Sleep Apnea

[minkman]

d00d. Good post. I should look into that.

Everyone is different. Talk to a good doc. I'm damn happy I did what I did, though. I was out of work for about 2 weeks. It was about a month before I could eat everything again. The first time I sneezed after it was almost a religious experience. After not being able to breathe through my nose for most of my life, being able to make so much air go through so quickly was sooooo strange. Unfortunately, it was on the bike in my helmet. 

[hay13]

I had it. Did the sleep study. Mine was severe. I forget the exact numbers. They prescribed a CPAP machines. They didn't offer any other options. I really got the feeling the sleep clinic was more of a CPAP machine sales office than any thing else. I'm much more about fixing the problem than treating the symptom. I went to an Eyes, Ears, Nose and Throat guy. He offered a surgical solution. I had a severely deviated septum. So, in one surgery, I got my septum straightened, I got a UPPP(Uvula and back of the palate removed) and my tonsils out. The change has been amazing. I do not snore any more. I feel so much more rested.

Ken

I had my deviated septum repaired along with the removal of tonsils, uvula and the soft tissue in the back of the throat  .   When they finally took the splint out of inside my notril I had a vision of that Arnold movie Total Recall when he pulls that tracking device out of his nose.  OUCH!!!!!!   

[FatguyRacer]

I had it. Did the sleep study. Mine was severe. I forget the exact numbers. They prescribed a CPAP machines. They didn't offer any other options. I really got the feeling the sleep clinic was more of a CPAP machine sales office than any thing else. I'm much more about fixing the problem than treating the symptom. I went to an Eyes, Ears, Nose and Throat guy. He offered a surgical solution. I had a severely deviated septum. So, in one surgery, I got my septum straightened, I got a UPPP(Uvula and back of the palate removed) and my tonsils out. The change has been amazing. I do not snore any more. I feel so much more rested.

Ken

I was offered this same solution, but at 40 years of age (at the time i was treated) I had no desire to go thru the surgeries. I've been living quite nicely with the CPAP for the last 5 years.

[minkman]

I was offered this same solution, but at 40 years of age (at the time i was treated) I had no desire to go thru the surgeries. I've been living quite nicely with the CPAP for the last 5 years.

I thought long about it. I had it done at 38, so I understand your point of view.

[mstevens]

Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty (UPPP, or the "throato-rooter") is not definitive treatment for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). It definitely works for snoring, but does not have a demonstrable lasting effect on actual apnea. Once the pharyngeal scar tissue softens, typically after about 2 years, the patient often returns to "silent apnea" with no snoring but the same risk of stroke, heart attack, etc.

Positive airway pressure (CPAP or BiPAP) is currently the gold-standard treatment for OSA. CPAP is definitely a PITA, but once one adapts to it is no big deal at all. I've got fairly severe OSA with an AHI (apnea-hypopnea index) of over 80 and have access to whatever treatment I want. I'd prefer not to have to deal with CPAP but my interpretation of the data is that there is currently no surgical treatment that's effective other than tracheostomy (which is 100% effective) and I certainly don't want that. So, I use CPAP.

[Latinbalar]

+2 on the CPAP machine, both my father and my longtime girlfriends dad uses one, if they recomend you get one and have them calibrate it for your breathing level you wil sleep much better.  My dad would wake up 9 times an hour so he would never get fully into Rem sleep. So that will make you one grumpy dude after a while.

[tonyj311]

I am grumpy all the time    At least until I get my coffee 

I am getting used to the machine, but have been really tired in the morning. I did some research and other people report the same problem for the first few weeks. I guess it takes your body a while to get used to "good" sleep.

[Nitewaif]

I'm a respiratory therapist, and used to work in the sleep lab.  There are 2 kinds of sleep apnea, central and obstructive.  In central, your brain forgets to tell your body to breathe when you are asleep.  No amount of surgery will fix that.  You need a machine.

The second type of sleep apnea is obstructive.  Maybe you've gained weight and when you relax in your sleep, all that weight gets floppy and obstructs your airway.  Or maybe your tonsils are inflamed and huge, and they flop back and block your airway.  The CPAP (continuous positive pressure ventilation) machine basically just maintains a certain amount of back pressure which splints the airway open to allow you to breathe.  The sleep lab will monitor you and determine which type you have and just how much pressure is required to hold things open.

If you have gained some weight, I'd recommend taking off the extra poundage first.  The surgery (uvulectomy, etc) is hit or miss, and I've had more patients who've regretted it than not.  Most are happy with surgery to fix a deviated septum, though.

Don't ignore the problem - your whole body suffers when you aren't breathing well.

My .02

[DoubleEagle]

I had the sleep test years ago. I flunked. I have a CPAP machine that I have had for probably 15 years or more. I used it for a while and then stopped. About 6 months ago I remembered I still had it and started using it again. It just covers my nose. I use it and found that it took abourt a week before I really noticed a big difference in the way I feel when I wake up. Usually nowI wake up ready to go. Before I would lay in bed for a half hour after the alarm went off , now when it goes off ,I turn it off and am ready to get up . My mouth used to feel desert dry when I woke up ...w/ the CPAP, my mouth feels fine when I wake up. 9 nights out of 10 I sleep without waking until it's time to get up.