New to Forum

LarryJ · Post by **LarryJ** » Wed Feb 02, 2005 2:14 pm

Hello All,
I just came accross this site and thought i would post. I'm 34 and suffer from moderate to severe sleep apnea. I have gone through the nasal surgery which didn't help much due to the fact that i am a mouth breather, i also did the sleep study and now since November use a cpap. The cpap worked out great for the first month but soon became a nuissance when sleeping (I use a full face mask) I would and still do wake up feeling like im being suffocated and the machine is maxed out pressure wise. I often wake with the mask off but dont recall consiously taking it off. I'm now scheduled to have my tonsils (which are very large) my back soft pallete ect. removed by laser in April. My question is, has anyone here had this surgery and did it help, if so how? Also how was the recovery from the surgery?

Thank you in advance,
Larry

chrisp · Post by **chrisp** » Wed Feb 02, 2005 3:56 pm

Larry ,
I never had surgery. The first ENT I visited wanted to cut. The second laughed and said surgery wouldn't help me. My GP said Surgeons get paid to cut . No cut. No pay. I still visit the second ENT regularly. He still says no to surgery. We all have to believe what we choose and ultimately decide for ourselves.
Is surgery right for you? Don't know. Have you had a second opinion ?
I certainly recommend one.

Good luck whatever your choice.

Cheers,

Chris

wading thru the muck! · Post by **wading thru the muck!** » Wed Feb 02, 2005 4:06 pm

Larry,

You probably need surgery and a cpap. My guess is your obstructions were why your pressure was maxed out. The surgery may not cure you, but hopefuly it help to moderate your pressure requirements.

Larry · Post by **Larry** » Wed Feb 02, 2005 7:10 pm

chrisp wrote:Larry ,
I never had surgery. The first ENT I visited wanted to cut. The second laughed and said surgery wouldn't help me. My GP said Surgeons get paid to cut . No cut. No pay. I still visit the second ENT regularly. He still says no to surgery. We all have to believe what we choose and ultimately decide for ourselves.
Is surgery right for you? Don't know. Have you had a second opinion ?
I certainly recommend one.

Good luck whatever your choice.

Cheers,

Chris

My ENT first said no to taking out my tonsils, but then my GP said that they are very large and will at least help with the cpap if they are removed. When I went back to my ENT and told him about me wanting my tonsils out he said he would do that but instead of repeat surgeries he would also take out my part of my soft pallete and uvula (sp?) as they are also adding to the air blockage when i sleep, then i will go back for another sleep study.

chrisp · Post by **chrisp** » Wed Feb 02, 2005 7:17 pm

"would also take out my part of my soft pallete and uvula"

Wow , how many people have you got in there ? LOL Whose did you leave in ? I'd tell him to take the other guys part out. That might cure your apnea ! LOL

Sorry , I couldn't resist.

Cheers,

Chris

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Wed Feb 02, 2005 7:35 pm

chrisp wrote:"would also take out my part of my soft pallete and uvula"

Wow , how many people have you got in there ? LOL Whose did you leave in ? I'd tell him to take the other guys part out. That might cure your apnea ! LOL

Sorry , I couldn't resist.

Cheers,

Chris

See what happens when you type too fast. LOL

LarryJ · Post by **LarryJ** » Wed Feb 02, 2005 7:37 pm

Anonymous wrote:
chrisp wrote:"would also take out my part of my soft pallete and uvula"

Wow , how many people have you got in there ? LOL Whose did you leave in ? I'd tell him to take the other guys part out. That might cure your apnea ! LOL

Sorry , I couldn't resist.

Cheers,

Chris
See what happens when you type too fast. LOL

You forget to log in thats what happens

LarryJ · Post by **LarryJ** » Thu Feb 03, 2005 7:40 am

After more research here and on the net I'm not sure that I still want the surgery. I think I will give the cpap more time and also try a different mask, I use a mirage ff series 1 and just ordered a series 2. Has anyone else made this same change?

PS- I'm still concerned about my large tonsils and what effect they may have on my apnea.

Thank You,
Larry

Janelle · Post by **Janelle** » Thu Feb 03, 2005 9:46 am

I read one article before my last visit to my ENT where she again pushed the removal of soft palate, uvula and repair of my deviated septum. It said that after CPAP therapy for several months, because you were no longer snoring the soft palate was able to repair itself and resume its normal strength instead of hanging. I mentioned this to her and she agreed it was true. So I will see her again after 6 months of CPAP and see if there are any results. I really do NOT want the surgery because of the extreme pain for 2 weeks, and because of the low success rate in terms of long term gain. Also I've talked to those that had it and they said the ridge left at the back of the palate causes dry food to get stuck and makes things difficult to swallow.

I'm doing well on CPAP, my pressures are relatively low and I adjusted quite rapidly to all-night mask wearing.

If it ain't broke why fix it?

sharonokc · Post by **sharonokc** » Thu Feb 03, 2005 10:24 am

I had my tonsils and adenoids removed after several years on cpap. I found out at age 27 one has to spend the night in hospital after a t&a. Other than sleep studies (which are considered outpatient) this horrible night is the only one I have spent in the hospital.

I would research on the medical sites the soft palate and uvula situation. That sounds scary.

Tell us if correcting the deviated septum helps. I am interested in that.

However removing the tonsils did not "cure" my sleep apnea, or even let me lower my pressure. The number of earaches and sore throats and consumption of antibiotics decreased by at least 90% thought!

LarryJ · Post by **LarryJ** » Thu Feb 03, 2005 11:58 am

sharonokc wrote:I had my tonsils and adenoids removed after several years on cpap. I found out at age 27 one has to spend the night in hospital after a t&a. Other than sleep studies (which are considered outpatient) this horrible night is the only one I have spent in the hospital.

I would research on the medical sites the soft palate and uvula situation. That sounds scary.

Tell us if correcting the deviated septum helps. I am interested in that.

However removing the tonsils did not "cure" my sleep apnea, or even let me lower my pressure. The number of earaches and sore throats and consumption of antibiotics decreased by at least 90% thought!

The nasal surgery did nothing in my opinion due to the fact that I am a "mouth breather" during sleep so breathing better throught my nose is a non factor.

Big Snore · Post by **Big Snore** » Thu Feb 03, 2005 12:56 pm

i had the deviated septum surgery, and it worked great!! now my reason for getting it done was so I could use a nasal mask rather than a full face. I now sleep through the whole night with my mirage vista!!!!

LarryJ · Post by **LarryJ** » Thu Feb 03, 2005 1:09 pm

Big Snore wrote:i had the deviated septum surgery, and it worked great!! now my reason for getting it done was so I could use a nasal mask rather than a full face. I now sleep through the whole night with my mirage vista!!!!

I tried a chin strap so I could use a nose mask but I was still forcing my mouth open during sleep so I'm forced to use a full face mask.