Are you struggling with sleep apnea? If yes, this article will help you learn the most effective treatment options for managing sleep apnea and getting a peaceful sleep. Visit the best Mental Health Clinic in Brooklyn at Doral Health & Wellness or log on to www.doralhw.org

Treatment options for sleep apnea

There are several options to treat sleep apnea, based on the underlying cause and severity of the condition. It includes:

1. Breathing devices:

There are several types of breathing devices used to treat sleep apnea. It improves breathing at night during sleep. It includes:

• Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP): This is the main treatment for moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea. It provides continuous pressure that gently blows air into your airway to keep it open while you sleep. You need to wear a mask that fits into your nostrils, over your nose or mouth. Some people have trouble using CPAP and stop treatment before getting any lasting benefit. However, different measures can make the equipment more comfortable and adjust perfectly. A person can adjust the mask and its settings and over time with practice, most people learn to adjust the tension of the straps on the mask to make it a comfortable and secure fit. Adding moisture to the air as it flows through the mask can relieve nasal symptoms.
• Auto-Adjusting Positive Airway Pressure (APAP): This is a similar device to the CPAP, but it has an auto-adjusting positive airway pressure for airway opening instead of continuous pressure. The APAP can adjust the pressure according to the airflow limitation that occurs.
• Bilevel Positive Airway Pressure (BiPAP): This is another machine that is similar to CPAP which provides a stream of air to keep your airways open. However, unlike the CPAP, this doesn’t give the same constant pressure all the time, instead, it provides higher pressure when you breathe in and a lower pressure when you breathe out.

2. Oral devices:

This is another option for CPAP which is used to assist in preventing your airway from being blocked. It is effective in treating mild to moderate sleep apnea. It is a custom-fit device for your mouth to keep your throat open. You can get your custom-fit device from a dentist. You need to have a follow-up sleep study while using this device to check whether it is effective or not.

Two types of oral devices work differently to open the upper airway while you sleep. It includes:

• Mandibular repositioning mouthpieces: These devices cover the upper and lower teeth and hold the lower jaw in a position that prevents it from sliding backward and blocks the upper airway.
• Tongue-retaining devices: These are mouthpieces that hold the tongue in a forward position to prevent it from blocking the upper airway.

Some other devices combine these features or use electrical stimulation to keep your upper airways open during sleep.

• Neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) devices: These are removable devices that stimulate the tone of the tongue and upper airway muscles to prevent them from collapsing and blocking the airway during sleep.

The U.S. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved an NMES oral device for use while awake because it delivers electric muscle stimulation through a removable mouthpiece that sits around the tongue. You can wear this once a day for 20 minutes at a time, for six weeks. This device is approved for people with mild obstructive sleep apnea.

3. Therapy:

Your healthcare provider may recommend a therapy called orofacial therapy which is exercises for your mouth and facial muscles. It is effective for children and adults. It strengthens and repositions the tongue and muscles that control your lips, tongue, upper airway, and face. Other therapy options include:

• Treating associated medical problems: Your healthcare provider will treat other related causes such as heart or neuromuscular disorders. They may use supplemental oxygen, and adaptive servo-ventilation (ASV).
• Medicine changes: You may be prescribed medicine to manage your breathing such as acetazolamide. If medicines worsen your CSA such as opioids, then your healthcare provider may change your medicines.
• Supplemental oxygen: Using supplemental oxygen during sleep might help you manage central sleep apnea. Various forms of oxygen are available to deliver with devices to your lungs.
• Adaptive servo-ventilation (ASV): This is a recently approved airflow device to learn breathing patterns and store information in a built-in computer. When you fall asleep, the machine uses pressure to regulate your breathing pattern and prevent pauses in your breathing. ASV may be an option for some people with central sleep apnea. However, it might not be an excellent choice for people who have predominant central sleep apnea and advanced heart failure.

4. Surgery:

Surgery may be used if other treatments fail. Typically, doctors use a three-month trial period with other treatment options before considering surgery. However, for some people who have certain jaw structure problems, surgery is a good first option.

Surgical options may include:

• Tissue removal: During this procedure, a surgeon removes tissue from the rear side of your mouth and the top of the throat. Your tonsils and adenoids also get removed as well. This surgery may be successful in stopping throat structures from vibrating and causing snoring. It’s less effective than CPAP and not a reliable treatment for obstructive sleep apnea. Removing tissue that can be done with radiofrequency energy might be an option for those who can’t tolerate CPAP or oral appliances.
• Tissue shrinkage: This surgery is used to shrink the tissue of the mouth rear and back of the throat using radiofrequency ablation. This procedure is recommended for mild to moderate sleep apnea. One study found these effects similar to that of tissue removal but with fewer surgical risks.
• Jaw repositioning: In this procedure, your jaw moves forward from the remaining of the face bones. This enlarges the space behind the tongue and soft palate, making obstruction less likely to occur. This procedure is also known as maxillomandibular advancement.
• Implants: The doctor implants soft rods that are made of polyester or plastic into the soft palate after numbing with a local anesthetic.
• Nerve stimulation: This requires surgery to insert a stimulator for the nerve to manage tongue movement. Increasing stimulation helps you to keep your tongue in a position that keeps the airway open. More research is needed.
• Creating a new air passageway (tracheostomy): This is a form of surgery used to treat severe, life-threatening sleep apnea. In this procedure, your surgeon creates an opening in your neck and inserts a metal or plastic tube through which you breathe. You can cover the opening during the day and at night uncover it to allow air to pass in and out of your lungs, bypassing the blocked air passage in your throat.

Some other types of surgery are used to reduce snoring and contribute to the treatment of sleep apnea by clearing or enlarging air passages:

• Surgery to remove enlarged tonsils or adenoids.
• Weight loss surgery to lose weight.

5. Lifestyle changes:

Your healthcare provider usually recommends some lifestyle changes along with other treatments to improve your symptoms, including:

• Lose weight: Losing weight can improve your sleep apnea. Sometimes, losing weight may even cure sleep apnea.
• Avoid alcohol and sedatives: Avoid drinking alcohol at least 4 hours before bed and avoid sedative medications such as sleeping pills may help your sleep apnea.
• Quit smoking: This may improve your sleep apnea because it causes inflammation that narrows your airways.
• Don’t sleep on your back: Sleeping on your back may make your sleep apnea worse. That’s why you use a pillow to assist sleeping on your side.

Sleep apnea is manageable, with effective treatment options like lifestyle changes, therapy, breathing devices, oral devices, and surgery which improve your symptoms and let you sleep peacefully.

Need help with sleep apnea, visit our behavioral health specialist in Brooklyn clinic to get professional medical help. Call us to book your appointment now!!!!

Book your appointment with the best mental health professionals in Brooklyn where doctors and staff ensure you get the best results. Call us on +1-347-384-5690 to get a consultation. If you need help learning coping methods, register your information and make direct contact with our doctors and psychiatrists to learn those methods, log on to www.doralhw.org. Visit us at 1797 Pitkin Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11212.