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Snoring is the most common
complaint we hear. Assess your bed
partner's snoring and we can recommend a
solution. |
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| Do you suffer from
Restless Leg Sydrome?
If so, you may be able to participate in
a Clinical Trial. |
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Why CPAP is better than Pillars
surgery |
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Every day,
patients ask whether they can have Pillars surgery
to get off of CPAP. For 90-95% of CPAP
users, the answer is no. The
Pillars procedure was designed to reduce, but not
eliminate snoring (even though it is also promoted
for "mild to moderate" sleep apnea). If you are
on CPAP, it is likely that you have moderate or
severe obstructive sleep apnea/hypopnea. The
Pillars surgery involves placing 3-5 tiny plastic
inserts into the roof of your mouth to lift and
stiffen it.
Unfortunately, sleep apnea is not a
roof-of-the-mouth problem. Sleep
apnea blocks at the tongue and throat. Our most
effective treatment is the positive airflow of
nasal CPAP.
CPAP is remarkably effective. In fact, even
our worst patient who stops breathing 170 times
per hour breathes normally on CPAP. The
only surgery that is comparably effective to CPAP
- is the tracheostomy (putting a tube in the
throat to bypass the blocking). See
Mark's CPAP Corner for more
information.
Remember, success with CPAP means regular
replacement of your interface including mask or
nasal pillows. If you need
replacements, contact Mark at mforester@sleepmed.com or
LaQuana landrews@sleepmed.com.
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| Restless Leg Syndrome and
Augmentation |
Restless leg syndrome is commonly treated
with medications that balance the brain chemical
dopamine. By taking medications such as
Mirapex, Requip, and Sinemet, restless legs can be
settled and sleep improved. Up to 1/3rd of
patients report that over time the medicine "loses
benefit". Most commonly, "loss" of benefit
is due to the side effect of augmentation.
Augmentation is a shifting around of the
restlessness. The most common shift is
restlessness appearing earlier in the evening or
day time. Sometimes it shifts into the arms
or other body parts. The restlessness may
also be more intense when it appears or more
medicine is needed to settle the legs. We
manage augmentation by giving medicine earlier or
changing to a different type of medicine. If
you think augmentation is worsening, please
arrange a visit with your doctor. To
read more about restless leg syndrome, click
here to see the article by Dr. Philip
Becker. |
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Rate Your Daytime
Sleepiness |
| When you come into our office, we often ask
you to complete a rating of daytime
sleepiness. The simplest scale to use is the
Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS). Anything
that reduces good sleep will cause you to feel
sleepier during the day. Sometimes
medications will increase your sleepiness. A
change in your sleep disorder can also increase
sleepiness. If you have an Epworth
sleepiness score of 11 or above, your doctor will
want to explore reasons for the sleepiness.
This link on our website will take you to the
ESS Click
Here to Rate Your Daytime
Sleepiness. If your ESS rating is
11 or above, it may be time for you to visit your
doctor. |
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Duane Day
Practice Administrator Sleep
Medicine Associates of Texas, P.A.
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