Sleep Apnea – A Sleeping Epidemic

hi guys, im really confused. i gasp for air some nights while lying down BEFORE sleeping n have to get up until i get so exhausted and fall asleep. Thing is, i have no typical symptoms for central sleep apnea which are headaches, daytime sleepiness, exhaustion etc. My mom said she feels i breath just fine with no pauses/breaks while sleeping, and i never wake up from my sleep.

Does anyone know what this could be? I have GERD and maybe some anxiety..im NOT overweight either. Thanks!
i have a sleep study scheduled soon, just waiting for it.

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what types of sleep apnea do they have and how are each cured. thanks

A person with central apnea has issues with the respiratory center from the brain. This center controls the chest muscles to make breathing movements.

When the respiratory center stops working during sleep, then your breathing stops, too. The brain does not respond to the changes of the respiratory gas levels from the blood (oxygen and carbon dioxide).

In central apnea, you stop breathing in sleep for a period of time (at least 10 seconds), but there is no effort to breathe at all, like in obstructive sleep apnea. Therefore snoring is not present in central apnea.

Typically, you will wake up several times at night, often with the sensation of gasping or choking during sleep. If this waking up episodes are frequent enough to cause disruption of your sleep, then you feel very tired during daytime.

The treatment for central apnea is based on medicine therapy and breathing machines.

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Ok so Ill jsut be sleeping and randomly every once in a while ill wake up not breathing. somtimes it happens when im sick and other times it will happen out of the blue.

Given that brief history, the condensed answer is ‘yes’, you could have obstructive or central sleep apnoea. Features which suggest a problem of sleep apnoea include: a history of witnessed episodes of breathing cessation during sleep, loud snoring, unrefreshing sleep, waking episodes with choking/gasping/shortness of breath, and increased sleepiness during the day.

The only way to confidently diagnose sleep apnoea is via a sleep study (polysomnogram)… so if there is a significant concern, then seeing a sleep physician would be the next step.

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I have a 4 year old son diagnosed with this last week and I’m told it can be life threatening..We’ve had the sleep study done and confirmed it. My Pediatric doc. thinks it Neurological, but what’s that mean? Any answers would be greatly appreciated, I don’t sleep much, too scared.

Central Sleep Apnea Disorder is a neuorological disorder because the brain fails to signal the muscles to breath. You can read ALL about it on this website:

http://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/sleep-apnea/sleep-apnea

(sorry for the grammer and spelling)
So far i found out that tissues at the back of your throat are collapsing and that’s normal but the thing that prevents it from collapsing is the problem.

Well, my cousin’s son (infant) is having a problem breathing and some doctors said that there is something wrong with the brain (the neurons go to something, i don’t know; i’m sorry). The probable diagnosis was central end-peripheral sleep apnea or obstructive sleep apnea.

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is the most common category of sleep-disordered breathing. Since the muscle tone of the body ordinarily relaxes during sleep, and since, at the level of the throat, the human airway is composed of walls of soft tissue, which can collapse, it is easy to understand why breathing can be obstructed during sleep. Mild, occasional sleep apnea, such as many people experience during an upper respiratory infection, may not be important, but chronic, severe obstructive sleep apnea requires treatment to prevent sleep deprivation and other complications. The most serious complication is a severe form of congestive heart failure called cor pulmonale.

Individuals with decreased muscle tone, increased soft tissue around the airway (e.g., due to obesity), and structural features that give rise to a narrowed airway are at high risk for obstructive sleep apnea. Older people are more likely to have OSA than younger people. Men are more typical sleep apnea sufferers, although the condition is not unusual in women or children.

Common symptoms include loud snoring, restless sleep, and sleepiness during the daytime. Diagnostic tests include home oximetry or polysomnography in a sleep clinic.

Some treatments involve lifestyle changes, such as avoiding alcohol or muscle relaxants, losing weight, and quitting smoking. Many people benefit from sleeping at a 30 degree angle or higher, as if in a recliner. Doing so helps prevent gravity from collapsing the airway. Lateral positions (sleeping on your side), as opposed to supine positions (sleeping on your back), are also recommended as a treatment for sleep apnea, largely because the airway-collapsing effect of gravity is not as strong to collapse the airway in the lateral position. Some people benefit from various kinds of oral appliances to keep the airway open during sleep. “Breathing machines” like the continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) may help. There are also surgical procedures that can be used to remove and tighten tissue and widen the airway.

The most common treatment for sleep apnea is the use of a positive airway pressure (PAP) device[13] (PAP), which ‘splints’ the patient’s airway open during sleep by means of a flow of pressurized air into the throat.

In addition to PAP, a dentist specializing in sleep disorders can prescribe Oral Appliance Therapy (OAT). The oral appliance is a custom made mouthpiece that shifts the lower jaw forward which opens up the airway. OAT is usually successful in patients with mild to moderate obstructive sleep apnea. OAT is a relatively new treatment option for sleep apnea in the United States, but it is much more common in Canada and Europe.

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I was just diagnosed with Central Sleep Apnea and my doc says that i’m the only one in his practice that he has had to treat with this condition. It’s kinda freakin’ me out, i was just prescribed oxygen while i sleep and i’m still really young. i just want to know how rare this is and what types of other people have it. any info anyone has on this would be greatly appreciated! :o)

My husband and I just went to Pulmonologist yesterday and he was diagnosed with the same thing. He’s 55 and has smoked for 40 years. He has COPD. Central is more serious, yes…but the special C-Pap machine will solve the problem IF you use it. You’ll feel better and get the rest you need. Don’t be afraid. Educate yourself. This is a good thing that is is now diagnosed.

“Central sleep apnea is a disorder in which your breathing repeatedly stops and starts during sleep due to lack of respiratory effort. Unlike obstructive sleep apnea, in which you can’t breathe normally because of upper airway obstruction, central sleep apnea occurs when your brain doesn’t send proper signals to the muscles that control your breathing. Central sleep apnea is less common, accounting for less than 5 percent of sleep apneas.

Central sleep apnea may occur as a result of other conditions, such as heart failure and stroke. Sleeping at a high altitude also may cause central sleep apnea.

Treatments for central sleep apnea may involve using a device to keep your upper airway open or using supplemental oxygen.” Above ALL advice from us out here….CALL YOUR DOCTOR, and make sure they keep you educated.

Good luck…..It will be all okay…..

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sleep test says non obstuctive sa. is this central sa. im on cpap. 4th mask. i cant get any pressure to go thru my nose but it has alot on my mouth. i use my nose only to breathe when i sleep. any advice.

Central sleep apnea is when the brain does not tell the body to breath. They treat it with bipapST. The machine will take a breath for you if you do not. Cpap will not work

on my 4th mask. cpap. sleep study says non obstructive. do i have central sa. when i put my mask on my nose i cant get much pressure. do not know why. my sinus area x ray says its ok. looking for answers. tired all the time.

You can treat central sleep apnea with medicine or with CPAP. However, I know that some people with nasal masks have some problems.

Can’t you try full face mask? Or, are you really sure that you have the right pressure? Maybe you need to take the sleep test again.

As for the medicine, I recommend to speak with your doctor, because some of the drugs can harm your sleep and your health.

the doc has me on a cpap. its not working. i cant get enough air going to my nose.

If you do not have OSA, why did they put you on cpap. A sleep study would show what is central and obstructive events. CSA is treated with Bipap ST.

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I have been diagnosed with both central and obstructive sleep apnea.

My sleep studies both showed that I do got 0.00% delta sleep, which I understand is the deepest sleep, and allows the brain to do its regulation and restoration of necessary functions, such as sending growth hormone into the body.

Is there any way to know why I am not making the effort to breathe at certain times in the night?

I am about to go on C-PAP, but am not convinced that I will get delta sleep.

Thank you for any helpful responses-

Hello Flam!

Here is what I learned about central sleep apnea:

A person with central apnea has issues with the respiratory center from the brain. The respiratory center controls the chest muscles to make breathing movements.

When the respiratory center stops working during sleep, then your breathing stops, too. The brain does not respond to the changes of the respiratory gas levels from the blood (oxygen and carbon dioxide).

In central apnea, you stop breathing in sleep for a period of time (at least 10 seconds), but there is no effort to breathe at all like in obstructive sleep apnea. Therefore snoring is not present in central apnea.

But I understand you have a mixed sleep apnea, so you have obstructive apnea symptoms, too. Snoring is one of the symptoms.

The cause of central apnea is unknown, but there are risk factors that can influence the development, such as:

* age
* gender
* sleep state
* thyroid disease
* neurological or cardiological abnormalities

I hope it helps!