Sleep Apnea Symptoms

Sleep apnea is a breathing disorder characterized by episodes of disturbed or interrupted breathing during sleep resulting in recurrent arousals and awakenings.

The symptoms of sleep apnea are loud snoring, hyper somnolence (excessive daytime sleepiness), and restless sleep.

Snoring is a sign of upper-airway obstruction to a critical degree. During snoring the inability to inhale oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide upsets the balance of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the blood. The brain senses the low level of oxygen and increased levels of carbon dioxide and sends a signal to resume breathing and cause an arousal. The frequent arousals inhibit the normal sleep cycle and results in fragmented sleep. This makes the patient feel very sleepy during the day and complain of a very unrefreshing sleep at night.

The problem of excessive daytime sleepiness (especially while driving, working or talking) develops slowly over years and often gets noticed by the friends and colleagues of the patient.

In central sleep apnea, the hypoxic and hypercapnic drives can be impaired by brain stem lesions or by exposure to recurrent hypoxia and hypercapnia. The stimulus to breathe instead from the cortex and reticular activating system is lost during sleep and the patient stops breathing, the so-called Ondine's curse.

Other symptoms of sleep apnea include choking/gasping during sleep, morning headaches, daytime fatigue, personality changes, memory impairment, impaired concentration, poor judgment, mood disturbances, recent weight gain, polyurea, and impotence.

The signs and symptoms that can help identify patients at risk for sleep apnea are obesity, senility, stress (including anxiety and depression), hypertension, cardiac arrhythmia, ischemic heart disease, hypothyroidism, acromegaly, dislocated temporomandibular joint and neuromuscular disease. In children, tonsillar hypertrophy is the commonest cause for sleep apnea.

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Back Pain Facts?

There are several causes of back pain: mechanical causes, eg lumbar disc disorders; degenerative conditions, eg degenerative disc disease; inflammatory conditions, eg ankylosing spondylitis; infective causes, eg osteomyelitis; neoplastic causes, eg primary benign or malignant tumours; metabolic bone disease, eg osteoporosis; referred pain, eg from duodenal ulcer; psychogenic pain - originating in the mind rather than the body.

Back pain is one of humanity's most frequent complaints and does not usually reflect any underlying disease. However, anyone with back pain that does not improve after a few days should first consult a Physician, as back pain can sometimes indicate significant and serious conditions which might not otherwise be diagnosed. Back pain is very rarely a sign of a serious medical problem. It is however important that the treatable medical causes are identified early on.

Back pain affects 50 to 80 percent of people in the U.S. at some point in their lives. In any given year, 10 percent of adults experience back pain or other symptoms, such as limited mobility or stiffness. Each year, Americans spend an estimated $24 billion on treatments for back pain - not including missed time from work nor the emotional costs of enduring pain and not being able to participate in daily activities. Imagine what it would be like to have problems working, golfing or enjoying playtime with children!

Back pain can be mildly uncomfortable, excruciating or anywhere in between. It can start slowly, sometimes a result of poor posture, or come on suddenly because of injury. If your question is not answered here, please contact one of our information specialists. Back pain can last for a few short days or can linger for weeks, months and even years. Arthritis is a common form of back pain. The earlier arthritis is diagnosed, the more steps can be taken to reduce disability in the future. Other factors that aggravate back pain include suffering from stress, not getting enough sleep, being overweight, having poor posture or not being physically fit.

Back pain should not be considered a normal part of aging; it is a chronic condition that calls for similar lifestyle changes as diseases like arthritis and diabetes do.