Does anyone have experience with Eric Kerizian?

[Simfish]

I know he does non-invasive surgeries before invasive ones, but the less invasive ones might (on average) be less effective and my insurance doesn't cover it

my insurance does cover a local surgeon who does UPPP, but I've heard SO much bad about UPPP (like permanent difficulties in swallowing) that I'd prefer to try anything before that (like ESP).

also looking at https://www.reddit.com/r/SleepApnea/com ... gue_based/

[ChicagoGranny]

I've heard SO much bad about UPPP (like permanent difficulties in swallowing)

It's rarely a cure. My ENT used to do UPPPs years ago. He quit doing them, except in desperate cases, because most of his patients still had a significant level of OSA.

[zonker]

I know he does non-invasive surgeries before invasive ones, but the less invasive ones might (on average) be less effective and my insurance doesn't cover it

my insurance does cover a local surgeon who does UPPP, but I've heard SO much bad about UPPP (like permanent difficulties in swallowing) that I'd prefer to try anything before that (like ESP).

also looking at https://www.reddit.com/r/SleepApnea/com ... gue_based/

may i suggest, instead of looking at alternatives, you post some charts from the free software oscar? that way, folks can help you get dialed in on your therapy.

good luck!

[Simfish]

What about radiofrequency ablation of tongue and palate? they're much less intrusive/painful, but a doctor said it has limited effectiveness.

I keep tearing off my CPAP mask, making the diagnostics much more challenging

[zonker]

I keep tearing off my CPAP mask, making the diagnostics much more challenging

if you want to give us some info about what machine, what mask and so forth, maybe we could help you.

i don't mean to be a smart ass, but this is cpaptalk.com. it's going to be much more likely that you'll get help with using your cpap than you will getting advice on other therapies.

good luck!

[Janknitz]

The challenge here is that most of us have chosen CPAP over surgery. So you are asking a biased crowd.

Surgery, even non-invasive, can be painful, expensive, have life-long side effects that can't be reversed, and may or may not be "successful".

When talking to a surgeon, be sure you get that surgeon's definition of successful, because it rarely means no CPAP. It usually means a 50% reduction in CPAP pressure is required to maintain the airway. That's fine if your AHI is 10, not so great if your AHI is 80.

OTOH, SOME people do very well with surgical intervention. Will that be you??? Who knows?

What have you tried to stop yourself from ripping off the mask? Is it worth it to you to work on this aspect? It's OK to say no, you do you.

You might be ripping off the mask due to air hunger, if the settings are not optimized for your needs. Data might help us see what's happening. It doesn't have to be a full night's worth of data, just enough to see what might precipitate ripping the mask off.