Another UPPP about to happen?

In the streaming CPAP and Sleep Apnea news:

03/17/05 "throws wow pros"

"Center Jeremy Newberry will undergo surgery to remove his tonsils and soft tissue in his throat on March 22 to relieve his sleep apnea. "People are dying from this," Newberry said in reference to Hall of Fame defensive end Reggie White, who died Dec. 26 of a sleep-apnea-related cause."

Sounds like another UPPP ("remove...soft tissue in his throat") is about to be performed. It's too bad that Newberry probably isn't aware of apnea message boards and the good old Search button for info about some pretty poor outcomes from UPPP surgery. He may find out too late that he'd likely be better off with just a tonsillectomy and CPAP.

Too bad...there's a football player who wisely decided to do something about his sleep apnea, but is heading in the wrong treatment direction, imho.

I'm not a doctor, though, and sure am not getting paid like the doc who carves on him will be.

Well, I personally blame the docs for this. They KNOW that the outcome of these surgeries is only short lived. Just another case of the $$$ being more important than the patient.

After I was diagnosed, they clearly told me that surgery would be very ineffective. I'm glad they didn't make me go through it only to end up on the hose anyway.

Heidi

Patients are always looking for a quick fix or a pill. Some Docs are willing to offer it to them even though it may be unlikely to work.

Before FF masks were available or good enough to work(I'm a mouth breather), about 5-6 years ago I underwent Radiofrequency treatment. This involved the doctor using a tip that passed the frequency into my soft palatte and back/base of tongue. Small burns were caused. As these burns healed, the tissue shrank causing a tightening of the tissues. I had multiple treatments, and the doctor said he'd given about all he could to the soft palatte, but I needed more than the 2 treatments I had to the tongue. At the time, insurance would not pay for this. The initial treatment cost about $2200, then if you needed any more treatments to the tongue, they came at $900 a pop. I paid for one extra, but just couldn't afford more.
When the deadener wore off, you got the most vicious, horrible sore throat that made strep look like a cake walk. My throat had these patchy white sores that looked ugly. I sprayed my throat with something to help deaden the pain, and took pain pills. There was so much swelling, that the first night after treatment, I had to sit up to sleep. If I tried to lie down, my throat completely closed. The doctor said it was best to be in the hospital the first night after treatment, but I couldn't afford that. The really bad pain was a 24 hour flaming-type pain (like a new injury or when you burn your hand) then abated to just a swollen throat that hurt a little to swallow.
This goes to show you how desperate I was for help.
At the time, before treatment, the only way I could sleep was on my stomach, with my chin on my arms or hands, head thrown back, all to open my airway enough to breathe. I even woke up sometimes on my elbows, with my arms straight up and cradling my chin on my hands. A balancing act that I would fall off of and shock my body in the process. This was hell on my back and neck.
I considered surgery and even saw a doctor about it, but he didn't tell me that it was frequently unsuccessful. I just didn't go that route because the only treatment my insurance would pay for was cpap. Plus I heard it was about one of the most painful things you can have. I tolerate pain more than the average person, but that did give me pause.
The radiofrequency treatment did what it was advertised to do. It did shrink the tissues, and I no longer had to sleep on my stomach. I've slept on my sides ever since. Early on after treatment, I even woke up a few mornings sleeping AND breathing on my back!!!!
But I noticed after a year, that the tissues were slowly relaxing again and my apnea got worse. It was a couple of years process. I am back in the Severe catagory. Even so, I don't have to stomach-sleep with head thrown back to open the airway.
I never had a study after the treatment to document how many events I had after treatment. I know I still had them, but I could tell by how much more rested I was, that it did help. I would guess, 50-60% better that first year. Even now, I'm probably 30% better.
I haven't been back to that doctor, and don't know if a person needs to go back and "fine-tune" every couple of years. I do know I didn't have 100% full treatment as the doctor said I needed several more tongue sessions that I couldn't afford.

omg, photogal...you wrote:

This goes to show you how desperate I was for help.
At the time, before treatment, the only way I could sleep was on my stomach, with my chin on my arms or hands, head thrown back, all to open my airway enough to breathe. I even woke up sometimes on my elbows, with my arms straight up and cradling my chin on my hands. A balancing act that I would fall off of and shock my body in the process. This was hell on my back and neck.

I thought I had it hard with my attempts to tilt my head back as far as possible to get air when settling in for side-sleeping back in the last years before I got on cpap. But that was nothing like the uncomfortable contortions you were having to come up with - just to try to sleep and breathe at the same time. I can't even imagine what those nights had to have been like - or the next days.

Glad you are here helping others with your great attitude, experience and good advice.