If you’ve been diagnosed with sleep apnea, you have a better understanding of changes that have likely occurred in your mental and physical health. The diagnosis can help explain why you always feel out of sorts during the day and tend to fall asleep in meetings.
Our board-certified general and bariatric surgeons at Turnquest Surgical Solutions have treated many patients who have sleep apnea. Our patients report that sleep apnea treatment provides a new lease on life.
You may wish to try a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine to keep your breathing regulated at night. Another treatment involves a tonsillectomy and/or removal of the adenoids and part of the soft palate to allow enough room in your airway.
It’s not unusual for men and women with sleep apnea to be obese or overweight. In this case, we work with you on weight loss strategies.
Weight loss surgery can help lessen or eliminate your sleep apnea. Bariatric surgery results in remission in 80-85% of cases. At Turnquest Surgical Solutions, Dexter Turnquest, MD, and Victoria Chang, MD, work with you to plan the best type of weight loss surgery given your health and goals.
After treatment, you see immediate benefits. Here are five ways sleep apnea treatment can improve your life.
If you’ve had sleep apnea for a long time, you may not realize how much your energy has dissipated. Sleep apnea may interrupt your breathing up to 90 times per hour, making it impossible for you to get enough quality sleep.
You may overreact to minor irritations and feel unwell much of the time. Sleep deprivation has deleterious effects on your body.
Once you receive treatment for sleep apnea, you may immediately notice the difference in your energy level and most likely your mood. Your quality of life improves.
You’re not the only one affected by sleep apnea. If you have a significant other, you’ve heard the complaints about your constant snoring. The noise level may make it impossible for your partner to sleep. They may even be sleeping in another bedroom.
Sleep apnea treatment helps restore the quality of your intimate relationship. You’ll both have more energy during the day to enjoy life with each other.
An 18-year follow-up of patients in a sleep study found that the risk of depression is more than two and half times greater if you have sleep-disordered breathing versus those without sleep disturbances.
Your body requires rest. When you don’t get enough, your mental health suffers as much as your physical health.
Sleep apnea can shorten your life. In the same follow-up study that we mentioned above, sleep apnea patients had a significantly higher mortality risk even when adjusted for age, sex, body mass index (BMI) and other factors.
Sleep apnea significantly increases your risk of several major diseases. It has harmful effects throughout your body, including your respiratory, endocrine, digestive, nervous, circulatory, and reproductive systems.
You’re more likely to develop stroke, Type 2 diabetes, fatty liver disease, and high blood pressure. The sooner you seek treatment for sleep apnea, the sooner you lower your risk of poor health.
Contact us today at one of our two Houston, Texas, locations for compassionate and expert care. We’ll work with you to help you get a good night’s sleep.
