patient might have. The patient
then goes to sleep as normal in
one of The Sleep Center’s eight
patient rooms, which are designed
to feel like a cozy bedroom
at home.
The data collected while the
patient sleeps is gathered into
an 800- to 1,000-page report
that is reviewed
by both a sleep
technician and a
physician who is
a sleep specialist.
They then share
the results with
the patient and
recommend treatment
if a disorder
is detected.
The Sleep
Center offers discounts
to patients
who have high insurance
deductibles and would
rather pay outright for the sleep
study.
OSA can manifest differently
in different people. Some stop
breathing for several seconds
as many as 150 times over the
course of an hour. Others might
only stop breathing a few times
a night, but for several minutes at
a time.
The Owenses were experiencing
both of these problems.
“The difference in John and I
was he was experiencing instances
of apnea more often, but not for
very long,” said Mona. “I had very
few instances, but I had some that
lasted so long that my blood oxygen
level dropped to 42 percent.”
For OSA, the treatment of
choice is nightly use of a continuous
positive airway pressure
(CPAP) machine. A CPAP machine
is connected to a mask that
fits over the mouth and nose, or
just the nose, to blow air into
the throat, creating pressure that
keeps the airway open.
The Sleep Center provides
ongoing support in helping the
patient find the type of mask that
works best, and they also monitor
the results recorded nightly using
the memory chip installed in each
patient’s CPAP machine.
Since they started CPAP therapy,
the Owenses’ situation has
dramatically improved.
“I’ve gotten off of my blood
pressure pills since I started using
my CPAP,” said John. “Also,
I’m sleeping longer. I used to
sleep four hours, and that was it.
I’m sleeping pretty close to seven
hours now.” Said Mona, “My
time asleep is about the same,
but my quality of sleep is much
better. I’m remembering far fewer
dreams, I am more rested, and
I feel that I even breathe deeper
during the day than I did before I
was on the machine.
John Owens of Cookeville, left, prepares to
be fitted for a CPAP mask by sleep technician
Chris Clinton at The Sleep Center at Cookeville
Regional.
Healthy Living | Fall Issue | 2017 5