oh no! just been told i need surgery. HELP!!!!

[guy1home]

operation

hi
i was off work 6 weeks after my op and my throat is still not right, i have also struggled with my cpap machine since the op, the only plus side is that i dont snore quite as loud, i would not have the op if i had my time over stick with the cpap.
good luck.

[James @ Intus]

as long as you avoid further infection. Gargle with Detol?

You're forgetting what's in your own toolbox... Gargle with saline solution! Can do as well for the mouth and throat as it does for the sinusses.

I hope guy1home's situation will improve asap but so far, it sounds like the classic, regrettable operation story. Mild relief of *symptoms*, lot of discomfort, quite possibly back at square one in a few months. It's a real shame but here's hoping him to beat the odds and be in that statistical minority to actually benefit 100%. Good luck and keep us posted!

By the way, re-reading the entire thread, the "reduced pressure" argument isn't very convincing in my opinion. Had they trialled an APAP to see the pressure to actually be high, maybe. But your weight and collar size are not necessarily linearly related to the pressure.

Anyone in this situation in my mind should really pretty much demand a (auto-)CPAP trial first. Not try surgery first and see if it works. In the 6 weeks of post-op struggle, one could have gotten used to CPAP just fine.

How do you feel about all of this in hindsight guy1home?

[guy1home]

Hi James

To be fair to the docs I did have APAP for about 6 weeks so they could set the CPAP machine up, originaly the cpap was set at about 10.5 but i would wake up gasping for air, so increseased the pressure to 12.5 and sleep using the cpap for 6 to 7 hours most nights, after the op i reduced the pressure back to 10.5 and uptill last week only had 1 full nights sleep with the machine, i have since increased the pressure back to 12.5, i still struggled untill i removed the humidifer and have now had 2 full night on cpap. The best machine is by far apap and I am trying to get moved from the cpap clinic at St James in Leeds to BRI in bradford were they set up a clinic and I understant issue apap machine to keep. Incidently on the morning of the op one of the docs told me that if they carried out a full UPPV I would no longer be able to use cpap, fortunatly i only had partial, but again I would say to anybody think of having this done the benifits are minimal so dont bother.

[James @ Intus]

Thanks for the additional info, that makes sense.

Makes you wonder what it costs the NHS to do the op versus the cost of a good APAP plus a few masks...

[stoneysaf]

Hi, i thought i would let you guys know that i have been on CPAP therapy for 5 months now and i wondered why i did not get my treatment many years ago. It was only after suffering constant headaches, snorting reaching 747 like decibels and need to sleep every lunchtime that eventually my GP referred me to the sleep clinic whereupon i was diagnosed with OSA. The reason i was having these constant severe headaches was because of lnsufficient oxygen reaching the brain due to OSA
I must say that i feel a lot more refreshed , less tired and much less need to sleep at lunchtimes! I am using a Nasal mask which suits me best. My other half has not once complained about any snoring (unless she is getting deaf). So all in all it is working for me. But like i said in my earlier post i would not want to advocate UVPP surgery to anyone again and the benefits were very short lived. However, i guess we all learn from own experiences and sometimes tend to ignore what others may have to say. Having said that i guess everyone's body/facial construction will be different in some minor ways. Hope you find my feedback useful guys.

[tallishbloke]

no surprise

Humm...

I am not in the least surprised there has been little (if any) improvement in condition...... oh, and did I mention that using CPAP following this type of surgery? Oh yeah... I do seem to remember talking about it earlier in the thread. It can certainly make nasal masks much more difficult if not impossible to use....
Ahh the curse of the ENT surgeon who is soo keen to chop bits off without sound and firm clinical evidence.

Hope things settle down anyway

[stoneysaf]

Humm...

I am not in the least surprised there has been little (if any) improvement in condition...... oh, and did I mention that using CPAP following this type of surgery? Oh yeah... I do seem to remember talking about it earlier in the thread. It can certainly make nasal masks much more difficult if not impossible to use....
Ahh the curse of the ENT surgeon who is soo keen to chop bits off without sound and firm clinical evidence.

Hope things settle down anyway

Hi would just like to clarify by saying that i actually use nasal pillows which are different to a mask. I tried the Face mask which covers both your nose and mouth but found the continuous rush of air a little too uncomfortable. Bear in mind that you can only really use the nasal pillows if you can breath your nose, i.e. its not blocked or congested etc. So for me the latest design of headgear and nasal pillows are not too obstructive with freedom to turn your head at night etc. Hope this helps folks....