.

Pharyngoplasty: Tissue from the palate and/or the back of the throat is removed to increase airway size. Often leads to foreign body sensations in the throat. Another procedure only extracts less tissue but rearranges the remaining soft tissue with several stitches.

Uvuloplatal Flap: Tissue from the palate and/or the back of the throat is removed to increase airway size. However less tissue is removed then in pharyngoplasty, but the soft palate is reduced in size.

All of the above surgeries have a few things in common. They are not sure to help by themselves and they are irreversible. So if everything else fails, you should consider them, but be sure you consider possible side effects like pain after surgery, foreign object sensations, problems swallowing etc.

During genioglossus advancement surgery this small projection is moved forward and the tongue attachment is repositioned anteriorly so that it is less likely to collapse posteriorly and block the airway during sleep.

Other surgery include a surgical widening of the jaw that has to be followed by orthodontic treatment and an overall expansion of the nose mouth area.

The last three procedure are quite intrusive and should, in most cases, be applied as a last resort.

CPAP

CPAP basically is a constant positive stream of air applied to the patient's nose over a nose- or full mask. The machine is usually placed at the top of the bed and operates at low noise levels. However common problems are (in short):

• Claustrophobia through wearing a mask at night.
  
• Blocked/irritated nose through constant air flow.
  
• Mask removed and thus ineffective and disturbing/Interfering with the tube at night.
  
• Headaches, Bloating often come from increased pressure.

... just to name some.

CPAP will not be pleasant and through the dependence on the machine, tube and mask it limits the patients freedom (imagine traveling), sleeping comfort and thus the quality of life to a certain degree. It is a price everybody is willing to pay if he/she has to, but if there are alternatives...

Alternative Cures for Sleep Apnea

Luckily, Surgery and CPAP are not the only solution. Alternative cures for sleep apnea should stand at the beginning of each treatment.

Most alternative treatment plans include weight loss, exercise a healthy lifestyle and behavioral advice.This is in many cases life changing, but in a good way. Besides curing sleep apnea, you will be able to lead a more active and fulfilled life while decreasing other risks to you health at the same time.

If you are interested in alternative ways to cure sleep apnea click here.

I my opinion I have found the best information available on the net, that will help you too.