Patient's question:
How to treat breathing and sleep disordersDoctor's answer:
Sleep apnea syndrome refers to a clinical syndrome where repeated episodes of breathing cessation and hypoventilation with hypercapnia occur during sleep due to various factors or etiologies, leading to a series of pathological and physiological changes in the body.5% of roommates or bed partners who share sleep with the patient may notice breathing pauses and worry that breathing will not resume, waking the patient. The breathing pauses usually end with gasping, loud snoring, or snorting. The patient exhibits obvious chest-abdominal paradoxical breathing. Upon waking suddenly after a breathing pause, they often experience (turning over), involuntary limb movements, even twitching, or suddenly sitting up. Symptoms may include palpitations, chest tightness, discomfort in the precordial area, excessive sweating (especially in the neck and upper chest), which are related to the increased effort of breathing and hypercapnia caused by airway obstruction.
General treatment includes weight loss, dietary control, medication, surgery, and changes in sleep position (side sleeping), elevating the head of the bed, quitting smoking and alcohol, and avoiding sedatives. Medication is not always effective, but acetazolamide and modafinil can be tried for daytime sleepiness. They may have some effect in patients with mild daytime sleepiness. Surgical treatment includes nasal surgery, uvulopalatopharyngoplasty (UPPP), laser-assisted palatopharyngoplasty, cryoablation, and orthognathic surgery.