sleep apnea

[kerry42608]

is there any good ways to sleep with obstrctive sleep apnea

[pain32]

I have sleep apnea and after using CPAP I still have exhaustion, daytime falling asleep, heart racing.  Is the heart racing and feeling of restlessness, due to sleep apnea or something else?  I also have high blood pressure, and blood in my stool, GERD, gastritis, asthma.  Does it take a long time for CPAP to start working?  I was taking some sleeping pills and melatonin.  Should I use a full face mask or standard nose mask with CPAP?  Thanks very much!

[Dr Rajput]

Hi, welcome to the forum, firstly you need to rule out the cause of sleep apnea. Obesity and upper airway soft tissue abnormalities are known risk factor and smoking multiplies the risk by 3 times. Even alcoholism, nasal congestion, craniofacial abnormalities, hypothyroidism, acromegaly, and adenotonsillar hypertrophy can lead to such symptoms. Hence, the above mentioned conditions should be ruled out by physical examinations, thyroid profile and other blood tests.

Meantime you need to go for weight reduction exercises, and as well as dietary modification. The result may not be immediate but takes time. Drugs like benzodiazepines should be avoided (sleeping pills). Treatment of the specific cause is also important. I suggest you to consult ENT specialist for detailed evaluation. Take care and regards.