Pillar Procedure vs Somnoplasty

[Vespagigi]

Hi, everyone. Well two years into this, the CPAP is in the closet-don't ask. The mouthpiece has brought my number down from 45 to 13, quite a big jump. However, I am not sleeping well and am not dreaming- and still have daytime sleepiness. When the doctors ask me how I am, I reply, "Like 3 of the 7 Dwarfs- Dopey, Sleepy and Grumpy". The next step is to bring the numbers down even more with some procedures plus still using the mouthpiece. I weigh 107 and keep being told that I don't fit the profile. However....First is Somnoplasty on the nasal turbinates, then coblation (3 seperate treatments) at the base of tongue ( I have felt my tongue slip back and block off the airway) and for the palate, either the Pillar Procedure or Somnoplasty on the soft palate and uvula. The doctor said that the choice is mine, although he does a lot of Pillar Procedures with great success. I had to do a lot of detective work to find a doctor in my state of Forida who is up on the latest treatments. This doctor, 250 miles away, trained at Stanford and is still associated with the doctors and clinic there. Can anyone give me info about each procedure so that I can make my decision based on actual experience? Thank you all so much, Dopey, Sleepy and Grumpy

[Snoredog]

Hi, everyone. Well two years into this, the CPAP is in the closet-don't ask. The mouthpiece has brought my number down from 45 to 13, quite a big jump. However, I am not sleeping well and am not dreaming- and still have daytime sleepiness. When the doctors ask me how I am, I reply, "Like 3 of the 7 Dwarfs- Dopey, Sleepy and Grumpy". The next step is to bring the numbers down even more with some procedures plus still using the mouthpiece. I weigh 107 and keep being told that I don't fit the profile. However....First is Somnoplasty on the nasal turbinates, then coblation (3 seperate treatments) at the base of tongue ( I have felt my tongue slip back and block off the airway) and for the palate, either the Pillar Procedure or Somnoplasty on the soft palate and uvula. The doctor said that the choice is mine, although he does a lot of Pillar Procedures with great success. I had to do a lot of detective work to find a doctor in my state of Forida who is up on the latest treatments. This doctor, 250 miles away, trained at Stanford and is still associated with the doctors and clinic there. Can anyone give me info about each procedure so that I can make my decision based on actual experience? Thank you all so much, Dopey, Sleepy and Grumpy

I would check over on the treatments for CPAP rejects:

http://www.talkaboutsleep.com/message-b ... m.php?f=10

This is the part that most seeking alternative treatments miss, they have a AHI of 45 or more which is SEVERE and they attempt to treat it with a therapy which has been shown only to address Mild to Moderate OSA which is less than a AHI=30.

So the result is you spent all that money and you are back to square one seeking yet another alternative treatment. So I would head over to TAS with all the treatments you have already had you should be a shoe-in for the Pillar cure (or broke trying).

[pillarpaul]

Have you checked out the web site of the company that invented the Pillar Procedure? It's http://www.restoremedical.com. At the top is "Find the Doctor" which can help you search by your zip code for doctors authorized to do the procedure. Other than that, I can't address if it works or not, just that I too have researched this as a possible option to the cpap. Good luck - let us know.

Paul

[Guest]

Hi Vespagigi.......How do you know you're not dreaming? Do you mean you don't remember any of your dreams? There is a complex relationship between OSA'ers and dreaming. Since you only remember dreams if you wake up while having one, not remembering any dreams could mean that you're sleeping better than you were pre-xPAP. Also, certain antidepressants suppress dreams. Finally, the closest thing to fitting a profile for OSA is having an oropharynx that is not condusive to breathing . Weight can play a role in some people, but the biggest risk is genetic.......it's how the airway is built.