I May be Cured, Find Out How (True Story)

After a few years of putting up with this terrible condition and wearing the CPAP
(for which I am eternally grateful) it appears I have been one of the lucky people
who may well have been cured.

In March I had to attend an ENT consultant for a hearing problem. Once the audiogram
was finished he asked me back to his office for further examination. He found that my
tonsils were huge, almost touching and asked me if I had any problems with them. I
said no then he asked me if I snored, which made me laugh so I explained I was getting
treatment for sleep apnea.

He was astonished to find that I had been wearing a CPAP for almost 2 years yet nobody
had picked up on my enlarged tonsils. He explained that the sheer size of them meant that
I had a slight chance of curing my sleep apnea if I got them out.

It meant two weeks off work (and a lot of pain) so I had to wait till a few weeks ago before
it was convenient to take time off work. I was admitted on July 21st and operated on that
afternoon, and the hearing problem was fixed at the same time. I got home the next day.

I was forewarned that after the tonsil op I would be very sore for 2 weeks and they were not
kidding, it was 15 days before I was completely pain free. The wound got infected and had to go to
A & E one night as the would was bleeding and wouldn't stop, however just as I was about to be
kept in for another op the wound clotted in 2 places and I got home.

Now the good part, once the medication eased the effect of the infection, I tried sleeping without
the CPAP just 8 days ago and amazingly my girlfriend could tell me I had not snored all night (she and
the neighbours would have heard me if I had LOL). I've not worn it since, the snoring has not returned
and the day-time sleepiness is gone. Obviously I will have to wait a few weeks then get tested to make
sure. I just returned to work today and I am to see the consultant in 2 weeks for a routine post op check
up, then will have to visit the sleep clinic to have it tested and confirmed there.

If it has gone then I consider myself very lucky, and while it was a very painful, uncomfortable 2 weeks,
my quality of life from now on will make it well worth while.

I've wondered about this myself as I've never had my tonsils or adnoids removed. As a kid I had lots of infections, including ear infections which led to ear surgery in both ears in the last year...good luck with the recovery and hope you really have found the "cure"!

weeburty wrote:then will have to visit the sleep clinic to have it tested and confirmed there.

Good for you, for planning to follow up with a sleep study. I truly hope the PSG will show that your airway is open fine now, for breathing easily while you sleep. Do please let us know how it goes. Best of luck!

weeburty wrote:... He was astonished to find that I had been wearing a CPAP for almost 2 years yet nobody
had picked up on my enlarged tonsils. He explained that the sheer size of them meant that
I had a slight chance of curing my sleep apnea if I got them out. ...

That's one honest ENT. All too often (here in the US) they try to convince patients that surgery is the solution - even if it has a poor chance of success. Noting that it had a slight chance of curing your apnea is the correct answer. However, removing the source of obstruction was the right thing to do, regardless. Even if it did not fully "cure" you, it would almost certainly improve your numbers to require less pressure.

weeburty wrote:... Obviously I will have to wait a few weeks then get tested to make sure. ...

And good for you for wanting to have it tested. Though you might feel "well" without the CPAP, it's always wise to have the diagnostic test to confirm it. Too many patients end up assuming something is "cured" only to find that irreparable damage is done. That does not appear to be the case in your situation, but you are wise to confirm it.

Best wishes and do keep us updated.

Wow! Great story! Good luck to you and I hope the study in a few weeks shows you free of OSA.

Cheers,
xena

I can't help but wonder about the doctor who initially diagnosed your OSA. Shouldn't any initial work-up for OSA include a look in your throat? My sleep doctor did a full airway exam at my first appointment with her, even though she did not at all suspect OSA. If your tonsils were that big, any halfway competent doctor who looked in your throat should have suspected that they were a problem!

cowlypso wrote:I can't help but wonder about the doctor who initially diagnosed your OSA. Shouldn't any initial work-up for OSA include a look in your throat? My sleep doctor did a full airway exam at my first appointment with her, even though she did not at all suspect OSA. If your tonsils were that big, any halfway competent doctor who looked in your throat should have suspected that they were a problem!

Water under the bridge but I have to admit I asked these questions myself, but then I reminded myself that I was being treated by the top Sleep Specialist in the National Health Service of Scotland and I have high regard for him and his team of nurses who are amongst the kindest and most helpful people I have met. Why it wasn't noticed before I do not know.

I regard myself lucky I had reason to attend the ENT consultant and in turn he noticed the tonsils were a problem. I have no way of knowing how long the tonsils were enlarged.

Thanks for your post though, I'm sure there are many others reading this story are thinking the same thing.

Gaga58 wrote:I've wondered about this myself as I've never had my tonsils or adnoids removed. As a kid I had lots of infections, including ear infections which led to ear surgery in both ears in the last year...good luck with the recovery and hope you really have found the "cure"!

Thank you and I will be sure to keep you updated as things progress.

Thanks to all who posted and wished me well. I just hope that out of all the people who read this, even if just one person is as lucky as me and gets cured because of enlarged tonsils then what else can I ask for, there is nothing better than being able to help another human being cure an ailment.

xenablue wrote:Wow! Great story! Good luck to you and I hope the study in a few weeks shows you free of OSA.

Cheers,
xena

Thanks xena, will update progress as and when it happens

rested gal wrote:

weeburty wrote:then will have to visit the sleep clinic to have it tested and confirmed there.

Good for you, for planning to follow up with a sleep study. I truly hope the PSG will show that your airway is open fine now, for breathing easily while you sleep. Do please let us know how it goes. Best of luck!

Thank you and I'll keep you updated

JohnBFisher wrote:

weeburty wrote:... He was astonished to find that I had been wearing a CPAP for almost 2 years yet nobody
had picked up on my enlarged tonsils. He explained that the sheer size of them meant that
I had a slight chance of curing my sleep apnea if I got them out. ...

That's one honest ENT. All too often (here in the US) they try to convince patients that surgery is the solution - even if it has a poor chance of success. Noting that it had a slight chance of curing your apnea is the correct answer. However, removing the source of obstruction was the right thing to do, regardless. Even if it did not fully "cure" you, it would almost certainly improve your numbers to require less pressure.

weeburty wrote:... Obviously I will have to wait a few weeks then get tested to make sure. ...

And good for you for wanting to have it tested. Though you might feel "well" without the CPAP, it's always wise to have the diagnostic test to confirm it. Too many patients end up assuming something is "cured" only to find that irreparable damage is done. That does not appear to be the case in your situation, but you are wise to confirm it.

Best wishes and do keep us updated.

Thanks John, I have a routine checkup at sleep clinic in October but if ENT is happy that OSA is gone I will be hoping for an earlier appointment, however it is the only NHS clinic in Scotland so I may have to wait.

I hope your un confirmed cure for sleep apnea works out. We have had ours removed, (they grow back too). We will continue with our treatment, that we know is working and involves no pain at all. We stay high and dry without DeNile, never need to dry off.

Many times we are told things we want to hear, but without facts to back them up, we can make choices that however much we might like, we loose in the long run. Jim

May we all find our way through this life.

Meh - I had mine out and adenoids too when I was 5 and I still have OSA

BlackSpinner wrote:Meh - I had mine out and adenoids too when I was 5 and I still have OSA

Please read the story fully before you post negative or doubting comments.

I never indicated at any stage that my experience would apply to everyone, but there is a good chance
that it could work for someone else, that decision will need to come from an ENT surgeon and the individual.
Also if you read right through my story I said that I was told there was a "slight chance". Sleep Apnea has many
causes, I'm not even sure right now I am cured, my headline says "I may be cured".

All I know is that I have not worn the CPAP for 2 whole weeks now (after tonight), since then I have not snored
and I am alert all day and evening. That is the very opposite of how I was before the tonsils came out.