Medical Cannabis

The pillar procedure can be an alternative solution to major surgery for patients suffering from sleep apnea. At Coastal Ear, Nose and Throat, our physicians specialize in this and other sleep apnea solutions. Please visit our website www.coastalhearing.com for additional information. … “sleep apnea” snoring fatigue tonsils pillar “pillar procedure” insomnia “mary mitskavich”

My independence, frankly. I’ve noticed several things over the last two years. My symptoms would all be worse when I didn’t work the weekend shifts on S-S. Why? Because I had to fit all of my 40 hours into M-F, when I was going to school, doing clinicals, preplanning and doing the 20+ page writeups associated with those clinicals each week.

More recently I’ve noticed that since I’ve been ward secretary more, it has added to my computer time. The aches and pains in my arms and hands increase in frequency and intensity. This suggests carpal tunnel or at least the beginning of it, as I have been checked/cleared of that too. I’ve become aware that if I do something or stay in one position too long, the symptoms start appearing. I can see some of the veins in my arms and on occasion I can lightly follow it and it produces a lot of pain for the amount of pressure I put on it.

I’ve known for a long time I have sleep apnea which may help explain my tiredness and high blood pressure. I’ve done a sleep study and they want to fit me with a CPAP machine. I’m resisting because I’m positive that the person who designs those has no social life or ever wants one. I’ve inquired as to the dental guard and unfortunately no dental office within an hour and a half drive provides that service, it requires at least 4 visits to make sure everything fits properly and  insurance won’t cover it. So out of pocket to the tune of $1,900.00. Student or not, that’s a lot of money out of pocket for anything.

Again what this boils down to is getting my life back, if I have to live another 40 years with all these symptoms which I can imagine would only get worse with age, no thank you… So what to do? Go back to basics…

I decided a week ago I would lose some weight, a lot of weight. Ultimately the goal is 208 pounds before my next birthday (August 25th) but between September 1st and March 21st I have a goal of 40 pounds minimum. What gain will this provide me?

1. The spare tire or small pony keg I carry around my middle will be largely gone. This means I can stand and sit up more straight during all my activities and will allow the flare-ups of my costal chondritis to be fewer and further between with less intensity. This will also mean I don’t have to walk around or sit around holding my stomach in out of embarrassment. This will allow me to relax more, walk around with a more relaxed countenance and have a relaxed body position/stance. As it is now, I only fully relax when I lay down, which explains why when I wake up in the morning I am largely symptom free most of the time. I am a pillow hugger and a shirt wearer but this is mostly because I don’t like my gut. When I have company, I almost always have  a shirt on.

2. Working out again. When school started I had a list of 7 priorities, one month into my sophomore year, it was down to 2 – school and work, in that order. I have since cut my hours to part-time which hopefully will free up enough time to work out, regardless of personal cost to my finances on a month to month basis. I hope this improves my circulation, I hope this re-defines my body to where it was before school and far beyond, I hope this reduces my stress and allows me to relax.

3. Reduce my stress,  reduce my stress, reduce my stress… Worrying about where to go, when to be there, how I’m going to pay for things, how am I going to get 100+ pages read, writeups written, etc. is not a fun way to go through school. At least now I’m going to sleep more, which will relax me and I’m going to start working out again which will provide a release as well. Hopefully the more weight I lose, the better I will feel, my self-image will improve and the tenseness of holding my stomach in will decrease, which should allow me to relax more and not make me feel like I’m always “on.” I only ever really truly feel relaxed when I am laying down, on my back is best.

4. Changing my diet and working out is only part of the equation though and I know it. I need to change my attitude and how I frame things. I’ve been better about letting things go but when the fit hits the shan, people go back to what they’re most comfortable with and that means reverting to previous behaviors. Which means I need to internalize a new attitude and one that welcomes the challenge and the change with the verve and vigor I try new things – way to work, learning something new, new food, restaurant, etc.

5. I wished I could say the last step would be the easiest but starting when I was in my early 20’s food became my salvation. Food was a way to be social, to celebrate, to make myself feel better, to not be bored, you name it, I ate because of or in spite of it. What was once my crutch has now become my cross to bear. I want to free myself from food and deal with life and all its grandeur in a way that is powerful and productive. I want to be able to stop my binges before they start, I want to be able to eat a small portion of ice cream instead of the whole half gallon, I want to be able to eat a few Doritos instead of the whole big bag, eat one piece of candy instead 20… It’s odd, when I’m able to fight off cravings and actually try foods because I want to instead of needing to, I find I actually enjoy them more and being an amateur foodie, I like that, a lot.

So 40+ pounds in 201 days is the goal. I went to one of my favorite websites (www.timeanddate.com) and found out how many days that was without having to do the math. I’m not sure why such a simple website is one of my favorites but it is. I think the fact that it doesn’t have gaudy colors, endless pop-ups and noisy ads to try to grab my attention is a big part of it. The 201 days does not include March 21st and it breaks down as follows:

6 months 20 days
28 weeks (rounded down)
4824 hours
289,440 minutes
17,366,400 seconds

So why those dates and why the ultimate goal of 208 pounds? September1st was simply a good place to start, the first step, the first of the month. March 21st is my last ever Spring Break. I’ve never taken a trip, I’ve always worked. This time is different. This is my second four-year degree and I’ve never lived on campus nor have I ever taken a road trip for Spring Break. After graduation and passing my NCLEX, I’m having several friends accompany me to an island for a private graduation party. I’ve never been out of the country and this is one way to do it.

The 208 pounds is courtesy of my favorite football player of all time. The emotional leader of the Dallas Cowboys when he played for them in the late 80’s and through most of the 90’s – Michael Irvin. That was his listed playing weight and I needed a goal, so his playing weight became my goal.

Sleep apnea is a sleeping disorder in which someone stops breathing repeatedly during their sleep, sometimes hundreds of times in the night, and often for a minute or more. A person who suffers from sleep apnea has prevalent episodes (up to 400-500 per night) in which he or she stops breathing. Warning signs for Sleep apnea include excessive snoring, choking, or gasping during sleep.

Sleep apnea has affected thousands of people. There are different kinds of sleep apnea, mild and severe. According to the level of condition, it needs treatment because without it, it can be potentially injurious. There are different factors by which, one can suffers from Sleep apnea, that are- By the throat muscles and others with brain signals not being sent in the right way. The basic aim of Treatment for Sleep Apnea is to change the nighttime breathing habits of a person.

Treatment for Sleep Apnea you can also trying to sleeping on your stomach or side despite of your back, as this minor position adjustment can help you for Treatment for Sleep Apnea and keep your airways open. These little lifestyle changes can help with the more mild cases.

Treatment for Sleep Apnea, you can change small parts of your life to try and cure this. One thing that can help is quitting smoking; losing some weight if you’re overweight can help too. If those little changes don’t help the Sleep Apnea, then the best Treatment for Sleep Apnea is avoiding anything that may make you sleep too deeply, like tranquilizers or other sleep assists. When you take these sleep assists they can keep your body from doing what it should.

The treatment for Sleep Apnea can be very complex and every patient does not respond as well as others to the different attempted ways. The very basic treatments can include surgeries like -Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty (UPPP), and Tracheotomy.

One of the most common Treatments for Sleep Apnea is a CPAP machine. The meaning of CPAP is continuous positive airway pressure. You can buy this machine by online resources, or through a doctor advising it. This machine implicates you wearing a mask while you sleep.

This mask passes air pressure through the nostrils, thereby forcing your airways to remain open. This mask can help you out for breathing and snoring, and can therefore help you get restful sleep. There are various varieties of CPAP machine.

Another option of Treatment for Sleep Apnea is to use a mouthpiece. These mouthpieces are easily got by dentists. They are able to ensure the proper fit, and can make adjustments that needed. There are also some people who make head wraparounds with the intention of preventing your jaw in a forward condition, thereby preventing your airways more open. By these wraparounds you don’t have to trying to keep a mask during the sleep, something that can be irritating.

Surgery is also an option of Treatment for Sleep Apnea. It is finally the last option. However, for some people who suffer from it surgery is a relieving final solution of Treatment for Sleep Apnea. By surgery one can removes the requirement of any sleep-aids and stipulates more reliable results.

Other symptoms include exorbitant sleepiness in the daytime and obesity. First snoring might be an early predictor for folks who will eventually develop obstructive sleep apnea. This progression is rather more likely in folk at ages 35-40 and who endure a weight gain. The undeniable fact that you wont receive the correct quantity of air will lead in time to serious diseases. Nightly asthma could be a reason for snoring and snoring might be a trigger for nightly asthma.

The day time exhaustion and sleepiness is only a long lasting effect of snoring.

There are four keys approach to life habits that you simply must do to guard your heart and decrease the risk of heart problems. A few of these you see everyday in the news, yet we do not do them. Maintain a healthy weight – Maintaining a healthy weight is urgent because excess poundage particularly around our stomach area is very damaging to our heart. It is just about like the organs are choked by the surplus fat in the stomach area. There are lots of things we are able to do to maintain a healthy weight like watch the quantity of carbs, particularly straightforward carbs, eats tons of whole grains and fresh fruits and vegatables, and watch how much white sugar we are it.

all these sum up to increase your fat and decrease your total health. As an example, cut down on sugars or eat a balanced breakfast. Reduce or at least control stress in our lives – stress has many negative results on our lives such as increase weight, increase fatigue, poor sleep habits, elevated blood pressure, moodiness and more. It has been proved that when we are ecstatic, our body naturally puts out more endorphins and in turn is happier ( chemically talking also ). Depending on your snoring pattern, Salin air salinizer may be a genuine help to stop and reduce snoring The fact the breathed saline has bactericide, mucokinetic, hydrophilic and anti-inflammatory properties leads to reducing soreness in the mucosa lining the airway passages, opening and dilating the airway. Will revive the ordinary transport of mucus and clear the blockages soaking up the edema of the nasal mucosa and the oropharynx and the soft palate, causing nasal obstruction and snoring. http://www.obesita.biz

Dr. Craig Schwimmer discusses the treatments for sleep apnea including CPAP. 3/25/08

Sleep apnea is a common disorder that is characterized by very shallow breathing while sleeping. The most common type of sleep apnea is obstructive sleep apnea.

When sleep is upset throughout the night the next day can be one of fatigue and sleepiness. A person with sleep apnea does not get restful sleep because:

•Brief episodes of increased airway resistance and breathing pauses occur many times throughout the night
•You may experience many brief drops in the oxygen levels in your blood
•Poor sleep quality occurs because you move out of deep sleep and into light sleep several times during the night.
Loud snoring is often a characteristic common to people who have sleep apnea. Not everyone who snores has sleep apnea and there are people with sleep apnea that do not know they snore.

Sleep apnea happen more often in people who are overweight, however thin people can also have the condition. The majority of people with sleep apnea do not know they have it, and they do not know they are having problems breathing while they are asleep. A family member and/or bed partner may notice the signs of sleep apnea first.

An increase in the chance of having blood pressure which can lead to heart attack or stroke is one of the consequences of untreated sleep apnea. Sleep apnea left untreated can also increase the risk of diabetes and the risk for work-related accidents and driving accidents.

There is an estimation of over 12 million American who have obstructive sleep apnea. More than half of these people are overweight and most of them “snore” heavily. Sleep apnea is more common in men, and is more common in African Americans, Hispanics, and Pacific Islanders than in Caucasians. It tends to run in families as well. It can also occur in children. If your child snores, you should discuss it with your doctor or health care provider.

Common signs and symptoms of sleep apnea include:

•Loud snoring
•Choking or gasping during sleep
•Fighting sleepiness during the day (even at work or while driving)
•Morning headaches
•Memory or learning problems
•Feeling irritable
•Not being able to concentrate on your work
•Mood swings or personality changes
•Feelings of depression
•Dry throat upon awakening
•Frequent urination at night

Treatment of sleep apnea:

The goal of treatment is to restore regular nighttime breathing and relieve symptoms such as very loud snoring and daytime sleepiness. Appropriate treatment will also help the associated problems of high blood pressure and reduce risk for heart attack and stroke.

Tips of self-help for sleep apnea include:

•Avoid alcohol, smoking and or medicines that can make you sleepy.
•Lose weight if you are overweight
•Try sleeping on your side instead of your back.

One of the most common treatments for sleep apnea is continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP). This treatment is wearing a mask over your nose during sleep.

If you snore, treating sleep apnea may help stop snoring, however, this does not mean you no longer have sleep apnea or that you should stop using CPAP. If CPAP is stopped or not used correctly, sleep apnea will return.
Possible side effects of CPAP include:

•Dry or stuffy nose
•Irritation of the skin on your face
•Bloating of your stomach
•Sore eyes
•Headaches

For people who have side effects working with sleep medicine specialists and technicians can help reduce the side effects. Some things that can be done include:

•Use a nasal spray to relieve a dry, stuffy, or runny nose
•Adjust the CPAP settings
•Adjust the size/fit of the mask
•Add moisture to the air as it flows through the mask
•Use a CPAP machine that can automatically adjust the amount of air pressure to the level that is required to keep the airway open
•Use a CPAP machine that will start with low air pressure and slowly increase the air pressure as you fall asleep.

People with severe sleep apnea symptoms usually feel better once they begin treatment with CPAP. It is important to follow-up with your doctor and to discuss any side effects with your doctor.

Other sleep apnea treatments include:

•Mouthpiece (oral appliance) for people with mild sleep apnea
•Surgery: The type of surgery depends upon the cause of the sleep apnea.

Types of surgery include:

•Surgery to remove tonsils and adenoids if they block the airway, this is especially helpful for children
•Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty
•Laser-assisted uvulopalatoplasty
•Tracheostomy
•Rebuilding the lower jaw
•Surgery on the nose
•Surgery to treat obesity.

Source: The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute

Disclaimer: *This article is not meant to diagnose, treat or cure any kind of a health problem. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. Always consult with your health care provider about any kind of a health problem and especially before beginning any kind of an exercise routine.

This article is FREE to publish with the resource box. Article written 4-2007.

This is a tour of the Sleep Solutions Facility. We treat those who suffer from many different types of sleep disorders ! Each room in our facility is equipped with a high tech sleep monitoring system. What we offer you is a Large screen LCD TV with cable, a goody basket and a comfortable nights stay. Some of our rooms have their own fire places and/or private bathrooms. Requests in advance can be made these rooms. We have full size beds complete with matching linens and blankets. However …

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