Sleep disorders

Sleep apnea can be a serious issue, stopping and restarting your breathing on a continuous basis as you sleep. The most common symptoms of sleep apnea are loud snoring and feeling tired even after a good night’s sleep.

Other potential symptoms include:

• Awakening with a dry mouth
• Difficulty paying attention while awake
• Episodes in which you stop breathing during sleep
• Gasping for air during sleep
• Irritability
• Morning headaches

If you experience certain symptoms that affect your sleep, our specialists may recommend a sleep study to diagnose or rule out sleep apnea. These noninvasive tests are performed while you sleep, and monitor the activity in your body, including your cardiovascular and respiratory systems.

To treat sleep apnea, we offer a minimally invasive outpatient procedure called upper airway stimulation therapy. During the procedure, a specialist implants an upper airway stimulation system under the skin of your neck and chest through three small incisions. Most people return home the same day, and are able to resume normal, non-strenuous activities within a few days. We will educate you about the system before activating the device.

It is important to note that you must meet certain criteria to be eligible for upper airway stimulation therapy. Our team will be happy to discuss these requirements with you.

Pediatric care for sleep disorders

At our pediatric sleep center, we also perform sleep disorder treatment and testing for children. This facility is located in the Rapides Regional Medical Center Specialty Clinic, and we conduct pediatric outpatient sleep studies on Monday and Wednesday nights.