UPPP surgery completed

I finally had the surgery after trying just about everything my doc could think of. The surgery went well and I was home within 19 hours. I am sore but have an extremely high pain tollerence. Tylenol 3 as needed. I am concerned because everyone I know said this would be the worste pain I could imagine but wouldn't want to. I have had the clear diet, rice cereal, soup with noodles and chicken bits. The Doc said food as you can tollerate. My machine was adjust and set to auto bipap from I think 5 to 15 and was up to 8 and 12 I used to be at 21 and 17 with ramp at 10 when needed.

Sorry for the bad typing my right hand is in a cast and I my left hand is not coordinated.

Gerry

Good luck with the healing, GerryK!

I hope once all the healing and swelling subside that you have much improved results! Please keep us posted.

Gerryk wrote:....had the surgery...right hand is in a cast and I my left hand is not coordinated

Good heavens Gerry, what a list...best wishes for an uneventful recovery!

Gerry K.

Good luck on your recovery. Without the effects of "drop-dead type" of pain, you probably will heal much faster. Perhaps you had a highly skillful surgeon.

Gerryk wrote:I finally had the surgery after trying just about everything my doc could think of. The surgery went well and I was home within 19 hours. I am sore but have an extremely high pain tollerence.
Sorry for the bad typing my right hand is in a cast and I my left hand is not coordinated.

Keep us informed on your progress.

Jan

Gerryk wrote:I finally had the surgery
Sorry for the bad typing my right hand is in a cast and I my left hand is not coordinated.Gerry

Sounds like the poster for a lost dog:

Lost Dog
Brown and white
missing one ear
blind in one eye
only has half a tail
walks on three legs

answers to Lucky.

Hope it's all worth the pain.
Get well soon.

Glad to hear a good report. Hope it's nothing but good news from here. Keep us posted.
Kathy

Fingers crossed for an uneventful recovery from the surgery, and the results you hope for.

I had a wonderful surgeon. I though my regular doc was good. I didn't know that doctors could have such good bedside manners and care. <My doc actually stopped in to see me after I was in a room then two more times that day. The nurses came in to tell me each time she called which is I remember was about three or four times. My doc knocked on the room door walked in set her purse down pulled up a chair smiled at me and asked to look in my mouth. She sat and talked with me asking if I was ok wanting to know why I was joking around and laughing. I said I felt great and had the best doc around.

My surgery was Tuesday and she said today and tomorrow will be the most painful and have the most swelling and everything will be easy from this weekend on.
I was on some antibiotics and was itchy from them so she took me off but other than that this seems way to easy so far. I had soup and noodles with chicken in it the first day home, yesterday I had a bowl from Kentucky fried chicken with mashed potatoes, gravy, popcorn chicken and corn for lunch. Dinner was a basket of popcorn chicken.

My doc said I would not be able to eat and would lose at least ten pounds. So far that is the only complaint I have it doesn't hurt enough to stop me from eating.

My numbers from my machine are looking good. My machine did ramp up to 15 one night for a short time but hasn't been over 12 since. My clinician said give it time as you heal and the swelling goes down the numbers will improve. I didn't have the surgery to eliminate the need for cpap just to be able to bring it into a range that was manageable for my mask to seal. According to the doc and the clinician my numbers look good and so far everything is going great.

I will update as I can or as things change. Please remember I have a hard time typing because my right hand is broken and in a cast.

Gerry

Gerryk wrote:I will update as I can or as things change. Please remember I have a hard time typing because my right hand is broken and in a cast.

Gerry

Wow, Gerry. Hope you heal smoothly, rapidly, and uneventfully from everything! Thanks for the updates.

You can be sure everyone here is pulling for all your recoveries to go well.

You're a tough cookie!

More power to YOU! Keep it up.

just an update today is July 3rd and my surgery was June 23rd. Yesterday I stopped taking the pain meds. The pain wasn't really that bad. The worst part for me was not being able to eat or do anything. My machine was changed from a set bipap pressure of 21/17 to 20/16 a few weeks before the surgery because I was swallowing so much air and waking up in pain from that. My machine was changed to auto bipap high of 15 and low of 5 after the surgery. Only a couple times now has the pressure gone up to 15. I have not been sleeping the whole night through rather about 4-6 hours. I have related that to the pain med wearing off and needing it every 3-4 hours. I also think it is that I am not having problems with the mask flying off my face due to high pressure and ultimately getting better rest. Only time and a new study will tell what is really happening.

I do feel much better rested and have been somewhat sleeping during the day but no real napping. I have fallen asleep for short periods of time but not more than five or ten minutes. I figured the falling asleep is from taking benadryl. My doc had me take benadryl because I had a reaction to tylenol three but could control the itching with benadryl. It was either take Tylenol 3 and benadryl or be admitted to the hospital for iv pain killers since I am also allergic to others taken orally.

All in all the surgery and recovery haven't been no where as bad as I had heard. If your doctor has suggested this surgery for you consider it after talking to the doctor about everything involved and making sure the doctor that does this specializes in this. My doctor specializes in sleep apnea surgeries such as the UPPP and thyroid problems. She doesn't do anywhere near the number of surgeries she used to do but she is still one of the top rated in the area.

In all honesty after the surgery I had the pain pills and numbing throat lozenges and only felt like I had a minor soar throat. Fluids are essential and I found that if I didn't drink enough my throat would hurt more.

Ok, enough typing now my hand is till in a cast and starting to bother me.

Gerry

Gerryk wrote:I finally had the surgery Sorry for the bad typing my right hand is in a cast and I my left hand is not coordinated.
Gerry

You remind me of my niece when she had tonsils removed at age 5.......as she was transported from recovery to her room with a bandage covering most of her head......someone asked, "What happened to her?" My sister answered: She had her tonsils removed? My sister failed to acknowledge the comestic surgery on her extremely protruding ears at the same time!!!!

Did your doc do your UPPP surgery through your right hand?

Heal Well!!

elg5cats

Four month follow up. I went in and had a follow up sleep study done about four to four and a half months post surgery. I did not have a good experience at the sleep clinic the night of the study because of equipment problems and employees being slow and walking up and down the hallway talking and giggling. Anyway on to the sleep study.
I was supposed to have a split study first half no cpap and second half cpap if I had over ten events an hour. I didn't get to sleep so I thought until after midnight because I wasn't hooked up until after 11pm then they had problems with the equipment.
Anyway the original tech made up the report indicating no need for cpap with less than .4 events an hour. However when I went home in the morning, I felt worst than I had before I started cpap. When I got the report and called and talked to the head clinician she re read the data and called me back and said I was having about 4 events an hour with leg movement that I didn't originally have. She indicated that the leg movement could be an indication of an event that wasn't showing up as an event.

She forwarded a copy of the original report to my doc with her thoughts and notes on it and suggested that my doc and I discuss if I need to remain on cpap but she recommended I remain on cpap but reduce the lower pressure. Post surgery My Auto BiPap was set at a range of 8 to 14, with me requesting 8 since I felt like I was suffocating with a lower bottom pressure.

My machine showed that I had reached a max of 12 with only a few times over four months of going up to 14, so the machine was reset yesterday to a setting of 5 and 14. I slept fine with that last night and didn't feel like I was suffocating.


On the advice of my doc I am having surgery next spring to fix my deviated septum. She said that will help my breathing. She also said I am doing much better than she had thought. Her original thoughts were to do the tonsillectomy and UPPP to reduce my pressure requirements to something that would allow a mask to seel on my face. Now her thoughts are that with getting my nose fixed next spring and losing weight, I may not need the cpap any more. She also told me that occasionally their are people like me who are on high pressures like I was and have surgery and are cured but still have problems because they have become dependant on cpap and need to slowly have their pressure reduced down to ween them off cpap.


I hope this helps anyone who is thinking of having the surgery. I know many people say the surgery isn't worth it or that it doesn't work. Well, it worked for me and I my be off cpap completely by late next spring.

Gerry

Hi Gerry,
Glad all went well. I'm assuming you live in New York. I'm looking for a good ENT surgeon in the city or other 4 boroughs. I need nasal work and I do have a larger uvula. My pressure is only 8 and my apneas are only for 20 secs long so who knows maybe I can eliminate the need for CPAP too....

Mac, sorry I live in the Chicago area. But google steven parks sleep apnea. You will find a web site by a Dr Steven Parks. He has written a book on OSA and is very knowledgeable. People have traveled across the counrty to see him. I am not sure if I can post links on here but I will try. If the link isn't here just google him. http://doctorstevenpark.com/sleep-apnea
His book is awesome. I read it and I am going to read it again as soon as I finish what I am reading now. Good luck, let me know how things work out.

Gerry