Difficulty in Sleeping, Excessive Snoring

Dear Ask The Doctor: I'm a 31 year-old male and I've always had trouble snoring. My family is worried about me, I snor on my back, on my sides, and even when I'm laying on my belly. My family have recorded my sleeping at times and I sound like a chainsaw, but I also sound like I'm having trouble geting air. My mom has sleep apnea, so I went and had a sleep study done. The person doing the study told me in the morning that I have problems and don't know what they are going to do for me. I received my results in the mail and all it said was you don't have sleep apnea with no other explainations. I always feel sleepy and rundown, my belly has increase in size, but its hard like muscle. My uncle has COPD and his is the same way and said it's that way because the way he breaths from his diaphram. I could sleep for 13 hours and still feel like I havn't slept a wink. I don't ever remember having any dreams and my snoring gets so loud it scares my kids on the otherside of the house. What do you think is the problem?

Dear Ross: Snoring is caused when the soft tissues of the airway collapse and obstruct the airway. This usually see in obese individuals and is an alarming feature of obstructive sleep apnea. It is essential  to locate the site of the problem. Snoring could be because of laxity of the soft tissue structures in the throat (tongue, uvula) , increased bulkiness of the neck tissues, and obstructed nasal airways.  You may need to visit your doctor to discuss treatment options, which include :

i) Deit and weight loss

ii) Dental appliances to stop the tongue from collapsing

iii) Surgery (uvuloplatopharyngoplasty)

iv) Pillar procedure

v) Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine