See a doctor for a professional evaluation of your sleep problem. Discuss your symptoms with your physician or a sleep specialist if you are referred to one by your doctor. Ask your doctor what your choices are. There are a number of different treatments depending on the severity and type of sleep apnea. If you want more information on the diagnosis and treatment of sleep apnea, you can contact the American Sleep Apnea Association . The ASAA also sponsors meeting of an A.W.A.K.E. group. A.W.A.K.E. stands for "Alert, Well, And Keeping Energetic.
Many of sleep specialists work at sleep centers that administer overnight sleep studies to determine whether you have a sleep disorder. Pulmonologists , neurologists , or other physicians with specialty training in sleep disorders are often involved in the diagnosing and treatment of sleep disorders.
Because there can be many reasons why your sleep is disturbed, the actual diagnosis of sleep apnea is dependant on a number of factors and tests. Your doctor may first ask you to take some routine blood tests. These tests check oxygen and carbon dioxide level as well as your blood hemoglobin. If your doctor feels that your symptoms are severe and maybe that other illnesses may be involved, he or she may order other tests such as chest, sinuses and neck x-rays, EKG , echocardiogram and nuclear scan .
Sometimes a visible check of your throat or nose by your doctor can uncover a structural condition that can be contributing to sleep apnea. One specialist that I saw used a miniature video camera to examine the interior of my nose and throat. It was not a pretty picture and subsequently let to my diagnosis of Severe Obstructive Sleep Apnea from previous damage to these areas.
Your doctor has decided that you might have sleep apnea and will probably recommend that a detailed evaluation of your breathing while sleeping. Tests vary from an Oximeter, a simple device that monitors your body's oxygen level, to a Polysomnoaphy, a complete overnight sleep study in a local Sleep Lab or Sleep Disorders Center. New technology is being developed that may soon allow some sleep studies to be done right at home. The Oximeter, is already used at home as a follow-up after you have been receiving treatment.
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