Sleepless nights? Veteran Health Indiana Sleep Clinic Can Help
Are you frequently feeling exhausted and longing for a nap during the day? Do you snore loudly, or worse, does your partner notice that you stop breathing during sleep?
According to a recent VA study, 57% of post-9/11 Veterans suffer from some form of insomnia disorder and sleep-disordered breathing is estimated to be twice as high in Veterans compared to non-Veterans.
Veterans with sleep problems don’t need to suffer alone. Veteran Health Indiana Sleep Clinic has helped thousands of Veterans achieve better sleep and better health by diagnosing and treating sleep disorder.
“Through our Sleep Study Program, we have the ability to perform sleep studies here at the medical center and for some Veterans, remotely from their home,” explained Robert Branch, Respiratory Care Practitioner.
According to Branch, the Sleep Clinic takes an integrated approach to ensure Veterans get the sleep support they need. “In some private sector services, you may be lucky to have your machine read once a year, here we make a concerted effort to monitor frequently and we also work in concert with the Veteran’s primary care team so they’re getting a full continuity of care,” Branch said. “Additionally, if they have a CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) or BIPAP (Bilevel Positive Airway Pressure) machine, they can get their machine serviced here.”
Sleep Apnea Disorder is characterized by repeated interruptions in breathing while sleeping. It can be caused by various factors, including physical blockages in the airway from relaxed throat and tongue muscles, issues with the nervous system that impact breathing regulation, genetic factors such as enlarged tonsils, and obesity. Left untreated, Sleep Apnea Disorder can contribute to stroke, kidney failure or a heart attack.
"Picture somebody choking you for 10-20 seconds, ten times an hour while you are sleeping,” said Chad Renick, Sleep Program Coordinator. “In some severe cases, individuals may experience more than 30 events per hour, so you can imagine the flight or fight response -- your blood pressure is going to up, your heart rate is going to increase, so it’s really hard on your heart over time.”
According to Sleep Lab Director, Dr. John Thomas, when assessing the severity of Sleep Apnea, two key events are measured: Apnea (the complete absence of airflow) and Hypopnea (partial airflow reduction). “The Apnea-Hypopnea Index (AHI) score used to measure these events is calculated by how long and often these interruptions occur during sleep,” Thomas said. “Higher AHI can contribute to and complicate other serious conditions like high blood pressure, heart disease, Type-2 Diabetes, liver issues, and metabolic changes,”
Although sleep apnea has been a human problem for hundreds of years, significant research and treatment developments have greatly improved treatment especially the innovation in the early 1980s of CPAP and BIPAP devices that keeps breathing airways open with a steady flow of air through a mask.
According to the Sleep Clinic team, these machines used during sleep are significantly more advanced than early models. Modern devices operate at a noise level comparable to a soft whisper. According to Branch, machines issued by VA are equipped with technology to monitor sleep data and adjust air pressure in real-time for optimal breathing comfort.
“If a Veteran in Lafayette calls and says, ‘my machine is blowing too much air,’ we can remotely access their data via Wi-Fi, and make adjustments immediately.”
With a completed sleep study, diagnosis and tailored treatment, Veteran Health Indiana Veterans are experiencing improvement in the quality of sleep and daily life.
“We have patients who say that once they’ve had it (CPAP) they can’t sleep without it because they have more energy, helps with their memory, attention to detail,” Branch said. “I’ve had a lot of patients say, ‘I’ve gotten back in the bedroom’ and that’s a good thing. (laughter).”
Veteran Health Indiana has sleep study locations at Richard L. Roudebush VA Medical Center Indianapolis, VA Clinic Bloomington, and VA Clinic Brownsburg. To find out more about the Sleep Clinic and Sleep Study program visit https://www.va.gov/indiana-health-care/programs/sleep-medicine/