ideas and exchanges with the members. None are to be construed as professional
medical advice or counsel, nor is any endorsement of any treatment or product
intended or implied. The Support Group assumes no responsibility for any specific
medical hypothesis, product, or treatment undertaken by readers. All questions about
medications and treatments must be referred to your health care professional.
one of the constants in Chronic
Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) and
Fibromyalgia. Many of us take sleep
aids to help achieve the restorative
sleep we all need. But even with a
sleep aid, many of us still awaken
unrefreshed and tired. It may be CFS,
but it may be Sleep Apnea...or both!
three types of apnea: obstructive,
central, and mixed; of the three,
obstructive is the most common.
Despite the difference in the root
cause of each type, in all three, people
with untreated sleep apnea stop
breathing repeatedly during their
sleep, sometimes hundreds of times
during the night and often for a minute
or longer.
usually when the soft tissue in the rear
of the throat collapses and closes
during sleep. In central sleep apnea,
the airway is not blocked, but the brain
fails to signal the muscles to breathe.
Mixed apnea, as the name implies, is a
combination of the two. With each
apnea event, the brain briefly arouses
people with sleep apnea in order for
them to resume breathing, but
fragmented and of poor quality.
breath? Has your sleep partner
observed periods where you stop
breathing for a few seconds? These are
symptomatic of Sleep Apnea.
a "Sleep Study." This involves an
overnight stay in a Sleep Lab. You are
hooked up to a computer that measures
your night's sleep. You also wear a
mask that titrates air (not oxygen)
through your nose during the night.
treatment. This usually means that you
will have to use a CPAP (Continuous
Positive Airway Pressure) machine
each night to ensure that you receive
the right amount of air. If your
obstruction is caused by enlarged
tonsils or other nasal problem, surgery
might be an option, but only your
doctor can tell for sure.
by most health insurance plans. Do
yourself a favor...have it checked out,
especially if you have the symptoms
described.