Just had Septoplasty & Turbinectomy - anyone here who can experience share what this has meant for their CPAP therapy?

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Slobdiddy
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Just had Septoplasty & Turbinectomy - anyone here who can experience share what this has meant for their CPAP therapy?

Post by Slobdiddy » Mon Mar 27, 2023 10:36 am

After starting out with APAP for a couple of weeks (Resmed Autoset 11 with nasal pillows) as a total newbie, I realised I had only solved one half of the “good night’s sleep” equation as I continued to suffer with really bad nasal congestion. One week ago I got Septoplasty & Turbinectomy surgery to address my nasal congestion. I had a deviated septum as a result of getting hit in the face with a cricket bat as a kid whilst “keeping wicket” and should have got this fixed years ago.

For me, even the strongest congestion meds only remain effective for around 5 hours and then I either needed to re-medicate or simply cut my sleep short and get up early. Even though my sleep has been shorter than ideal, since starting with the Resmed 11, my AHI is mostly around the 2 level which I understand is OK .

I’m very interested to hear from any other forum users who have had Septoplasty & Turbinectomy surgery (or other interventions to relieve significant nasal congestion), and what this has done for their CPAP/APAP experience. Happy to experience share when I get through the recovery - although doc’s orders are to avoid my Resemed for 3 weeks after the procedure because even the pressure of the nasal pillows could impact the Septum healing process. I’m hoping that my effective operating pressure range will end up dropping as once I get to about 13 I find breathing uncomfortable and wake up.

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ChicagoGranny
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Re: Just had Septoplasty & Turbinectomy - anyone here who can experience share what this has meant for their CPAP therap

Post by ChicagoGranny » Mon Mar 27, 2023 10:54 am

Gramps had turbinectomy and septum correction about 20 years ago. He says it was the best thing he ever did for himself - wonderful results. He says not only did it make CPAP easier, but he also breathes better during the day.

He also got a warning not to use CPAP for thirty days. He ignored it and never skipped a day with CPAP. A few mornings he had to clean a little blood out of his FFM. Everything healed well and surprisingly quickly.

Notgivingupagain
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Re: Just had Septoplasty & Turbinectomy - anyone here who can experience share what this has meant for their CPAP therap

Post by Notgivingupagain » Mon Mar 27, 2023 11:38 am

I had both, a million years ago, as well as an Uvulectomy. None of it did any good.

Just my experience. Hopefully you will see better results.
Any help greatly appreciated! NOT GIVING UP AGAIN :cry:

Slobdiddy
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Re: Just had Septoplasty & Turbinectomy - anyone here who can experience share what this has meant for their CPAP therap

Post by Slobdiddy » Mon Mar 27, 2023 1:29 pm

ChicagoGranny wrote:
Mon Mar 27, 2023 10:54 am
Gramps had turbinectomy and septum correction about 20 years ago. He says it was the best thing he ever did for himself - wonderful results. He says not only did it make CPAP easier, but he also breathes better during the day.

He also got a warning not to use CPAP for thirty days. He ignored it and never skipped a day with CPAP. A few mornings he had to clean a little blood out of his FFM. Everything healed well and surprisingly quickly.
This is great to hear and I too am hoping for great things. Things got so bad that I almost had one nostril completely sealed. I think CPAP would only be feasible for full mask wearers - not nasal masks.

The downside of this for me is the difficulty sleeping and waking up gasping. Can't be good! Hoping to get the splints removed Friday so have 4 more sleeps with limited nose breathing to put up with!

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lazarus
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Re: Just had Septoplasty & Turbinectomy - anyone here who can experience share what this has meant for their CPAP therap

Post by lazarus » Mon Mar 27, 2023 1:34 pm

Never had it done, myself.

For some it makes PAP use easier in practical ways. And for some it makes it a little easier for an APAP to assess the status of the airway based on the shape of the flow curve. For others the primary benefit is that the range of effective PAP pressures can tend to be similar all year long instead of varying a lot depending on allergy season and other seasonal-related sinus irritations.

But results vary a lot, as can be seen by the preceding posters.

Ideally, such surgeries can lessen negative pressures deeper in the airway so that the severity of OSA can be lessened as there is less tendency for breathing in to cause narrowing of the airway as often or as severely. Doesn't always work that way, but it can.

May you get significant benefit. And may you heal quickly.

I applaud your bravery, since I'm mostly a big chicken when it comes to knife stuff.
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Okie bipap
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Re: Just had Septoplasty & Turbinectomy - anyone here who can experience share what this has meant for their CPAP therap

Post by Okie bipap » Mon Mar 27, 2023 7:05 pm

I had my surgery done several years before I started using my bilevel machine. I was able to breath much easier through my nose with the splints in place than I could prior to the surgery. I had this done in conjunction with UPPP surgery and it kept me from needing a machine for more than fifteen years.

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Slobdiddy
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Re: Just had Septoplasty & Turbinectomy - anyone here who can experience share what this has meant for their CPAP therap

Post by Slobdiddy » Tue Mar 28, 2023 5:00 pm

Okie bipap wrote:
Mon Mar 27, 2023 7:05 pm
I had my surgery done several years before I started using my bilevel machine. I was able to breath much easier through my nose with the splints in place than I could prior to the surgery. I had this done in conjunction with UPPP surgery and it kept me from needing a machine for more than fifteen years.
Interesting stuff. From what I have read on this and another forum, Septoplasty + Tubinectomy seem to produce good results in pretty much every case, but UPPP and soft palette surgery seem to be a little hit and miss. My ENT doc won’t consider UPPP or messing with my soft palette until I have got marathon fit again as he says that throat and mouth related “stuff” responds to weight and fitness efforts, whereas nasal issues do not and either need or do not need a surgical intervention.

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Okie bipap
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Re: Just had Septoplasty & Turbinectomy - anyone here who can experience share what this has meant for their CPAP therap

Post by Okie bipap » Tue Mar 28, 2023 5:59 pm

I had a very badly deviated septum that prevented me from breathing through my nose if I had even the least bit of congestion.

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Lane101
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Re: Just had Septoplasty & Turbinectomy - anyone here who can experience share what this has meant for their CPAP therap

Post by Lane101 » Fri Mar 31, 2023 2:22 pm

Slobdiddy wrote:
Mon Mar 27, 2023 10:36 am
After starting out with APAP for a couple of weeks (Resmed Autoset 11 with nasal pillows) as a total newbie, I realised I had only solved one half of the “good night’s sleep” equation as I continued to suffer with really bad nasal congestion. One week ago I got Septoplasty & Turbinectomy surgery to address my nasal congestion. I had a deviated septum as a result of getting hit in the face with a cricket bat as a kid whilst “keeping wicket” and should have got this fixed years ago.

For me, even the strongest congestion meds only remain effective for around 5 hours and then I either needed to re-medicate or simply cut my sleep short and get up early. Even though my sleep has been shorter than ideal, since starting with the Resmed 11, my AHI is mostly around the 2 level which I understand is OK .

I’m very interested to hear from any other forum users who have had Septoplasty & Turbinectomy surgery (or other interventions to relieve significant nasal congestion), and what this has done for their CPAP/APAP experience. Happy to experience share when I get through the recovery - although doc’s orders are to avoid my Resemed for 3 weeks after the procedure because even the pressure of the nasal pillows could impact the Septum healing process. I’m hoping that my effective operating pressure range will end up dropping as once I get to about 13 I find breathing uncomfortable and wake up.
I had this surgery a few years back. First some advice for the recovery period then I'll cover how it impacted my CPAP therapy per your main question.

First during the first few days when you have packing or more typically the "straws" in your nose you cannot use CPAP and I found that use of an athletic football mouth piece made a big difference in my ability to sleep when my nose was packed. The Shock-Doctor max airflow mouthpiece (link below) for around $15 (today's price) worked for me and for four days, until the straws were removed, was my most valued possession. Recommend anyone going through septoplasty get one of these. In fact my surgeon adopted recommend use of this for future patients. This was a revision (2nd time) surgery so I knew what to expect post surgery and looked on-line for something that would let me sleep and breath through my mouth. Given the benefits in ability to get some sleep during the immediate post recovery period I'm surprised the medical profession has not come up with this or something similar as a standard solution.

https://www.amazon.com/Shock-Doctor-Bre ... 15394&th=1

Regarding post recovery impact on my CPAP use my doctor let me go back to CPAP around 2 weeks after the surgery - everyone should follow doctors recommendations on this. I found that I could drop my pressure slightly, a couple CM, and still achieve a low AHI and good sleep. I was on a fixed CPAP at the time. This was consistent with some research I found on-line that found those with deviated septums could live with roughly a 20% reduction in therapy pressure for the same result. Again work with your sleep doctor to figure out what works best for you.

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Rubicon
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Re: Just had Septoplasty & Turbinectomy - anyone here who can experience share what this has meant for their CPAP therap

Post by Rubicon » Sat Apr 08, 2023 2:58 am

If your O2 sats are any indication of surgical success, it ain't.
Freeze this moment a little bit longer.
Make each sensation a little bit stronger.
Experience slips away.

Slobdiddy
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Re: Just had Septoplasty & Turbinectomy - anyone here who can experience share what this has meant for their CPAP therap

Post by Slobdiddy » Sun Apr 09, 2023 6:52 am

Just thought I would drop by and experience share now that I am almost 3 weeks post-surgery. Very quickly - yes this has achieved exactly what I hoped for. I was correct that going on CPAP formed just 50% of my sleep solution as my decongestant meds faded and failed after just a few hours of sleep, and I was becoming more and more resistant to decongestant meds.

Last night I went back on CPAP for the whole night. I monitored my SpO2 levels and the lowest point was 93% (previously: a low of 70% without CPAP). Looks like success to me.

The recovery process is however far from over. I still need decongestant meds, and to irrigate and clean my nose regularly. I believe that this may take another 2-3 weeks to resolve.

The surgery itself is not too traumatic but the recovery process is. The worst is not being able to breathe through your nose for 1-2 weeks depending on the severity of your case and your own personal recovery curve.