Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is by far the problem sleep specialists see most often. If you suspect that you have OSA, be careful about the information and products you get from the internet and other sources. There is even a spray and a pill you can get that is guaranteed to stop your snoring. But the only spray or pill that can really stop the snoring would have to kill you! They never work.

But you do have to be aware that you may have OSA — even if you don’t have any of the typical symptoms right now. The symptoms may come later but damage to your cells and therefore your life has already been done. That’s why many of us health professionals in the sleep business of diagnosing and treating OSA feel that everyone should have a simple home sleep test to rule it in or out.

OSA is an airway blockage for 10 seconds or longer (sometimes for more than a minute) and can only happen when you are asleep. The relaxed tissue in the throat and the muscles in that tissue and the tongue get sucked into the airway by the vacuum created when you inhale. This blocks the air from getting to your lungs and robbing all of your tissue and organs of life giving oxygen. These blockages occur all during the adult lifetime of an OSA patient and even during the entire lifetime including childhood of some patients. Holding your breath is not the same since the blockage happens before air gets to the lungs. Just take a big breath in and hold it; you can usually hold that for a minute or so before you become stressed. But blow all your air out and hold that; you will notice changes in a few seconds!

A complete list of symptoms of OSA is found on my website at www.NwSleepDoc.com. But there may not even be any symptoms; that’s why this is so dangerous. You may have a major complication like a heart attack, a stroke, high blood pressure, or diabetes caused by OSA and your doctor may not even recognize that the complication was caused by untreated OSA.

You and your family need to be tested. I have tested everyone in my family and one son-in-law has OSA. We have treated it. I also have a 2-year-old granddaughter who we just had tonsils and adenoids removed. Her doctors didn’t recognize any of her symptoms but I did — her adenoids were blocking 100 percent of her upper airway! Her mother had to insist that they be removed and the doctors complied. She was headed for major complications if the tonsils and adenoids hadn’t been removed. And get this — the tonsils and adenoids were not infected — just too large for her airway. She is a different kid now!

Remember, OSA is deadly. Reggie White, an NFL Hall of Famer, and Jerry Garcia, the Grateful Dead guitarist, both were thought to have died of complications of OSA. It’s even possible that Alzheimer’s Disease and dementia could be caused by a lifetime of OSA.

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Dr. Donald Johnson founded Northwest Treatment Center for Snoring & Sleep Apnea in Coeur d’Alene to help patients stop their snoring and live free with no limits! Obstructive sleep apnea is usually able to be treated with a small oral appliance. Dr. Johnson’s office is at 114 W. Neider Ave., near Costco. The website for more information is www.NWSleepDoc.com and the office phone is (208) 667-4551. Schedule a free consultation appointment today!