GREAT NEWS!!!

[josh]

I have not been on in a long time, but I have some great news to share with all of you...

My last sleep study before my MMA/GA had an AHI of 53, with 80's O2 desat. I had the MMA/GA on 8-9-2007, and had a sleep study done about 3 weeks ago. The results??

An AHI of 7!!! (That is seven)!!! With O2 desat average at 97% with a low of 93%!!!! I know I know...0-5 is "normal"...but 7 is so darn close!!!

Woo hoo!!

Oh and I have been feeling better too, in general...waking up easier, ZERO headaches (ever), never get sick any more...yay!!

I do think my sleep debt is still there though...29 years worth of disrupted sleep to catch up on.

Oh and my chin looks good too btw!

Cheers!
Josh

[ozij]

Woo- hoo, Josh!!
Thanks for coming to share that wonderful new!
O.

[kteague]

Josh, It's so good to hear from you. I was recently wondering when we'd hear from you again. The subject of that surgery came up and I thought of you. Your good report is exciting to hear. I remember how miserable you were when you first came here, and look at you now! My brother's co-worker had that surgery and said it saved his life. For those that the jaw positioning is the issue, I'm sure your story will give them hope. Thanks for stopping in. Best wishes.
Kathy

[tomjax]

I do not know how you define success, but O2 sats that reach 93 pct is still a cause for concern.
7 AHI is much better, but I would hope for better.

I hope you post back in a year for your stats at that poinit.

I wish you the best.

[tangents]

Congratulations, Josh! I hope you continue to catch up on your rest, and feel better and better. Good luck, and keep us posted.

Cathy

[Titrator]

Congratulations Josh,

It is amazing to see real progress and inspiring to see a difficult procedure pay off as well as with yours.

It sounds like you are on the very edge of getting rid of OSA. You are very close indeed. With an AHI of 7, your doctor may suspend your cpap use to see how you are feeling without it.

I respectfully disagree with Tomjax. an Sa02 of 93 is good. There is a small amount of desaturation, but if it is not connected to an arousal, then it is nothing to concern yourself with. Anything above 90 is acceptable, as long as the desat is not proceeded by an arousal.

Everyone is different when it comes to Sa02. I have seen 90 year old men with a blood oxygen level of 99% and a healthy young adult with an Sa02 of 93%. Both are in range.

Titrator Ted, RPSGT

[josh]

Thanks everyone!

I did forget to mention...the last night I used CPAP was on August 8th, 2007...per the surgeon's recommendation. Also, my sleep doctor has agreed with me to have me only go on CPAP if I'm not feeling well.

The point of the matter, the surgeon told me it could take a whole year for the swelling to go away...so it could improve even more over the next few months. Again...I feel better...my biggest complaint before was the headaches I used to get that no pain medicine could get rid of...they are GONE!

And I feel more awake, more alert than ever...even better than when I was on CPAP.

Oh and I sleep straight through the night now, I don't even get up to go pee any more!! AND I have ZERO snoring...none....its like I physically CAN'T snore.

Would I recommend this procedure? Only if the doctor advises you to get it done. And even then I would make sure they do a 3D cat scan. If you meet the conditions, and the doctor tells you he thinks you are going to be a homerun...without a doubt GO FOR IT!!! It was much less painful in my opinion over the UPPP.

Take Care!
Josh

[socknitster]

Josh I am so glad to hear this has gone so well for you as I remember that you were in a very debilitated state before the surgery. I have been told I am a good candidate for this surgery and maybe someday I will do it. Espcecially since I have seen such great progress with just a tonsilectomy.

My tonsilectomy was last July and I am still seeing slow improvement despite the fact that I am now nearly 9 months pregnant--so I can imagine that you will continue to reap the benefits of the MMA/GA surgery over the next 6 months--considering it is such an involved surgery.

And I think if I were borderline like you are and felt great I would go without the cpap too--esp if that is what my doc told me to do! If sleep is easy and uncomplicated and you feel great, why add complications. That ahi of 7 could easily be below 5 in six months and I think 90% desat is what they are looking for as a diagnostic level. 93% may not be perfect, but it isn't terribly uncommon even in healthy people without apnea from what I understand. (My sister is a cardiac nurse.)

I'm so glad you came back to report on this. I'm young (35) and have a lot of years of cpap ahead of me if I don't make some kind of change eventually. Hearing your story gives me confidence that this surgery could work for me. I'll be doing a trial of the TAP appliance after the baby is born and sleeping well to see if it helps me. If it does, my doctor says that means the MMA/GA surgery will work well for me.

Anyway, such good news to hear--report back again soon! We need to hear stories like this!

Jen