Please watch this important sleep apnea video on helpful questions on medical coverage for oral appliance therapy, the most frequently prescribed CPAP alternative for apnea treatment.  It also covers what criteria is needed for medical insurance coverage that your doctor’s office will need for filing your claim.

Contact us directly for further details – 630/369-5508

People who often snore are at risk of higher blood pressure, strokes, heart attack, and of course relationship strains. If that’s not enough to look into ways to get your snoring treated, you may be interested to know that snoring can also have a dangerous effect on your eyes.

People who snore often may have a condition called obstructive sleep apnea, a life-altering condition, in which a person unknowingly stops breathing during sleep, or has oxygen-dipping events throughout the night.

This lack of oxygen affects the body negatively in many ways.  In relation specifically to eyes, people with obstructive sleep apnea are at risk for:

• Floppy Eye Syndrome
• Normal tension glaucoma
• CPAP associated – eye strain
• Asthenopia (generalized eye discomfort)
• Papilledema (swelling of the optic nerve)
• NAION (decreased oxygen and blood flow to optic nerve)

These last 2 conditions can lead to vision loss.

Also, some of the most common symptoms of sleep apnea include:

• Fatigue
• Tiredness
• Eye strain
• Morning headaches

These common symptoms of snoring and apnea are often confused with eye problems.

If you are snoring or have a family history of snoring, consider treatment and evaluation for your particular situation. If you are experiencing the symptoms mentioned above and sleeping disorders have been ruled out, it may be time to get your eyes evaluated.

Sleep is as important in your daily routine as brushing your teeth and showering.  Sleep is critical to maintaining and improving your physical and mental well-being. The National Sleep Foundation estimates 47 million Americans are sleep deprived, recommending 8 hours of sleep for most adults.

Sleep deprivation leads to:

• Weight gain
• Depression
• Decreased memory
• Poor Concentration
• Irritability
• Relationship trouble

What can you do to help yourself get the sleep you need? Set a sleep pattern for yourself and get into a regular sleep routine.  Start with the minimum of 7 hours each night for a consecutive week.  If you awake unrested, add 30 minutes each night until you notice your alertness return.

A few ideas to help you make Sleep changes at home:

1. Log the sleep hours of each family member, before and after you try to add sleep to your new year. (You’ll be surprised!)
2. Cut out all electronics 1 hour before bedtime.
3. Eliminate caffeinated drinks after dinnertime.

If you are getting a full night’s sleep and STILL wake unrefreshed and fatigued throughout the day, you may be suffering from a sleep disorder. Please, consult with your physician and let him know you are concerned. Make changes today to start off on the path to a full night of sleep, every night!

With travel restrictions, increase in airport security and just a more hectic time of year, the last thing anyone needs is to complicate holiday travel with CPAP problems. Bringing your CPAP (an airway pressurized device that treats sleep apnea) is crucial for most apnea patients in maintaining one’s health and well being, and a good night’s sleep.

Below is a list of things to consider before you depart on your journey to help with CPAP travel:

1. Don’t forget to take an extension cord.
2. Empty the humidifier chamber.
3. Check power options on the plane if it is a long flight.
4. Check for power options at your destination if a remote area.
5. Will you need distilled water at your destination? And can the hotel help accommodate your request?
6. Do you have the correct converter or adapter plugs if needed?
7. Consider packing your CPAP as a carry-on.
8. Will you need to consider a battery option?
9. Do you need to bring any additional accessories or straps, such as a chin strap?

Dental Sleep and TMD Center of Illinois hope that this list helps you a with a successful CPAP travel experience.

If you are a successful CPAP user but tend to leave your prescribed treatment behind when traveling, consider professional oral appliance therapy, an effective CPAP alternative.  Oral appliance therapy is most often prescribed for mild to moderate apnea patients, as well as those not able to use CPAP therapy.  For more information on this physician recommended treatment options, visit www.TiredOfSnoring.com.

An elbow nudge here, and an elbow nudge there. Finally, your bed partner’s snoring stops after he/she rolls to the side position. Ahhh, silence! A little while later, you get awakened from your partner’s snoring only to discover he or she had rolled again onto his/ her back. Again, the snoring resumes! In most cases, this goes on over and over disrupting both bed partners’ sleep leading to daytime sleep deprivation symptoms. In need of getting a better night’s sleep, you may soon find yourself in another bedroom. And so the pattern continues….

Chronic snoring noises often result from the vibration of tissue in the back of the throat. A narrowing in the airway during sleep leads to increased airway pressure zones during inhalation and exhalation. This increased pressure of air trying to pass through the narrowed zones causes the vibration commonly known as snoring.

Although there are many reasons why the airway gets ‘narrowed’, it’s important to note that most chronic snoring should be evaluated by a trained healthcare provider to rule out a potentially life threatening condition called obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). During OSA, the airway becomes very narrow or even closes off resulting in pausing in breathing and the oxygen lowers or dips in the blood levels. These chronic ‘oxygen dips’ have been linked to many chronic health conditions including a higher risk of heart attacks, strokes, and even automobile accidents.

After a medical evaluation a person may be cleared of OSA, but the snoring still may continue when sleeping on the back position.

For those that continue to snore only on their back and are searching for ways to sleep on their side, we are including some suggestions that may help:

Parker Pillow: http://www.comforthouse.com/snorerelief.html

Rematee Products:  http://www.antisnoreshirt.com/help_answer.asp?ID=24

Side Sleeper Bed Wedge: http://www.relaxtheback.com/sleep/bed-wedges/side-sleeper-bed-wedge.htmlHomemade devices—tennis balls sewn into the back of a shirt

Most of these devices can be used nightly and are easy to travel with. Often they can be used to train a person not to favor the back during sleep. Nightly use is recommended for the first several weeks. Slowly decreasing the frequency of use may help retrain your sleep position. If snoring resumes, it’s time to bump up the frequency of use again. If you find yourself with several failed attempts of retraining, or if the snoring persists in all sleep positions; you may need to get your snoring evaluated by a trained health care professional. Other treatment options that may be considered after consult include professional oral appliance therapy or surgery.

      >>To receive notice of when we add blog posts please subscribe by RSS feed or enter your email address to the left and receive notice in your inbox.<<