Not Trying to Stir Up Trouble...But...

General Discussion on any topic relating to CPAP and/or Sleep Apnea.
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archangle
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Re: Not Trying to Stir Up Trouble...But...

Post by archangle » Mon Jun 29, 2015 3:54 am

Re: Tonsils

It might be trite, but consider whether tonsil surgery or ablation is a good idea for you even if it didn't affect your sleep apnea. There are other affects to enlarged tonsils.

Re: Retarded Doctor

LOL. I was thinking the same thing, but am more politically correct. In all seriousness, I think that should be considered, but I think there may be benefits for CPAP in "mild" patients that may not be that obvious in lab studies. CPAP doesn't have many risks like other therapies. You can also stop it at any time and probably not be worse than if you hadn't ever done CPAP.

Miild apneacs often get worse over time. If you tell someone that they don't need to treat their apnea, they might be less likely to get it later when they DO need it.

Re: not feeling good enough

I find I feel better when I raise my minimum pressure a bit above where my APAP wants to leave my pressure. Even though it doesn't affect my AHI, I feel better. Maybe it's flow rate or RERA or some such.

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corvallisgrace75
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Re: Not Trying to Stir Up Trouble...But...

Post by corvallisgrace75 » Mon Jun 29, 2015 7:15 am

Sheriff Buford wrote:Goof: shame on you! Global warming causes sleep apnea... along with everything else.

Sheriff
LOL! Which came first? The chicken or the egg? I think that's the real question here. Y'all are cracking me up.
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corvallisgrace75
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Re: Not Trying to Stir Up Trouble...But...

Post by corvallisgrace75 » Mon Jun 29, 2015 7:21 am

archangle wrote:Re: Tonsils

It might be trite, but consider whether tonsil surgery or ablation is a good idea for you even if it didn't affect your sleep apnea. There are other affects to enlarged tonsils.

Re: Retarded Doctor

LOL. I was thinking the same thing, but am more politically correct. In all seriousness, I think that should be considered, but I think there may be benefits for CPAP in "mild" patients that may not be that obvious in lab studies. CPAP doesn't have many risks like other therapies. You can also stop it at any time and probably not be worse than if you hadn't ever done CPAP.

Miild apneacs often get worse over time. If you tell someone that they don't need to treat their apnea, they might be less likely to get it later when they DO need it.

Re: not feeling good enough

I find I feel better when I raise my minimum pressure a bit above where my APAP wants to leave my pressure. Even though it doesn't affect my AHI, I feel better. Maybe it's flow rate or RERA or some such.
Thanks, archangle! You're very right in saying that there may be benefits to using the CPAP that aren't obvious in lab studies. And I agree that there aren't the same types of risks as other therapies. At least I'm not popping another pill!

As for the tonsil issue-- I'm going to see an ENT and ask what he/she thinks. I'm merely curious to know what they may have to say. If they're scalpel-happy, I'll certainly back away. But since I received the referral, I might as well see what the doctor's thoughts are about it. Doesn't mean I will stop using the CPAP. There may be benefits to getting them out that have nothing to do with sleep apnea. Without getting into too much detail, I've heard some pretty gnarly things happen to folks who have large tonsils. Things getting lodged down in that area....okay, enough. I'm grossing myself out. Anyway, with that, have a great day.
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tan
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Re: Not Trying to Stir Up Trouble...But...

Post by tan » Mon Jun 29, 2015 6:01 pm

corvallisgrace75 wrote: As for the tonsil issue-- I'm going to see an ENT and ask what he/she thinks. I'm merely curious to know what they may have to say. If they're scalpel-happy, I'll certainly back away. But since I received the referral, I might as well see what the doctor's thoughts are about it. Doesn't mean I will stop using the CPAP. There may be benefits to getting them out that have nothing to do with sleep apnea. Without getting into too much detail, I've heard some pretty gnarly things happen to folks who have large tonsils. Things getting lodged down in that area....okay, enough. I'm grossing myself out. Anyway, with that, have a great day.
When I first approached an ENT about my sleep apnea over 6 years ago, he was happy to do a number of surgeries on my tonsils, uvula, and nose both inside (deviated septum) and outside (widen nostrils). After seemingly exhausting everything with CPAP second time, I visited my ENT 6 month ago to consider surgery again. Surprisingly, he suggested that I have a nose job only and probably a dental device to keep my jaw forward. Fortunately, right after that second visit, I miraculously made VPAP work. Yet my ENT's change of approach left me wondering.

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corvallisgrace75
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Re: Not Trying to Stir Up Trouble...But...

Post by corvallisgrace75 » Mon Jun 29, 2015 6:20 pm

tan wrote:
corvallisgrace75 wrote: As for the tonsil issue-- I'm going to see an ENT and ask what he/she thinks. I'm merely curious to know what they may have to say. If they're scalpel-happy, I'll certainly back away. But since I received the referral, I might as well see what the doctor's thoughts are about it. Doesn't mean I will stop using the CPAP. There may be benefits to getting them out that have nothing to do with sleep apnea. Without getting into too much detail, I've heard some pretty gnarly things happen to folks who have large tonsils. Things getting lodged down in that area....okay, enough. I'm grossing myself out. Anyway, with that, have a great day.
When I first approached an ENT about my sleep apnea over 6 years ago, he was happy to do a number of surgeries on my tonsils, uvula, and nose both inside (deviated septum) and outside (widen nostrils). After seemingly exhausting everything with CPAP second time, I visited my ENT 6 month ago to consider surgery again. Surprisingly, he suggested that I have a nose job only and probably a dental device to keep my jaw forward. Fortunately, right after that second visit, I miraculously made VPAP work. Yet my ENT's change of approach left me wondering.
I'm sorry, tan. It sounds like you've had a rough go of things and have been put through a lot of unnecessary sh!t. I'm certainly not one to argue about the flaws of some of the doctors out there. I know that I have to experience things on my own and for myself. My reality is that the CPAP is working fine, and I'd let an ENT know this. But that doesn't mean that I wouldn't at least go and see what the ENT has to say. Going to different specialists for various things over the years has certainly made me more cautious about who I trust. I cannot base my decisions on the experiences of others when there are so many experiences out there, both good and bad. We shall see. I'm very glad that your VPAP works.
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tan
Posts: 565
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Re: Not Trying to Stir Up Trouble...But...

Post by tan » Mon Jun 29, 2015 6:49 pm

corvallisgrace75 wrote:
tan wrote:
corvallisgrace75 wrote: As for the tonsil issue-- I'm going to see an ENT and ask what he/she thinks. I'm merely curious to know what they may have to say. If they're scalpel-happy, I'll certainly back away. But since I received the referral, I might as well see what the doctor's thoughts are about it. Doesn't mean I will stop using the CPAP. There may be benefits to getting them out that have nothing to do with sleep apnea. Without getting into too much detail, I've heard some pretty gnarly things happen to folks who have large tonsils. Things getting lodged down in that area....okay, enough. I'm grossing myself out. Anyway, with that, have a great day.
When I first approached an ENT about my sleep apnea over 6 years ago, he was happy to do a number of surgeries on my tonsils, uvula, and nose both inside (deviated septum) and outside (widen nostrils). After seemingly exhausting everything with CPAP second time, I visited my ENT 6 month ago to consider surgery again. Surprisingly, he suggested that I have a nose job only and probably a dental device to keep my jaw forward. Fortunately, right after that second visit, I miraculously made VPAP work. Yet my ENT's change of approach left me wondering.
I'm sorry, tan. It sounds like you've had a rough go of things and have been put through a lot of unnecessary sh!t. I'm certainly not one to argue about the flaws of some of the doctors out there. I know that I have to experience things on my own and for myself. My reality is that the CPAP is working fine, and I'd let an ENT know this. But that doesn't mean that I wouldn't at least go and see what the ENT has to say. Going to different specialists for various things over the years has certainly made me more cautious about who I trust. I cannot base my decisions on the experiences of others when there are so many experiences out there, both good and bad. We shall see. I'm very glad that your VPAP works.
Oh, no, I re-read my original post. Let me clarify myself a bit: my ENT was happy to offer a lot of shit, but I declined it due to financial considerations and left my apnea/UARS untreated for I couldn't make my CPAP work then either. A year ago, having been eventually fed up of being sleepy and tired, I decided to treat my OSA/UARS, APAP worked for about two months and then everything went back to be normally bad, so I visited my ENT again (highly recommended doctor, by the way) and he said that only nose job was necessary, nothing else of what he had originally indicated. It was a week later, then I found the right settings for my VPAP and keep my mouth from drying out and my nostrils from collapsing. Tada, another xPAP disciple was born.

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corvallisgrace75
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Re: Not Trying to Stir Up Trouble...But...

Post by corvallisgrace75 » Mon Jun 29, 2015 7:22 pm

tan wrote:
corvallisgrace75 wrote:
tan wrote:
corvallisgrace75 wrote: As for the tonsil issue-- I'm going to see an ENT and ask what he/she thinks. I'm merely curious to know what they may have to say. If they're scalpel-happy, I'll certainly back away. But since I received the referral, I might as well see what the doctor's thoughts are about it. Doesn't mean I will stop using the CPAP. There may be benefits to getting them out that have nothing to do with sleep apnea. Without getting into too much detail, I've heard some pretty gnarly things happen to folks who have large tonsils. Things getting lodged down in that area....okay, enough. I'm grossing myself out. Anyway, with that, have a great day.
When I first approached an ENT about my sleep apnea over 6 years ago, he was happy to do a number of surgeries on my tonsils, uvula, and nose both inside (deviated septum) and outside (widen nostrils). After seemingly exhausting everything with CPAP second time, I visited my ENT 6 month ago to consider surgery again. Surprisingly, he suggested that I have a nose job only and probably a dental device to keep my jaw forward. Fortunately, right after that second visit, I miraculously made VPAP work. Yet my ENT's change of approach left me wondering.
I'm sorry, tan. It sounds like you've had a rough go of things and have been put through a lot of unnecessary sh!t. I'm certainly not one to argue about the flaws of some of the doctors out there. I know that I have to experience things on my own and for myself. My reality is that the CPAP is working fine, and I'd let an ENT know this. But that doesn't mean that I wouldn't at least go and see what the ENT has to say. Going to different specialists for various things over the years has certainly made me more cautious about who I trust. I cannot base my decisions on the experiences of others when there are so many experiences out there, both good and bad. We shall see. I'm very glad that your VPAP works.
Oh, no, I re-read my original post. Let me clarify myself a bit: my ENT was happy to offer a lot of shit, but I declined it due to financial considerations and left my apnea/UARS untreated for I couldn't make my CPAP work then either. A year ago, having been eventually fed up of being sleepy and tired, I decided to treat my OSA/UARS, APAP worked for about two months and then everything went back to be normally bad, so I visited my ENT again (highly recommended doctor, by the way) and he said that only nose job was necessary, nothing else of what he had originally indicated. It was a week later, then I found the right settings for my VPAP and keep my mouth from drying out and my nostrils from collapsing. Tada, another xPAP disciple was born.
Haha! Yeah, I guess they're always happy to offer a lot of shit. I'm glad that you finally reached a place where your equipment is working for you!
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SleepyBear83
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Re: Not Trying to Stir Up Trouble...But...

Post by SleepyBear83 » Mon Jul 06, 2015 12:40 am

Hey Grace,

Have you been to the ENT yet? How did it go?

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Morbius
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Re: Not Trying to Stir Up Trouble...But...

Post by Morbius » Mon Jul 06, 2015 6:06 am

corvallisgrace75 wrote:...I was found to have 10 awakenings/hour. My sleep doctor told me that this was considered to be "moderate". However, upon doing further research, I learned that my sleep apnea is mild.
corvallisgrace75 wrote:That first night of the sleep study was one of the most awful nights of sleep I have ever had. I had just been put on a new medication and hadn't been sleeping very well to begin with.
This thread appears to be using "Awakenings" and "AHI" interchangeably, but they are not. An "awakening" is "EEG largely alpha for >15 seconds of a 30-second epoch". If your sleep was
one of the most awful nights of sleep I have ever had
then it is conceivable that you could have had
10 awakenings/hour
but not all of them due to SDB.

However, perhaps your physician was using that terminology as a means of simplifying the explanation (although "arousals" may have been the more technically appropriate term).