sleep apnea

[sacky]

have we got treatment centres in trinidad. :roll:

[Sumana]

isn't it apnea? i think...

and....I know like pvate nursing homes keep people for like a few days to help them with sleep?

[snowbird]

In this country what is generally done in the case of sleep Apnea, yes your are correct Sumana :) is once you physician suspects you are suffering from this condition based on a history of symptoms such as, constant loud snoring,and always waking up tired, even bouts of depression, they will refer you to a 'Sleep Disorder Clinic; I'm not sure if that is the service the 'nursing homes' provide since it is a very specialized service.

Part of the service the 'sleep clinics' provide over here is an overnight stay where they hooked you up to a monitor which can actually measure among other things, your 'debt' of sleep; it is a know fact that people who suffer from 'Sleep Apnea' never attain REM (the deepest and most restful part of sleep) because they for some reason do not breathe correctly (this can sometimes cause your heart to stop intermittently during sleep). Once the condition is correctly diagnosed, you may be recommended to sleep hooked up to an 'Apnea Machine' which is nothing more than a device which controls your breathing by forcing you to breathe from your diaphragm, rather than just your mouth and nose (nasal cavity). It is an excellent device which I am sure have saved many lives, I hope both the clinic, and the device are available in T&T since sleep apnea is such a common condition (but so misdiagnosed).

[sapodila]

Taken From WebMD.


Sleep Apnea Health Center

Font SizeA A A Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy for obstructive sleep apnea
Continuous positive airway pressure therapy (CPAP) uses a machine to help a person who has obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) breathe more easily during sleep. A CPAP machine increases air pressure in your throat so that your airway does not collapse when you breathe in. When you use CPAP, your bed partner may sleep better, too.

You use CPAP at home every night while you sleep. The CPAP machine will have one of the following:

A mask that covers your nose and mouth
A mask that covers your nose only-called nasal continuous positive airway pressure, or NCPAP (this type of mask is most common)
Prongs that fit into your nose
See a picture of CPAP.

You may want to try similar machines that have automatically adjustable air pressure or air pressures that are different when you breathe in than when you breathe out.

What To Expect After Treatment
It may take time for you to become comfortable with using CPAP. If you cannot get used to it, talk to your doctor. You might be able to try another type of mask or make other adjustments.http://www.webmd.com/sleepdisorders/sleep-apnea/continuous-positive-airway-pressure-cpap-forobstructive-sleep-apnea

Two of my relatives uses this machine and one had corrective surgery for this problem.

[snowbird]

One of my offspring is just going through the process now, just started using the cpap machine.

How long were your relatives on the machine before they noticed any change or benefit?

[sapodila]

SB.....at the end of 2006 one got on the machine. He still uses it. Without it he would have been decompose by now. The other one has been using a similar machine one year earlier. He is now on the CPAP. It's helping, however, it's a fixture at bedtime. The relative who received 'corrective surgery ' is still snoring like crazy! Yuh no dey say back home..... "he calling teif every time ee close ee I" :lol: :( funny but sad. All that discomfort with no significant results, he could still close his eyes, go to sleep and never wake up. Lets hope and pray he does not close it while behind the staring wheel, driving on some highway!