Sleep Apnea?!
Question:
Sleep Apnea?
Is there anything I can do to help it?
Answers:
Treatment for associated medical problems. Possible causes of central sleep apnea include heart or neuromuscular disorders, and treating those conditions may help your sleep apnea. For example, appropriate therapy for heart failure may eliminate central sleep apnea.
Reduction of opioid medications. If opioid medications are causing your sleep apnea, your doctor may gradually reduce your dose of those medications.
Supplemental oxygen. Using supplemental oxygen while you sleep may help if you have central sleep apnea. Various forms of oxygen are available as well as different devices to deliver oxygen to your lungs. This treatment isn't recommended for those with heart failure.
Medications. Certain medications have been used to stimulate breathing in people with central sleep apnea. For example, some doctors prescribe acetazolamide to prevent central sleep apnea in high altitude.
Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP). This method, also used to treat obstructive sleep apnea, involves wearing a mask over your nose while you sleep. The mask is attached to a small pump that supplies pressurized air which holds open your upper airway. CPAP may eliminate snoring and prevent central sleep apnea. As with obstructive sleep apnea, it's important that you use the device only as directed. If your mask is uncomfortable or the pressure feels too strong, talk with your doctor so that adjustments can be made.
Bilevel positive airway pressure (bilevel PAP). Unlike CPAP, which supplies steady, constant pressure to your upper airway as you breathe in and out, bilevel PAP builds to a higher pressure when you inhale and decreases to a lower pressure when you exhale. The goal of this treatment is to boost the weak breathing pattern of central sleep apnea. Some bilevel PAP devices can be set to automatically deliver a breath if the device detects you haven't taken a breath after a certain number of seconds.
Adaptive servo-ventilation ASV). This newer airflow device is designed to treat central sleep apnea and complex sleep apnea. The device monitors your normal breathing pattern and stores the information in a built-in computer. After you fall asleep, the machine uses pressure to regulate your breathing pattern and prevent pauses in your breathing.