Snoring and Sleep Apnea: Sleep Well, Feel Better [Paperback]

Ralph A. Pascualy (Author), Sally Warren Soest (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 15, 2000

Snoring is no joke! Snoring is the most common sign of sleep apnea, a potentially fatal sleep disorder that affects approximately 20 million Americans. It is associated with heart disease, high blood pressure, strokes, and premature death, and is a common cause of driving accidents, yet it frequently goes undiagnosed. Snoring and Sleep Apnea is for people who have — or suspect that they have — sleep apnea. It is also written for their bed partners, families, and friends, and for health care professionals involved in sleep apnea management. The book provides answers to key questions, written in easy-to-understand terms, as well as the pros and cons of specific treatments. This extensively revised and updated third edition includes information on new surgical techniques, the treatment of children with snoring and sleep apnea problems, and new oral appliances for relief of snoring and sleep apnea.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Highly readable and practical... If you buy one book on sleep apnea, this is the one! -- Library Journal, January 2005

About the Author

Ralph Pascualy, M.D., is a leading clinician in the management of sleep disorders and the director of a major sleep disorder center at Providence Hospital in Seattle.

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Demos Health; 3 Sub edition (July 15, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1888799293
• ISBN-13: 978-1888799293
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,848,467 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

55 of 56 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Recent Overview: Honest and Direct, February 10, 2001

By 

David Kleist - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Snoring and Sleep Apnea: Sleep Well, Feel Better (Paperback)

Although my dad was a champion snorer, I never suspected that I myself had inherited a tendency toward sleep apnea. However, I've got it (moderately), and Pascualy's book has been a big help in allowing me to navigate this new medical field in which I am now an unwilling participant.

Before I went to a sleep clinic for a formal test, I read this book. It prepared me for what was to come, which was not particularly pleasant, despite disclaimers which say that the procedure is painless and non-invasive. That largely was true, but the same might be said for most enemas, and they, too, are not particularly enjoyable.

I was prescribed a CPAP (continuous positive air pressure) device, and I currently am in the midst of trying to adjust to it. To be blunt, I loathe the thing. Were I not married, I doubt that I would have the willpower to try to solve my moderate problem which, though annoying (that is, a gnawing and nearly constant fatigue), is livable. But to please her (who has endured my snoring for years), and because she does have my best interests in mind, I will persist.

The three chapters on CPAPs in this book are essential for anyone who wishes to truly solve his/her sleep apnea problem with one. There is no chapter of the support group AWAKE in my area, so Pascualy's words of encouragement and wisdom on the subject have been transformative for me. If I succeed with a CPAP, it will be because I read this book and took it to heart. Otherwise, without question, I just wouldn't bother.

I am a high-school teacher, and I have at least three colleagues who have got sleep apnea and either are undiagnosed or are in the midst of trying to troubleshoot/solve the condition. When I mentioned my dilemma to my current classes, a substantial number of students had fathers who used a CPAP. I acknowledge that this truly is a widespread problem in America and that the CPAP doubtlessly is the best solution currently available.

Read this book if you, too, are a sufferer (or the spouse of one); but be prepared for a substantial period of adjustment to the CPAP and its "magic"!!

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best book on apnea, June 24, 2002

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Snoring and Sleep Apnea: Sleep Well, Feel Better (Paperback)

Like my title says, this is the best book around on sleep apnea. The authors do a superb job of describing the symptons and treatment of sleep apnea. They also dispel common misconceptions about sleep apnea- like "thin and young people can't have it"-something which, most dr.s still believe. Unfortunately, most dr.s are very ignorant about sleep disorders, and often, it's the last thing they check for.

My only problem(s) with this book are: that it doesn't elaborate on Upper Airway Resistance Syndrome, a close cousin to apnea and hypopnea; and while it states that UPPP surgery can eliminate snoring w/o treating the underlying apnea, it doesn't explicity state that it's possible (albeit admittedly less common) to have apnea w/o snoring in the first place. Finally, IMO, the authors should have stressed the importance of heated humidifiers in CPAP treatment (a breathing machine, which is the most common treatment for apnea).

This sounds like a lot of "complaints" but the overall excellence of the book doesn't keep me from giving it the 5-stars.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good book but ...., May 11, 2002

By 

Albert Mo - See all my reviews

This review is from: Snoring and Sleep Apnea: Sleep Well, Feel Better (Paperback)

I am not a very successful CPAP user. I find this book easy for reading and technical material is converted to an interesting and well-organized book. The negative side is that it is too positive and optimistic, giving a wrong impression that CPAP is the ultimate panacea. If it can say more about the numerous and various problems that CPAP users encountered, and give more practical though not perfect advices, this book will be much better. Hope also it talks more about smart CPAP.