San Francisco and Marin CA
We have told you in the past about sleep apnea and its associated risks. Factors that can influence your susceptibility to this serious sleep breathing disorder include your age, weight and lifestyle changes such as drinking alcohol. You may not realize, however, that certain medications can elevate your risk of sleep apnea. Your sleep apnea dentist in San Francisco takes a look at some of these medications, today on the blog.
These medications can heighten your risk of developing sleep apnea
- Antidepressants – Different categories of antidepressants can have different impacts. Tricyclic antidepressants can stimulate the appetite, which can lead to weight gain and therefore make someone more susceptible to weakened throat muscles. Taking SSRI antidepressants, which you may know by popular brand names such as Prozac, Zoloft, and Celexa, can decrease the amount of time someone spends in REM – the deepest stages of sleep – when they sleep. An individual with sleep apnea also spends significantly less time in REM than recommended.
- Steroids – Individuals who take steroids on a long-term basis are likely to gain weight because of the heightened appetite. This is especially common with patients who take prednisone, a frequently prescribed corticosteroid. Prednisone is used to treat a variety of conditions ranging from allergic reactions and arthritis to inflammatory issues.
- Depakote – Also known as valproic acid, this medication is a mood stabilizer that is used to treat seizures and bipolar disorder. It also can be used to treat migraines. As with tricyclic antidepressants and Depakote, weight gain is a common side effect.
- Sedatives – Do you take a sleep aid because you are not getting enough rest? You might be doing more harm than good. Sleep aids and other sedatives such as barbiturates can depress the nervous system, which overly relaxes the muscles, including the ones in the throat that collapse into the airway and create the blockages that occur with sleep apnea.
- Epilepsy drugs: If you or someone you love takes medication to control epileptic seizures, then you should know these prescription remedies can disrupt a sleep routine, as well as respiratory function. Issues with sleep and breathing can magnify a person’s risk of developing a sleep breathing disorder such as sleep apnea.
- Hormone therapies: Do you undergo testosterone replacement therapy (or TRT)? Perhaps you use a hormone-based contraceptive. Any form of hormonal therapy can lead to weight gain, disrupt sleep patterns or impede respiratory function. These side effects can make someone more vulnerable to sleep apnea, or, for someone who already has the disorder, exacerbate their symptoms.
- Muscle relaxers: A muscle relaxer for a shoulder issue or back pain can relax muscles anywhere in the body, including the ones in the throat. This can make it more likely someone experiences a collapsed airway, which causes the apneic events that occur for someone with sleep apnea.
- Antihistamines – The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America estimates that more than 100 million Americans suffer from allergies. If you regularly take an antihistamine such as Allegra or Zyrtec to manage your allergies, either of these medications can increase your likelihood of weight gain.
- Insulin: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention projects that nearly 12% of the American population suffers from diabetes. And many of those individuals take insulin by injection as part of their management of the disease. Diabetes can increase your risk of sleep apnea whether you do or do not take insulin. If you are diabetic, we ask you to consider scheduling a sleep study or airway screening to determine if you are also living with sleep apnea.
Treating sleep apnea in the Bay Area of California
Glen Park Dental practices sleep apnea dentistry. We can treat diagnosed cases of sleep apnea and usually have success doing so with oral appliance therapy, a minimally invasive method of therapy that has a higher rate of success than CPAP. To find out more, schedule a consultation today by calling (415) 585-1500.
