Though common, sleep apnea can remain undiagnosed for a long time. By the time the patient wakes up to reality, the disorder has progressed considerably. The reasons for this is that majority of sleep apnea symptoms are not only artful dodgers, they could be misleading too.

What is it that makes them tough to catch?

The reason why the condition thrives unnoticed is because most signs appear while the patient is asleep. Normally the bed partner notices the distress that the patient is experiencing and raises alarm. The signs that get noticed first include: loud and persistent snoring, restlessness in bed, sudden pauses between snoring bouts, frequent gasping and choking during sleep, etc.

However, the signs do get noticed by the patient sooner than later. What alarms the patient are excessive sleepiness during the day, rapid and irrational weight gain, depression, high blood pressure, irritability, dry mouth after waking up, having trouble remembering, morning or night headaches, etc.

Why does the patient put on weight?

The relationship between sleep apnea and weight puzzles almost every patient. To understand the association in the right perspective, one has to delve a bit deeper into the illness, its origin, etc.

Obesity triggers snoring, which when neglected worsens into sleep apnea, one of the worst sleep disorders. Marked by recurrent pauses in breathing, it happens when the airway narrows. While obesity is one of the main triggers for the onset, the patient also gains weight during the course of the ailment.

Weight gain is a result of two situations: sleep deprivation leading to abnormal appetite; disorder causing imbalance between two appetite related hormones – Grehlin and Leptin. Thus weight increase is both a prominent sign as well as one of the consequences of the condition.

Is there any other trigger for the onset?

Neglected snoring is considered to be one of the main causes for onset. Snoring is outcome of nasal blockage that can be caused by several factors. Of these, deviated septum is most common. Septal deviation leading to sleep apnea is therefore one of the most commonly-encountered conditions.

How are the signs deceptive?

Here’s some alarming statistics: according to the National Institute of Health, up to 90% of Americans who have obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) don’t know they have it. Appearance of many of the signs during sleep is one of the prime reasons for the condition remaining undiagnosed; over and above this, the signs can also be confusing and deceptive.

The reason for this is many features of this illness are present in other sleep disorders. For example, excessive daytime sleepiness is one of the main narcolepsy symptoms and it could also announce the onset of hypersomnia.

Diagnostic confusion arising out of such similarity of features is cleared by studying other characteristic features of the sleep disorders. Narcolepsy, a disorder of neurological origin can put a patient to sleep suddenly, any time anywhere. A patient goes off to sleep gradually, when suffering from any other sleep disorder. Similarly, age of onset of sleep apnea is around 50 years; other sleep disorders set in much earlier.

Sleep apnea treatment

Choice of therapy depends entirely on the severity of the condition and cause of onset of the condition. For example, if the cause has been identified as deviated septum, surgery is the only cure solution. Deviated septum surgery is one of the most common surgeries performed in this country. Septoplasty and somnoplasty are the two common surgeries preferred by doctors to rectify and reposition deviated septum.

However, for treating mild to moderate sleep apnea symptoms, doctors rely on weight loss including sleep apnea exercises for breathing muscles; quitting alcohol, raising pillow height, special pillows for snoring relief as well as CPAP therapy for restoration of normal breathing.