January 22, 2010

Taking Your Breath Away

Orion man finds help for sleep apnea at the Genesis, Illini Campus

Ted Arkebauer never seemed to get a good night's sleep.

As a busy guy with a full-time job who also runs his own business, he couldn't afford to feel tired or sleepy.

"My wife thought I did a lot of snoring, and I was up and down a lot during the night. I just never felt rested, even after a full night's sleep," says Arkebauer, 47, or Orion, Ill. "I work a full-time job, plus I run my own lawn care and snow removal business, so I have a lot of short nights as it is."

Today, Arkebauer sleeps a lot more soundly and credits the Genesis Sleep Disorders Center on the Genesis, Illini Campus in Silvis and pulmonologist plus board-certified sleep specialist Akshay Mahadevia, M.D., with getting to the root of his problem.

Unknowingly while he slept, Arkebauer would stop breathing time and again. He's one of more than 18 million Americans with a dangerous condition called obstructive sleep apnea.

Obstructive sleep apnea is a breathingrelated sleep disorder that results in brief interruptions of respiration during sleep. Pauses in breathing can last from 10-30 seconds or more and occur up to 400 times a night. That combination of disturbed sleep and oxygen starvation can lead to hypertension, heart disease and mood and memory problems.

Obstructive sleep apnea occurs when muscles in the back of the throat fail to keep the airway open, despite efforts to breathe. This reduces oxygen in the blood and causes arousal from sleep.

To prevent this phenomenon, Ted Arkebauer, 47, now goes to bed wearing a continuous positive airway pressure device. The machine has a mask that fits over the nose and/or mouth and gently blows air into the airway to help keep it open during sleep. He uses a Bi-PAP machine, which provides two levels of pressure.

"As a rule, I wake up now feeling much more rested," he says. "The machine also helps the snoring, too. Occasionally, I can still wake up feeling tired, but that's only because I haven't spent enough time in bed because of my busy schedule."

Arkebauer, who also has asthma and is a smoker, had undergone three previous sleep studies. Despite being the owner of a continuous positive airway pressure machine for the past three years, he wasn't using it because he felt he wasn't getting enough air.

Six months ago, however, he underwent a sleep study for the first time at the Illini Campus, and with the expertise of its medical director Dr. Mahadevia, finally arrived at the appropriate air pressure. Now, he uses his Bi-PAP machine every night, with greater comfort and success.

"Dr. Mahadevia was very friendly and knowledgable and I felt really at ease talking to him," he says. "My experience at the Illini Campus sleep center was very good, and the staff there were very nice and helpful."

Chronic snoring is a strong indicator of sleep apnea. Other symptoms include daytime sleepiness, morning headaches, diminished concentration, memory impairment and falling asleep at inappropriate times, such as when driving.

Left untreated, symptoms of sleep apnea can include disturbed sleep, excessive sleepiness during the day, high blood pressure, heart attack, congestive heart failure, cardiac arrhythmia stroke or depression.

"The most successful treatment for people with obstructive sleep apnea is using continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) whenever they sleep," Dr. Mahadevia says. "The health benefits of this therapy can be enormous, but maintaining compliance with the therapy is crucial. If you are having problems adjusting to your CPAP or you're experiencing side effects, ask for assistance."

During a sleep study, patients at Genesis sleep centers spend the night in a comfortable room that looks like a bedroom. Small sensors applied to their head, face and legs monitor important sleep information, such as brain waves, eye movement, muscle activity, heart rate, respiratory effort, air flow and blood oxygen levels.

Newly Renovated
The Illini Campus sleep center has undergone a renovation recently, with new computer technology, carpeting, window treatments, linens and new handicap-accessible restrooms and showers. Improved amenities are only part of the story, however.

The Illini and Davenport sleep centers are fully accredited by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and offer board-certified sleep physicians and registered sleep technologists.

Those same experts perform the sleep tests in DeWitt and read them, as well. Call the Sleep Disorders Center on the Illini Campus, (309) 792-6380; in Davenport, (563) 421-1523; in DeWitt, (563) 659-4200.