Meet Henry
Age: 40
Health: Henry suffers from diabetes, loud snoring and daytime fatigue.
Do you suffer the same symptoms as Henry? Henry, like 65% of patients with diabetes, suffers from sleep apnea. In addition, 40% of the 65% of the diabetic patients have been diagnosed with moderate to severe sleep apnea.* Here is a wake-up call to the millions of American men and women with type 2 diabetes: Snoring at night or nodding off during the day may be symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea. Millions of adults are affected by sleep apnea, and when present with other conditions could have serious negative effects.
Sleep Apnea is a sleep disorder that is characterized by abnormal pauses in breathing or abnormally low breathing during sleep. Each pause in breathing, called an apnea, can last from at least 10 seconds to minutes, and may occur 5 to 30 times or more an hour. If you suffer from high blood pressure, diabetes, heart trouble or are overweight, managing your sleep apnea can improve all of these conditions and make you feel better!
Sleep apnea occurs when the muscles in the back of your throat that support the soft palate, tongue, tonsils, uvula, and the side walls of your throat relax. The airway narrows when these muscles relax when you breathe in which makes it difficult to get an adequate breath of air in. Frequently the oxygen level in your blood can lower when you are unable to get an adequate breath. A series of events may happen if your brain senses that you are unable to breathe. When the brain senses that you need to breathe it rouses you from sleep so that your airway is able to open. Frequently when this happens you are not even aware of it. You may also experience choking, gasping, or a snorting sound. This pattern may repeat itself all night from 5 to 30 or more times per hour all night long. When you are not able to reach the deep restful, reparative levels of sleep you may feel sleepy during your waking hours.
If you have sleep apnea, it means you are having difficult time breathing during sleep. The airway either becomes too narrow for sufficient air to reach your lungs, or it closes completely. In either case, you are NOT getting the oxygen you need during sleep. Sleep apnea puts a tremendous burden on the heart, is conclusively linked to high blood pressure and in addition to causing heart attacks, is suspected of causing heart failure and makes it difficult to manage diabetes. Sleep apnea also causes sleepiness, which can result in mood swings, difficulties at work or school, and even motor vehicle accidents.
What happens if sleep apnea is left untreated?
· Increases risk for high blood pressure, heart attacks, heart failure and strokes.
· Fatigue-related work and motor vehicle accidents
· Decreased quality of life
The Good News: Sleep Apnea can be managed! You can now have an overnight sleep test that is taken at home in your OWN bed that is given to you by a trained DENTIST, with a diagnosis made by a sleep physician. Often recommended treatment is Oral Appliance Therapy as a result of the information captured by the overnight sleep test. Frequently patients who are wearing the oral appliances experience a tremendous increase in the quality of their life! Many patients are thankful for treatment that provides greater control of diabetes as well as improving a much better night’s sleep!
Oral appliance therapy is the most widely accepted treatment for sleep apnea. An oral device is designed to keep upper airways open to prevent apneas. Oral appliance therapy treatment does NOT involve drugs or surgery, and helps hundreds of thousands of people worldwide enjoy healthier sleep and a healthier life. Many patients experience the benefits quickly- often after the first night’s use. There is no cure for sleep apnea at this time, there are only ways to manage it.
Do you have any of the following symptoms?
o Excessive daytime sleepiness
o Loud, disruptive snoring
o Restless sleep
o Men neck size greater than 17”
o Women neck size greater than 16”
o Difficulty concentrating
o Depression or irritability
o Morning headaches
o Type 2 Diabetes
o High blood pressure
o Stop breathing during sleep
o Weight change (in the last 5 years)
o Nodding/ falling asleep driving a vehicle
o Memory Loss
o Sexual dysfunction
If you have noticed two or more of these symptoms, you may suffer from Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA).
If you have questions about sleep apnea or would like to see if oral appliance therapy is right for you please contact our office.
* Information from this article was obtained from the National Institutes of Health, American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine and the American Diabetes Association. www.nih.gov, www.aadsm.org, www.diabetes.org.