Hi.

I thought I'd start a thread here:

UARS/Upper Airway Resistance Syndrome, is a type of sleep disorder, that is NOT the same as OSA/Obstructive Sleep Apnea.

UARS patients have problems of physical narrowing in several areas relating to their upper airway (space in nostrils tends to collapse, for various reasons, &/or, there may be less than 10 mm opening behind back of tongue, &/or, turbinates may be too big, &/or there may be a very deviated septum, etc.) and CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure: air from mask forced into patient's nose/mouth, used by those with OSA) may or may not help the UARS patient.

The narrowing, may be from a genetic or non-genetic problem. Check on possible Marfan's Syndrome (a genetic problem).

Some UARS patients required multiple surgeries, to partially correct symptoms. UARS manifests (shows itself) as multiple EEG (Electo Encephalo Gram, showing brain waves) arousals during the night, from partial upper airway obstructions, leading to daytime fatigue (bigtime), leading to many other problems. Many UARS patients are NOT obese, and may never have breathing entirely stop, as happens in sleep apnea.

One patient having UARS (early 2006), suspects possible VCD (Vocal Cord Dysfunction), as a partial factor causing patient's residual problems from UARS, and suspects that the UARS may have predisposed patient to getting VCD (along with possible LPR/laryngo pharyngeal reflux, air quality problems, etc. etc.).

An excellent article by 2 doctors (many clinical observations, and sympathetic attitude) about the controversial diagnosis of the sleep disorder now called UARS, is at this link:
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/494651

The article's title is: "Upper Airway Resistance Syndrome-One Decade Later", by physicians Gang Bao and Christian Guilleminault, and article is from the medical journal called Current Opinion in Pumonary Medicine, 10(6):461-467, 2004. Copyright Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

Dr. Guilleminault, M.D. (sleep disorders expert) is at Stanford University, in California--the only sleep center that recognizes & specializes in UARS (I think).

Apparently, not only is UARS controversial, but payers (insurance
companies) don't always (if ever) recognize it, and won't even pay for cpap, when the cpap does help!

I have the above info, in my website, on webpage 5. Here's a link to my website's homepage:
http://cantbreathesuspectvcd.com

Hope the above info helps someone!

Carol

Hello Carol,

This is a great article. I saved the link and will go back later to read the entire piece. Thank you so much for posting it. In case it's of any value, an acquaintance in the Dallas area had a new procedure done by a dental surgeon - the doc inserted a few "pins" in the pharangeal soft tissue area. It has significantly reduced snoring and eased the low-level obstructions he experienced at night.

Quick procedure, in the dental chair, Novocaine, and he was able to go out to dinner that evening. Uncomfortable, but he says nothing big, a huge departure from the soft-tissue pharyngeal surgery often recommended. I don't know anything more about it yet, but since my doc just diagnosed what he termed "mild to moderate" sleep apnea, I will dig around for some additional information to talk with him about. Passing it on, fwiw.

Thank you again.

TCC

Dear TCC,

You're welcome! It's a fascinating and useful article! And thank you for your information, too!

Carol
http://cantbreathesuspectvcd.com

I'M NOT OBESED AND A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO I WAS DIAGNOSED WITH SEVERE SLEEP APNEA (I WAKE UP EVERY 2-1/2 MINUTES TO BREATHE). I HAVE TRIED TO USE THE CPAP BUT I'M ALWAYS STUFFED UP AT NIGHT AND CAN'T BREATHE THRU MY NOSE. THEREFORE, I CAN'T USE THE CPAP. I HAVE TRIED NOSE DROPS AND MY MACHINE HAS A HUMIDIFIER ON IT BUT TO NO AVEIL. I ALSO HAVE P.NEUROPATHY FOR THE PAST 6 YEARS AND THE LACK OF SLEEP SETS OFF MY FIBOMYALGIA. SO NOT ONLY ARE MY FEET AND LEGS IN A LOT OF PAIN BUT I HURT ALL OVER AND I'M EXHAUSTED ALL THE TIME AND HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO ENERGY. I'M GETTING VERY FRUSTRATED. ANY IDEAS?

Who said that you had to use that stuped nose mask i use one that covers my mouth and nose. just do a internet search for cpap masks.

I had hayfever for 40 years and the passages in my nose are now to small from the hayfever for me to use the nose mask.

It was nice to get a better understanding of this,after just getting results from sleep lab/neuro.yesterday after my 7yr.old sons sleep study done a month ago.How much does this or can affect behaviors and hyperactivity along with cognitive skills?,which on top of my son has autism/pdd and epilepsy. thank you.great site