Woke up for the first time today without a big headache

[Julie]

49er - you have a PM...

[49er]

49er - you have a PM...

Thanks, just responded.

[Lucyhere]

Enchanter,

As I told you via PM, I am very happy for you and wish you nothing but continued success. You finally have some great doctors.

To this forum - Again, there is no argument that pap therapy should be the first option for any treatment. But when it clearly hasn't worked as was obvious in the case of Enchanter, people need to move on and come up with the best option possible in their situation. It sounds like he did and why people want to continue to be the voice of negativity is beyond me.

49er

Well said 49er. I couldn't agree more!

[Thomas F.]

Enchanter,

I had all the same surgeries as you plus a couple more. I haven't used CPAP for 2 years and see no signs of apnea returning. I sleep straight thru the night with normal sleep cycles. I also sleep with cervical neck collar to keep the mouth shut, promote nose breathing and not allow tongue to fall into airway. Wish you all the best in your recovery.

[HoseCrusher]

Thomas, excellent report. Thanks for sharing.

[Lucyhere]

Thomas, excellent report. Thanks for sharing.

+1

[Omne]

Well, I can't comment on the UPPP surgery but I originally had a turbinate reduction and deviated septum fixed in 1991. The results were good and lasted several years. Eventually the tissue grew back and I had another procedure to clear the excess tissue out. That worked, less well, for another couple of years then it grew back again. I finally had a somnoplasty to improve it somewhat. Since then I just put up with chronic congestion. When I first had the surgery my ENT told me that he'd never had someone need another one. By the end of 12-13 years he told me that he had seen quite a few that built up excess sinus tissue again.

As a side note the nasal packing that's left in 24-48 hours is really uncomfortable, your ears pop every time you swallow. When I went in to have them removed he put a plastic sheet over me, had me hold a kidney dish under my chin and handed me a big wad of paper towels. Me, being the bright deductive thinker I am, said " This is going to bleed isn't it?" he said "Oh, yeah..."

[Aclyesia]

Not sure if OP is still reading the replies to this, but I'm having my tonsils removed in August (declines the UPP bc I need my uvula to speak a few languages, lol) and wasn't sure if I'd be able to wear my APAP during recovery.

Did you receive any guidance from your doctors on when to resume cpap therapy, or do they anticipate you won't need it anymore?

[ewoods]

Thanks for posting this! After two years of fighting with a CPAP machine, my doctor and I have decided to move forward with surgery (UPPP and reducing the base of my tongue). I found this post while searching for people's experiences with these kinds of procedures. I'm nervous, but excited too.

[chunkyfrog]

Good luck. Really.
Not everyone is happy with cpap; and though it is not a first choice, surgery has a few takers.
Hopefully, they will get it right for you.

[ewoods]

Thanks! I really tried with the CPAP machine, and got one of those mouth guards from my dentist recently as an alternative, and neither one is working for me. Surgery is my last resort...

[chunkyfrog]

I really wish cpap worked as well for everyone as it does for me.
Sadly, that is not the case.

[Gasper62]

I suggest that you keep the machine around, there's a fair chance that you'll need to give it a more dedicated try when/if the surgery stops being effective in treating your apnea. It apparently happens with some frequency, that the cutters sometimes fail to mention. Good luck.

[Okie bipap]

I got around 18 or 19 years out of my surgery before I ended up with a machine to help me breath while sleeping. Hope yours goes at least as well as mine did. I am not sure what you will get for pain management, but you can be sure your mouth and throat are going to be sore. I found that Chloraseptic spray helped a lot with the pain. It contains a topical anesthetic.

[Noctuary]

I wish I would have taken this route before throwing it all into "the gold standard".