My son was having a hard time staying awake in classes, and we noticed some moderate snoring at times when he slept. After talking to a few doctors, we had a sleep study done on him.
That's where they hook you up to all sorts of sensors and tell you to go to sleep, and they look for how many times you wake up while in the deepest sleep, the REM.
Sure enough, he had moderate to severe sleep apnea, which is defined by how many times in an hour sleep is interrupted by waking himself up.
The reason his brain wakes him is because when he sleeps, his muscles in his throat relax and collapse, closing the airway. For him, it is caused by the anatomy of his throat: a low palate, large tonsils, etc. The airway is very narrow, and so it doesn't take much relaxing of the muscles before they close off the airway.
One option was the C-pap machine. It creates negative pressure, which keeps the airway open. It really works, as Larrythompson says. We had that option, but it would mean a lifetime of hooking himself up to it, all the way through college and beyond.
The ENT doc thought that because of his throat anatomy, his age, and the fact that he was in very good physical condition, that he was a good candidate for surgery. Remove the tonsils, and shorted the uvula, thereby widening the airway. The doc thought it was a 90% chance that this would dramatically improve the problem. He said it might be different if he was middle age or older and overweight, but at his age/shape, surgery can really be effective.
He had the surgery last Wednesday, so we are one week post op. It was a long week, but for the most part the recovery was not a nightmare. He lost 13 pounds so far, and is now starting to get more food down.
He has to get more time behind him before we can tell if the surgery had the intended effect, because there will be post-op swelling for several more weeks as his throat heals.
But, I thought people here might benefit from knowing this experience.
Sleep apnea is not just snoring. Lots of people snore who don't have the repeated waking that defines apnea.
But long term apnea is indeed dangerous. High blood pressure is just one of the effects. Imagine spending your whole life without the benefit of the REM sleep! And imagine playing college baseball with that built in handicap.
That is why we opted for the surgery. Football season ended, and Christmas break seemed like the obvious time.
Hope this info helps others who might be in the same situation.