Yesterday I had RF somnoplasty + turbinate reduction

The surgery was conducted under local anaesthesia, with lidocaine spray first, then an injection. It was quite comfortable and completely painless. After 2 hours anesthesia stopped working and the pain started to be quite big. It was hard to relieve it with pain-killers, even those prescribed by the doctor, quite strong ones. Today is worse, the pain is even bigger, I've taken 2 doses of nimesulide. It is very much like the pain from tonsils inflamation. It is hard to eat and swallow saliva, I have no problems with speaking. My nose is already much more unobstructed, I can't say this about my soft palate, swelling is quite big there. It is stiff and I think this contributes to the fact that I can lay on my back and breathe, the first time ever I was not able to do this before, because my palate was collapsing and blocking my airway to the point I couldn't. I've been always sleeping on my side. My soft palate seems to be shrinked, raised and.. swollen. Doctor said that effect should be "visible" in 3-5 weeks, we'll see. I am still not sure whether that was a good idea or not.... It was quite costly also. I will update.

Catherine I had turbinate reduction done last October. I found it cleared up alot of my nasal congestion during the day at least and was a positive procedure with no side effects. This was b4 I was diagnosed with OSA. My ENT and sleep doc didn't seem to think doing this procedure on my palate would help my sleep apnea. I am interested to hear how it works for you. Good luck!

Catherine,
Why did you decide for an invasive procedure when non-invasive alternatives were available? Asking you because I have some degree of deformity in my nose and I use CPAP machine.
I am a doctor of alternative medicine.
Bharati

soundersfootballclub thanks, I am suffering from UARS, maybe it will help me, even if it won't, breathing with CPAP will be easier, maybe I will need lower pressure.

bharatilts I decided to do this, because I am young and I am still not able to tolerate CPAP, though I'm still trying. It is not so invasive procedure, there was no blood, yes, pain is quite big but it will pass in a few days. Like I said, I have UARS, maybe for UARS it will work better than for OSA, I don't know.

Pain is still very strong, it is really hard to eat and swallow. I don't see any improvement yet beside an ability to sleep on my back, finally I am able to breathe when I lay on my back. And it is very nice to breathe through my nose now

I had Somnoplasty several years ago. You will have discomfort for a few days. Eat apple sauce (cold), cool broth, ice cream. Unfortunately this procedure does not last. I had it done because I snored and have sleep apnea. It work fine for several months and that's it. The doctor used a laser to reduce the tissue on my uvula and tongue. I later went to another doctor who wanted to cut out the uvula. He showed me how it looks as he had his removed. I never went back. I paid out of pocket $3,000 for the Somnoplasty.
What a waste of money.

Hmm pain is still with me... What can I say? I don't feel better yet, maybe because of swelling, it is not gone yet either. Even if effects won't be for long (if it will help finally...) it would be ok, because I will have better health to get used to CPAP. I accepted CPAP and I think this is a milestone for me! It is not a nightmare for me anymore I can even imagine all my life with this now. BUT I still can't fall asleep with it! I don't know what the hell is wrong with me, tat I just can't. The mask I can fall asleep with leaks and I can do nothing about it

Nimesulide is probably not strong enough, I'd go with a morphine type painkiller.

I was in the hospital! 5 days after somnoplasty and turbinate reduction I got a big hemorrhage from the area of the surgery. After few hemostatic intravenous drips it stopped and I am home now. I was vomitting my own blood also! After that I had a blackout for a while. All of this was terrible. An ability to lay on my back and breathe right was not worth it...

And it was suppose to be such a mild and non-risku surgery... Great :/

CatherineF wrote:An ability to lay on my back and breathe right was not worth it...

Are you saying you did this not to eliminate CPAP but so you can sleep on your back? Wow.

You must be pretty young. Life is never going to be as perfect as you seek. You are going to waste a lot of time, energy, and money pursuing the unobtainable unless you abandon that quest.

I imagine you will ignore this advice, too.

Guest wrote:

CatherineF wrote:An ability to lay on my back and breathe right was not worth it...

Are you saying you did this not to eliminate CPAP but so you can sleep on your back? Wow.

You must be pretty young. Life is never going to be as perfect as you seek. You are going to waste a lot of time, energy, and money pursuing the unobtainable unless you abandon that quest.

I imagine you will ignore this advice, too.

Of course not! I have UARS and I am extremely tired and have all negative sympotms of this sickness. Do you think that ANYONE would be so stupid to make a surgery to be able sleep on the back??? Really? I did this because I can't learn to tolearate CPAP well yet :/ I wanted to find a quick solution to help me to live!

An ability to lay on my back and breathe right was not worth it... And that was ironic, because there are no other effects yet. Do you know what irony is?

CatherineF wrote:

Guest wrote:

CatherineF wrote:An ability to lay on my back and breathe right was not worth it...

Are you saying you did this not to eliminate CPAP but so you can sleep on your back? Wow.
You must be pretty young. Life is never going to be as perfect as you seek. You are going to waste a lot of time, energy, and money pursuing the unobtainable unless you abandon that quest.
I imagine you will ignore this advice, too.

Of course not! I have UARS and I am extremely tired and have all negative sympotms of this sickness. Do you think that ANYONE would be so stupid to make a surgery to be able sleep on the back??? Really? I did this because I can't learn to tolearate CPAP well yet :/ I wanted to find a quick solution to help me to live!
An ability to lay on my back and breathe right was not worth it... And that was ironic, because there are no other effects yet. Do you know what irony is?

Catherine
as I've read your posts, I'm very sorry you've had to go through all this. I'm praying for you, that the healing process will speed up, and hopefully you can put this bad experience behind you.
Get well, soon!

Vader wrote:Catherine as I've read your posts, I'm very sorry you've had to go through all this. I'm praying for you, that the healing process will speed up, and hopefully you can put this bad experience behind you.
Get well, soon!

Thank you so much

Catherine... you need to rest and get well! I'm a chicken... and guess you are not! I would have walked around with the CPAP all day before I had surgery.

Hope this goes well for you! Take the pain meds or whatever you have to do to be comfortable... thinking of you!

CatherineF, good luck with the surgery. Nimesulide is a NSAID- if you're still in pain I agree you need something stronger.
You said you are not tolerating CPAP, that your mask leaks. Many of us have gone through umpteen masks to find the right one for us. You may also need a sleeping pill, or light sedative to help you sleep and become acclimatised to the machine. I hope the surgery helps.