Some clinicians recommend adjuvant hypnotic use as a short course to alleviate initial insomnia and anxiety with the use of CPAP. As with all chronic diseases, patient education is vital and this may aid in adherence. As a corollary to this, peer/partner support groups alongside motivational interviewing and cognitive behavioural therapy may have a role (29). Other patient interventions and lifestyle modifications include weight loss (including referral for bariatric surgery if indicated), reducing alcohol intake and positional therapy. Recent studies have indicated that sleep position therapy can be highly efficacious (1). However, this must be countered by the fact that non-CPAP therapies, such as positional therapies and oral appliances, have no significant long-term data, including for cardiovascular outcomes.
Another therapy recently introduced is an oral negative pressure device (Winx® by Apnicure Inc). This deceive creates negative oral pressure keeping the tongue and soft palate in more anterior positions. A recent short-term randomized controlled trial demonstrated that the device is well tolerated and results in improved OSA in patients with mild to severe OSA.
Pillows may work best for people who require a low to moderate air pressure setting and may be a good option for people with a lot of facial hair or who feel claustrophobic wearing a larger mask, according to the American Academy of Sleep Technologists (AAST).
If you’ve received a diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA)—which causes numerous brief pauses in breathing as you sleep—your doctor has probably recommended continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) as a treatment.
Creating confidence that the stimulation is comfortable and that only at the extreme there is discomfort.
Try a Mask Liner: Mask liners can help you maintain a stronger seal throughout the night. Some mask liners are designed to soak up facial oils and sweat so that your mask cushion does not shift as you sleep.
Drink a Glass of Water: If your throat is feeling dry, it can be helpful to keep a glass of water beside your bed to calm that throat tickle and ease the dryness.
In some conditions, the CPAP mask itself can interfere with sleep. In such cases, patients can turn to oral appliance therapy for an option that’s more user friendly.
OSA, after all, is a complex, multifactorial phenomenon of heterogeneous aetiology (51). One of the confounding factors remains the variable definitions of successful outcomes or end points for either non-surgical or surgical therapies. Ravesloot and do Vries highlight this dilemma and suggest that mean apnoea-hypopnoea indices (AHI) be used in lieu of compliance rates for CPAP, which may be masking insufficient reductions in AHI in comparison to surgical interventions (52). Moreover, the lack of a robust evidence base associated with snoring/OSA surgery is well documented but is also the case for surgery in general. There is very little randomized controlled level 1 evidence and we therefore rely principally on level 3 and 4 studies.
After a few months of use, patients have a follow-up sleep study to ensure their sleep goals are being met. Once all is confirmed, patients will have check-ins with their sleep physician every seis-12 months at physician discretion.
See a Specialist If the Problem Persists: If you’re still experiencing issues after trying these recommendations, you may need to visit your ENT (be sure to let them know you’re on CPAP therapy) for guidance.
It’s intended to treat obstructive sleep apnea and can’t be used for central sleep apnea, which involves brain signals check here rather than throat muscles. There are three main components of the Inspire sleep apnea device.
In this article, we want to help you better understand the most common complaints associated with CPAP therapy. We look forward to teaching you how to identify and manage these unpleasant side effects from your CPAP machine.
There are a number of important differences about oral appliance therapy that may appeal to patients. First of all, the oral appliance fits entirely in the mouth, while a CPAP device requires a mask that covers the nose and mouth and is connected to a machine by a hose.