Why your Headache Medicine isn’t Working

Serving areas of Okemos, Lansing, and East Lansing, MI

Nothing can spoil your day quite like a headache. Millions of Americans live with chronic headaches. Are you one of them? If so, you probably have tried all kinds of ways to find relief: drinking plenty of water, avoiding caffeine, taking vitamins, exercise, meditation, the list goes on. Unfortunately, some people try all types of remedies for their headaches but never find relief. If this sounds like you or someone you love, then you should see a dentist in Okemos like Dr. Christine Tenaglia, to see if your chronic headaches might be caused by obstructive sleep apnea.

See if you’re dealing with any of these symptoms, in addition to regularly occurring headaches:

• Do you always feel tired, even after a full night’s rest or even going to bed early?
• Does it seem like you’re always out of energy?
• Do you have difficulty concentrating?
• Does your mate or family members complain about your snoring, or tossing and turning in your sleep? 

If you can answer yes to any of these questions, then your headaches actually could be caused by a serious sleep-breathing disorder known as obstructive sleep apnea.

Snoring is no big deal… right?

Wrong. When you snore, the sound you hear comes from the vibration of soft tissues in your throat that obstruct your breathing while you are asleep. Someone who snores is more likely to engage in mouth breathing, a more inefficient way of breathing that can lower oxygen levels in your system. This diminished oxygen quantity could be contributing, in part, to your headaches. Snoring also is the major warning sign of sleep apnea.

Sleep apnea is serious

Even though you might never consciously wake during your snoring episodes, you aren’t sleeping well. A person with sleep apnea experiences blockages in their airway that either make breathing more difficult or completely restricted. Oxygen levels drop, and your brain signals your body to wake up and resume breathing. Each time this happens, your sleep cycle is disrupted, depriving you of the restoration and regeneration that occur during the deepest stages of sleep. Someone with an advanced, untreated case of sleep apnea experiences these attacks hundreds of times per hour each night. Living with sleep apnea also affects your cognitive ability. Over time, untreated sleep apnea raises your risk of several chronic, potentially deadly medical conditions including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and stroke, as well as certain forms of cancer. Patients with sleep apnea also report living with all kinds of physical aches and pains—headaches included.

Here’s how your dentist can help

If you’re experiencing any combination of the conditions listed above, you should come in to be screened for sleep apnea in Okemos at Tenaglia Smiles. If a sleep breathing disorder is detected, we can provide relief through a course of oral appliance therapy. This entails providing you with a specially designed oral appliance that is customized to fit your mouth and will reposition your jaw, helping you maintain the proper airflow throughout the night and prevent the airway obstructions that cause sleep apnea incidents. This also will alleviate any other symptoms that have developed from your sleep breathing disorder, such as headaches.

If you are looking for a natural way to treat headaches, or want to find out why your headache medicine isn’t working, consider scheduling an appointment for a sleep apnea evaluation. To schedule an appointment, please call (517) 347-6733. Tenaglia Smiles welcomes patients of Okemos, Lansing, and East Lansing.