Sleep apnea surgery

Sleep apnea is a sleep disorder in which a person’s breathing is disturbed because of breathing pauses which could last for several minutes. There are many ways to cure sleep apnea. The three basic sleep apnea cures are:

• Natural ways to cure sleep apnea.
• Sleep apnea machine
• Sleep apnea surgery

Some sleep apnea patients have to undergo sleep apnea surgery. During sleep apnea surgery the width of the airway is increased, the surgeons will then remove excess throat tissues to make the upper airway wide. This is an excellent way to treat this ailment but the success rate is quite low so it should be carried out only for those patients who could not overcome this sleep disorder with other therapies.

Sleep apnea surgery:

Basically there are three types of sleep apnea surgery:

• Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty (PPP)
• Laser assisted UP- LAUP
• Somnoplasty
• Tongue reduction surgery
• Tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy
• Bimaxillary Advancement
• Genioglossus and Hyoid advancement (GGA)

Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty (PPP):

This is the most common type of sleep apnea surgery. In this type of surgery airway is widened by removing tonsils and adenoids from the pharynx. Although it is a very common method… The only problem is the success rate, it can be as low as 30 to 50%.  This ultimately leads to the patient’s throat being enlarged so that it makes it easier for them to breathe. 

More information can be found on this type of surgery here – Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty.

Laser assisted UP- LAUP:

Laser assisted UP- LAUP is another type of sleep apnea surgery which uses the laser to remove the throat tissue to enlarge it. It is not an effective sleep apnea surgery.

Somnoplasty:

Somnoplasty is another form of sleep apnea surgery which uses local anesthesia to treat the airway obstruction. It uses low power radio frequency energy to create lesions in obstruction areas.

Usually the surgery is used for adults but sometimes it is also used for kids.

As you can see, there are cures for this disease so all you need to do after realizing that you are suffering from sleep apnea is to consult your physician so that he can help and recommend which surgery to cure sleep apnea is best and most suitable for you.

Still not sure if you have sleep apnea? check out our Do I have sleep apnea? post

Sleep Apnea

As a former sufferer of sleep apnea myself, my main goal on this website was to help other people with sleep apnea. Throughout the site you will find tips, tricks, advice, and generally just a vast amount of information regarding the subject of sleep apnea. You will find my story of how I nearly lost my partner due to the implications and strain that sleep apnea often puts on your relationship to finally doing something about it and now a year later – Im completely sleep apnea free!

So what is sleep apnea?

There are two primary types of sleep apnea – Obstructive sleep apnea and Central sleep apnea, you may come across another known form of the condition which is called mixed sleep apnea, this is basically a combination of both obstructive sleep apnea and central sleep apnea.

Obstructive Sleep Apnea:

Obstructive sleep apnea is by far in a way the most common form of sleep apnea you will encounter, the reason for this is because Obstructive sleep apnea is often caused by your lifestyle choices I.E being overweight. Now that doesn’t mean to say that being overweight is the only factor of increasing your risk of sleep apnea. Other factors could include:

• Overweight – The most obvious and common factor known to cause sleep apnea.

• Large Tonsils – More common in children, having large tonsils could lead to a blocked airway.

• Big Tongue – Probably one of the less common factors but it has been proven that having a long big tongue could fall back during sleep and block your airways.

• Jaw – If your upper jaw is much larger than your lower jaw than this could be a major factor (retrognathia)

• Palate – Your palate could be in different shapes which would ultimately cause your airway to be more narrow.

Can it be treated?

Short answer – Yes, but if you want to cure it completely then it will take time and effort… But thats a small price to pay when your life is at risk. Now obviously the most common method of treating sleep apnea if through a continuous positive airway pressure in other words… a cpap. And while these are proven to be effective, they don’t cure sleep apnea. Basically a cpap machine is an oxygen pump which opens up your airwaves making it much easier to sleep, however most of these machines can be slightly loud which sort of defeats the object for some people. You also have to wear a mask, the whole cpap experience can be a very unpleasant process.

For immediate treatment I would suggest a lifestyle change asap, now I go into detail a lot more about this on other posts throughout this site but I will briefly explain what needs to be done here. Firstly your weight, yes it’s  been covered already and you know what to do… get on a diet and start exercising, again more information and help can be found throughout the site as I share with you exactly how I did it. Also it’s important that you stop drinking alcohol and try not to sleep on your back for now. These 3 tips are probably the most effective for immediate results, if your looking to cure sleep apnea completely… Read on.

Central Sleep Apnea

Now central sleep apnea is slightly more complicated, fortunately I only suffered from obstructive sleep apnea but I do know people that suffer from central sleep apnea. Central sleep apnea is normally caused as a side effect of other serious life threatening conditions, these conditions usually affect the brainstem which therefore can cause central sleep apnea.

Most common conditions that could lead to central sleep apnea:

• Stroke – Not all strokes affect the brainstem so this may not be the reason you have central sleep apnea if you’ve had a stroke (Checking with doctor is very important in this case)

• Encephalitis – Which is swelling of the brain can most certainly cause sleep apnea if it is affecting your brain stem.

• Arthritis – If you have Arthritis and it is affecting your cervical spine then you need to get checked out asap and this is also known to cause central sleep apnea

• Cervical spine – If you have a condition that is affecting your cervical spine than you need to see a doctor urgently.

Can it be treated?

There are treatments for central sleep apnea that will relieve your symptoms but because more often than not central sleep apnea is caused by another condition it is more important to treat that condition first. However that isn’t to say you should not treat central sleep apnea as there multiple ways of making it better.

BiPaP

The BiPaP is very similar to the Cpap, the difference is that the Bipap has difference modes and features which allow you to set it on a timer or spontaneous you can find out how the BiPaP works by clicking here – BiPaP

Drugs

There are certain drugs available that will help stimulate breathing, however not all types of central sleep apnea will work with these drugs. It’s important you discuss everything with your doctor before taking these.

Getting Tested:

Although there many guides on the internet for self diagnosis of sleep apnea, no matter what you read there is no way you can be 100% certain. So what you need to do is you believe you have the symptoms for central sleep apnea or obstructive sleep apnea is go get a sleep test.

Polysomnogram – A multi parametric test (Sleep study) that records data as you sleep. There is nothing to worry about when it comes to a polysomnogram, you will probably have to go to a sleep center or hospital and you will be wired up (all painless) most likely you will stay overnight.

Echocardiogram – Although less common for diagnosing sleep apnea, a Echocardiogram is still an affective way of getting tested. It works by sending ultrasound waves through the heart, nowadays they have 3d real-time imaging data so the results are very accurate.

If you think you have sleep apnea than don’t panic, sleep apnea is dramatically on the rise in Europe and the United States so remember that you are not alone and if you have obstructive sleep apnea then you can get rid of it!

There are multiple ways of getting rid of sleep apnea, some… more effective than others I’ll admit, so hopefully I’ll be able to tell you some of the best methods which should show you how to get rid of sleep apnea for good. I will explain the most common methods such as a cpap, I know this is a last resort for most and I accept that. Hopefully though, you will be able to cure your sleep apnea before you are required to put on a cpap mask. There are multiple ways to cure sleep apnea naturally.

So firstly you will need to take a good look at your lifestyle and ask yourself – Do I have sleep apnea because of me? what I mean by that question is indeed your lifestyle and it’s generally aimed at the most common reason people get sleep apnea and that is…your weight. Of course there are other factors too but unless you have central sleep apnea then generally overweight people tend to have a much higher chance of getting sleep apnea.

If you have sleep apnea then you probably already know how and why you have it, if you don’t then you will need to see your doctor.

Seeing as the only true treatment for central sleep apnea is a cpap machine, I will only be concentrating on obstructive sleep apnea and this is far more common and there are much more treatments available.

Didgeridoo - Yep that’s right, a didgeridoo has been proven to work and the method was discovered back in 2005 by the british in the medical journal. It works by making upper airway muscles much more stronger – Therefore reducing the chance it will collasp during sleep.

a didgeridoo is definatly one of the more less known treatments available and it has proven to work multiple times, it worked for me so I’m sure that it has a chance to work for you. To look at more treatments available check out other posts in sleep apnea category.

Sleep apnea in children

Sleep apnea in children is actually more common than many people realize. It can be a hard job for parents to identify that their child has sleep apnea, and throughout this article I will give you some tips that will hopefully help determine if your child has sleep apnea. Just in case you don’t know much about sleep apnea, there is two primary forms – Central Sleep Apnea (CSA) and Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) There is also another form which is more rare and is called ‘mixed sleep apnea’ which is both CSA and OSA.

So as I said earlier sleep apnea in children can be common. Although fortunately, it is possible that it will go away on its own. With the majority of sleep apnea being developed at the tender age of only 1 years old. But do not panic if your baby has sleep apnea symptoms because more often than not your child will outgrow the symptoms as they mature. In cases such as this then the chances are that your baby has central sleep apnea, as OSA is more common in older children. In fact research has shown that there is an estimated 2% of all children that has obstructive sleep apnea.

So how do I know If my child has sleep apnea?

So this is what it boils down too. Identifying that your child has sleep apnea is the hard bit, once you’ve done that you know exactly what might be happening to your child and the symptoms can be… I’m not going to lie, quite freightning. They could include; Gaging or changing color to blue/grey, in severe cases your baby might stop breathing altogether, so its no surprise that sleep apnea in children can be very dangerous and even life threatening.

Having said that, just because your childs breathing seems a bit unusual does not mean that it’s sleep apnea in fact irregular breathing is very common in babies. But, any major changes in breathing and you should take your child to the doctors ASAP! Usually in this case your child might stop breathing for 6 to 8 seconds so it’s very important you take action.

Snoring can also be a sign of sleep apnea, but not just sleep apnea… many other conditions can cause snoring so it’s important that you take your baby to the doctor if she/he snores.

Is sleep apnea in children treatable?

Short answer: Yes. But, most sleep apnea treatments take a long time to have any affect so don’t expect your childs sleep apnea to clear up after a trip to the doctors. Surgery is another form of treatment that is available with certain types of sleep apnea, such as enlarged tonsils. But by far the most effective and the most common form of treating sleep apnea is by using a CPAP machine. Basically all these do is help your childs breathing by giving your child a continuous flow of air as he/she sleeps.

Obstructive Sleep Apnea Treatment

Obstructive sleep apnea treatment is by far the most common form of sleep apnea, In fact there is only three known forms… with the latter being central sleep apnea and mixed sleep apnea, however the two are different in multiple ways and you can find much more information on the other two all over this blog. But in this post I will explain exactly what obstructive sleep apnea is and what kind of obstructive sleep apnea treatment there is available. I will give you a brief, but very in dept overview of how I actually overcame obstructive sleep apnea, It wasn’t easy and it took hard work and dedication… but in the end it paid off.

But first…

What exactly is obstructive sleep apnea?

Obstructive sleep apnea is the most common form of sleep apnea and the chances are if you are finding yourself with sleep apnea symptoms then the chances are… that you indeed have obstructive sleep apnea. However, this isn’t always the case so it is also best to get diagnosed by a professional if you don’t know which form you have. So basically obstructive sleep apnea is where your top airway tunnel is blocked or obstructed (hence the name) this in turn causes a lapse as you breath, or in other cases you would be breathing incredibly low whilst you sleep. This, in most cases will make you wake up and your breathing will be back to normal again. However this can happen frequently every HOUR so it’s an incredibly frustrating condition to have and can be dangerous.

What obstructive sleep apnea treatment is available?

Well firstly, there is such a thing as obstructive sleep apnea treatment and natural ways of treating obstructive sleep apnea do exist so don’t panic! in fact I was able to cure my obstructive sleep apnea completely naturally but I will get to that in just a second.

Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome

• Weight – Well as you probably have already been told by your doctor, losing weight can help improve your obstructive sleep apnea dramatically. In fact, on average people that have sleep apnea and lost  20% of their weight actually managed to improve their sleep apnea by 40%. Now if you aren’t overweight then you don’t need to go overboard on this but if you’re on the chubby side then it can only affect your sleep apnea positively.

• Smoking – Just think about it… Obstructive sleep apnea is generally caused by your upper airwave not functioning correctly, so would it make sense to constantly breathe in smoke? No, It would not. If you’re a regular smoker and you are serious about curing your obstructive sleep apnea then stopping smoking is one of the first steps to take.

• Eating – Don’t worry I’m not going to tell you what not to eat here, that doesn’t really matter to an extent, but what does matter is when you eat. If you find yourself getting back from work late and cooking big meals just before bed then this won’t help your sleep apnea whatsoever, try to keep your meals atleast 2 hours before you go to bed.

• Sleep – Yep! you guessed it, getting atleast eight hours sleep is absolutely mandatory, but not just the length you sleep but what you also need to consider is the schedule in which you sleep each night, routine is key… going to bed the same time every night will help dramatically, the same can be said about getting up at the same time too.

• Alcohol – Last but certainly not least is alcohol, as drinking alcohol can relax the muscles in your throat which may to nice for the non sleep apnea sufferer but unfortunately for us this is something that really should be avoided as much as possible, likewise with sleeping pills.

No secrets that are groundbreaking… BUT, incredibly powerful and proven techniques that can treat your obstructive sleep apnea and aslong you stick to them especially losing weight then I’m sure your sleep apnea will be less severe.

How I got rid of obstructive sleep apnea

Well, where to begin? I was probably doing exactly what you are doing now… sat at home feeling sorry for himself/herself for having obstructive sleep apnea and looking for ways to cure it online. Most of the treatments are widely known and your doctor will probably tell you exactly what you learned here but I am talking from experience right know and I know what works and what is just a waste of time. I know exactly how it feels to have sleep apnea, it’s not only incredibly annoying and frustrating for you, but for those of you that have partners it can actually be quite daunting for them. Especially if you start spluttering as you are trying to regain your breath.

In fact for that very reason I decided to take action and do whatever it took to atleast make my sleep apnea more bearable, you see my partner was increasingly getting worried about me because I was constantly waking up gasping for air, and I sort of refused to do anything about it… Guess I didn’t think I had it that bad. Maybe I was naive, who knows? anyway the truth is I had to do something about it because it was getting much worse, Just by following the steps above did I really start to see a big difference.

James O
I too suffered from obstructive sleep apnea for over 4 years, I was put on a cpap which was the part I hated the most. After really get fed up with having to wear a mask every night I decided to see what natural ways of getting rid of sleep apnea there was. Now I was quite overweight I’ll admit that so I thought it would be the best place to start. It took me about a year to lose a good 20 pounds but it was so worth it and has made the world of difference.

So if you have obstructive sleep apnea and you are looking for treatment then don’t worry! there are ways other than a cpap machine that can aid your sleep apnea.

Central Sleep Apnea Treatment

Central Sleep Apnea is one of the two main forms of sleep apnea, with the other being obstructive sleep apnea. If you find yourself with central sleep apnea then do not worry! fortunatelythere is central sleep apnea treatment available… but, I would only have treatment as a last resort option in my opinion as there are multiple ways of atleast making your central sleep apnea better naturally.

So what is central sleep apnea?

Central sleep apnea is mainly caused by your brain, what happens is that the signals used to control your breathing aren’t sent correctly, now this sounds much more daunting then it actually is and bare with me because it’s not all doom and gloom.

Sleep apnea is normally caused by your lifestyle choice, if you are overweight then your chances of sleep apnea raises significantly, so before you make any drastic changes to your life you first need to determine how you actually got sleep apnea, now this could be a number of reasons such as:

• Being a male – Males are at a much greater risk of getting sleep apnea.

• Having a large neck size – Anything over 43cm for men and 40cm for women.

• Larger than normal tonsils.

• A family history that is known to of had sleep apnea.

• Being overweight

If you fit into any of these categories then you will probably need to get yourself checked out by the doctor. It’ important to remember that not all types of sleep apnea is naturally curable, especially central sleep apnea. However, do not lose hope because there is still multiple ways of making your sleep apnea much more managable.

Unfortunatly the central sleep apnea treatment is quite limited, as the dreaded words ‘CPAP’ will be mentioned here because these machines are definatly the most effective ways of treating central sleep apnea. If this just doesn’t seem like an option for you then there are other treatments available, such as drugs that help stimulate breathing.

Central Sleep Apnea Symptoms

• Feeling very tired and sleepy during the day

• Waking up daily with a headache

• Having trouble to swallow

• A feeling of numbness in the body – a very weak feeling

• Random changes in your voice

Because central sleep apnea treatment is different to obstructive sleep apnea, different methods of testing are required. When you go to your health provider, you will probably be asked to take part in a physical exam which will determine if you have any underline problems. You will then be taken to a sleep center so that you can be monitored whilst you sleep (polysomnogram) Although these are the most common you may be asked to take part in other tests such as the Echocardiogram or MRI of the neck or spine.

Unfortunatly there are much more limited options when it comes to central sleep apnea treatment, because of the way that sleep occurs (the brain) treatment is going to be less effective. However, there is technology these days that will help at treating central sleep apnea… Such as CPAP machines and although they can be a pain, they can also be life saving.

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How Do I Know If I Have Sleep Apnea?

Possibly one of the most important questions of all… How do i know if i have sleep apnea? and why? because if you don’t have it then you are one of the lucky ones! as sleep apnea is actually more popular than many people think, especially in countries where obesity is a massive problem in society like the United States and The United Kingdom. After reading this article you should have a pretty good idea if you have sleep apnea or not.

But before we get into the dreaded question How do i know if i have sleep apnea? we need to find out what exactly is sleep apnea? It’s important you know what it is that your trying diagonose, ” hense the How do I know if i have sleep apnea ” question. Well, sleep apnea is basically where you actually stop breathing whilst sleeping, but relax you don’t stop breathing for very long, only a couple of seconds maximum, but in some cases it can be longer and is a very dangerous condition if left untreated.

Now firstly you need to take a look at yourself in the mirror and be honest to yourself… Are you on the larger side? If yes, then the question of How do i know if i have sleep apnea is even more important, if you fall into the obesity category then your chances of getting sleep apnea increase dramatically… BUT! that doesn’t mean only large people can get it. Here is a few other factors that may contribute to sleep apnea, including; smoking, large alcohol consumption, large necks, sedatives, muscle relaxers. If you do any of these and you are having problems sleeping then you may need to see the doctor.

But the biggest symtoms you will experience with sleep apnea is snoring very loud and getting up frequently during the night. Another big sign is heavy sweating, many would just dismiss this just thinking that the room temperature is too hot but in actual fact heavy sweating can be a big sign of sleep apnea.

Those are the most important symtoms that comes along with sleep apnea and if you have any of them or even multiple of them then you should really see your doctor, there is ways to diagonose yourself at home, you can find out how to do this on another article feature on this website. There are many ways to cure sleep apnea and although surgery is the most successful it is not always necessary, there are more natural ways to cure sleep apnea but again, I cover these methods in more details on different articles throughout the site, have a look around there is alot of usefull information here. I hope the info provided here will hope clear things up if you are figuring out how do i know if i have sleep apnea.

How to cure sleep apnea without cpap

One of the biggest hinderence that comes with serious sleep apnea is the fact that you have to use a continous postitive airway pressure (cpap) this can be a massive pain and it is the number one reason why people can’t stand sleep apnea and if you didnt have to use a cpap, sleep apnea would not be anywhere near as bad. But the truth is, many experts say that you NEED a cpac if you have sleep apnea, but there is many natural ways that you use which will teach you how to cure sleep apnea without cpap.

Firstly there are many products that you can use which will help you breath better without the need of cpap, just ask your doctor and he should supply you with this. However if you have serious sleep apnea then he may just recommend the cpac straight away, I wouldnt argue too much as a cpap can indeed save your life. Also you may be recommened to look to how to cure sleep apnea without cpap online, and because you are reading this article, I guess that is what you have done and its definatly the first step I would recommend, hopefully after reading this article it will clear your mind and you will know how to cure sleep apnea without cpap.

But before we get into the how to cure sleep apnea without cpap. We need to know exactly what sleep apnea is, you probably already know this but for some it can be a different story, its vital to know exactly what sleep apnea is so that you can get the most out of the treatments.  So what is sleep apnea? Basically it is when a person has a slight pause in breathing whilst sleeping. Yes you stop breathing. But relax, it is not as bad as it sounds, you may only stop breathing for a couple of second and you wouldnt know a thing about it. This generally occurs about five times per hour.

I know that Looking how to cure sleep apnea without cpap is incredibly important because Cpap’s are so annoying, they really get in the way of everyday activities. The heavy machine can making you bed bound and it really isn’t a pleasure place to be, makes you feel like your kept alive by a machine and to a certain extend you are but only in severe cases. Hopefully by reading this article on how to cure sleep apnea without cpap you won’t ever have the need to use a cpap machine.

Not sure if you have sleep apnea? then you can check your self at home, its not a problem there is many tests on the Internet that will help you find the answer to this question. And although they may not be 100% gaurenteed to determine if you have sleep apnea or not, they give you a fairly good idea. If it is bad news and the test turns out that you do indeed have sleep apnea then unfortunatly you will need to see the doctor. As his test’s are certain to tell you if you have sleep apnea or not.

You may be taken to a sleep facility and don’t panic, it’s not as bad you might think. All you have to do is sleep normally and many of the sleep apnea experts will be monitoring you whilst you sleep, your in safe hands.

There is a big rumor that is going around, a myth if you want to call it that. What people are claiming is that sleep apnea is just snoring, whilst yes. Sleep apnea can contribute to snoring, that is only a side affect of the main problem, which is a blockage in your airways which stops you from breathing at night. Don’t ever forget that is the main problem.

Firstly we need to find out what actually caused or is causing your sleep apnea, nine times out of ten sleep apnea cases are down to being overweight so if you fall into this category then Im afraid to say that you NEED to lose weight, your life literally depends on it. Just keep thinking about it whilst you are exercising to keep you motivated. Its incredibly important that you exercise and eat properly and this is step one of how to cure sleep apnea without cpap. And is easily the most important step, if you don’t do this this no other treatments will work.

Thank you for reading this short article which I hope made it a little bit more clear on how to cure sleep apnea without cpap.