Sleep Apnea

Florida Sleep Solutions of Jax

Sleep Medicine located in Jacksonville, FL & orange park, FL

An estimated 20% of adults in the United States get low quality sleep, and a lack of oxygen in their blood, because of sleep apnea. At Florida Sleep Solutions of Jax in Jacksonville, Florida, sleep specialist Dennis Sorresso, MD, and his team can help find a solution to your troubled nighttime breathing. To find out if you have sleep apnea, call Florida Sleep Solutions of Jax, or schedule an appointment online today.

Sleep Apnea Q & A

What is sleep apnea?

Sleep apnea is a chronic disorder affecting your breathing at night. This breathing difficulty can cause dangerous deficits in your oxygen levels and lead to life-threatening chronic conditions like heart failure, high blood pressure, and stroke.

Three primary forms of sleep apnea impede your breathing in different ways. These include:

Obstructive sleep apnea

Obstructive sleep apnea happens when the tissues in your airway, cause it to close or constrict when you relax.

Central sleep apnea

Central sleep apnea happens when your brain doesn’t send signals to your muscles responsible for breathing during sleep.

Complex sleep apnea syndrome

Complex sleep apnea syndrome happens when you start with obstructive sleep apnea, but it doesn’t respond to treatment. It’s a combination of the two other types.

What are the symptoms of sleep apnea?

Sleep apnea symptoms vary among patients; there are no differences between the signs of the different types of sleep apnea. Therefore, it’s hard for you to determine which type you have on your own. Symptoms of all three types of sleep apnea include:

Loud snoring
Constant awakening at night
Labored breathing during sleep
Pauses in breathing during sleep
Morning headaches
Morning dry mouth
Irritability or depression
Trouble concentrating or remembering things
Sleepiness during the day

Snoring is just one symptom of sleep apnea. Even though it’s the most well-known, not everyone who snores has sleep apnea. If you snore and have other symptoms, you should visit Florida Sleep Solutions of Jax for a diagnosis.

How is sleep apnea diagnosed?

The team at Florida Sleep Solutions of Jax offers in-lab sleep testing as well as home sleep testing for sleep apnea. They discuss your health and other factors to decide which type of testing you should get. The tests monitor your breathing and heart rate at night.

How is sleep apnea treated?

Your provider evaluates your symptoms and the results of your sleep test to decide the best way to treat your sleep apnea. They create an individualized treatment plan based on the type of sleep apnea you have and the difficulties that come from it. Your plan might include:

Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine

The CPAP machine is perhaps the best-known treatment for all types of sleep apnea. You wear a mask connected to the machine overnight as it delivers air pressure into your airways.

Oral appliances

If you have obstructive sleep apnea, an oral appliance called a snore guard can push your jaw forward so your airway stays open while you sleep.

Medications

If you have central sleep apnea, certain medications can stimulate your breathing at night.

Lifestyle adjustments

Your provider might recommend making some changes to your lifestyle to ease your sleep apnea symptoms. It can help to lose weight, stop smoking, and avoid sleeping pills.

To find out how you can ease your sleep apnea symptoms and reduce your risk of cardiovascular complications, call Florida Sleep Solutions of Jax, or book an appointment online today.