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

[glezga]

literally just back from a ear nose and throat dr at the hospital, i need all tonsil bits and soft tissue removed as well as the bit that separates your nostrils straightened, he was ready to book me in for it there and then! i managed to get away with a 3 month appointment to see if i can lose more weight and try and avoid surgery (im a s*iTe bag) i was 18.9 stone when diagnosed with osa about 2 months ago and i got down to 17.5 but now i need to get down at least another 2 stone to make any difference but that’s no guarantee I still wont need surgery, apparently my neck is the biggest problem but thats the last to go when losing weight. He also told me the op is pretty straightforward but its painful and takes a while to heal with infections etc being common, not great news!

HELP im already at the gym 3 days a week and on a good balanced diet.

Anyone been through this? I know it’s a good idea to get this done as I wont need the cpap anymore but id really really rather not get the op! and im just getting used to the machine!

Any links to this op so i can put myself off some more.

Aww naaaaaw!

[James @ Intus]

There's a difference between "needing ENT surgery" and "The ENT thinking this surgery is the only real way to solve your problem". The latter is probably more true.

Did you run this by a non-ENT sleep consultant?

If surgery scares you, (rightly), why not try CPAP? You have been diagnosed already so things shouldn't be too hard from there. With the extra energy and reduces sress on your body, you may well find you shed the pounds easier too.

[tallishbloke]

?surgery??

Hi Glezga
Before you glo down the surgey route, you should find out what effect the surgeons think the surgey will have. Unfortunalely, with a lot of the surgery that is sometimes suggested by ENT specialists, such as the removal of soft palate have little in the way of firm clinical evidence that they definetly provide significant long term benefit.
You should definetly seek the advice of a specialist in sleep medicine. The gold standard treatmwent for OSA of any significance is CPAP therapy, which is clinically proven without doubt to provide effective relief from the symptoms of OSA!!
Good luck!
TB

[guy1home]

OMG

I will be leaving to go to the hosiptal in 5 mins to have this done, docs have told me that i will not be able to stop the CPAP but i should be able to reduce the pressure, so i will let you know.

[guy1home]

well for the second time in as many weeks my op has been cancelled.
no HDU beds,

[stoneysaf]

well for the second time in as many weeks my op has been cancelled.
no HDU beds,

Hey guy1home, i had UVP surgery done about 9 years back and it was severely painful for 2 weeks. The upshot was that my snoring did not diminish to any great extent. So having suffered all these previous years i have today been to the local sleep clinic who have diagnosed mild sleep apnea. I will be trying a CPAP very soon. My daytime tiredness was getting worse with constant daytime headaches and so i look forward to the CPAP trial. I suppose everyones body situation is differrent but i thought i would share my experience. If you want to know anything else about my experience, do let me know.

Regards.

[guy1home]

Hi stoneysaf

thanks for your reply, but I am afraid all three operations took place on Monday morning (tonsillectomy, sephplsty and a limited UPPV), whether I will have any benefit only time will tell, I know I will never be without cpap (in fact I would put up one hell of a fight if any body was to try to take it away) but one of the reasons for going down this route is so I can reduce my pressure, at 5ft 8in and 70 kilos with a collar size of 15.5/16 I am not a typical cpap user. As for the pain sore doesn’t quite cut it, i don’t think there is a word that i could use here that would describe the pain.

[Tricia]

Hi Guy1home,

I'm glad that you've eventually had your op. I hope it does the trick, and that the soreness goes quickly.

Let us know how things go for you.

[Tigers Fan]

Get well soon!

Hi guy1home

Sounds like youi are in an "at least it's not raining" sort of place.

Go well and get well soon.

Have you tried - Arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!! - as a release?

TF

[Biggles]

OUCH!!! Tiger's Fan

I remember the soreness from just having my tonsils out, and that was a long, long time ago.

Hope you are feeling much better soon, guy1home

[guy1home]

thanks to all for your kind words, i well let you know how i get on.

[guy1home]

update

Hi everyone, its now over 4 weeks since the surgery and I am still of work, 3 weeks through the actual operation and 2 weeks with an infection. Has the operation worked? Well she who must be obeyed says I don’t snore as loud and thrash around as much, but that’s it, I guess everything needs to be healed before I get the full benefits. Would I go through it again? At this moment in time that’s a resounding NO.

[Tigers Fan]

Happy days to come

Hi guy1home

Here's hoping the good times arrive soon for you.

My MD had his piles sorted out - an anusectomy? - and to our delight (maybe there is a god!) he was of the opinion that the op was not worth the pain. It took six months before he arrived the office smiling - and became again the old pain in the arse he always was before his own.

It might take time - but it will come good! I expect, anyway, as long as you avoid further infection. Gargle with Detol?

Get well soon!

TF

[tiredhazy]

UPPP+Nasal surgery+RFA

I've been using CPAP and I just can't tolerate it. Its causing me to have lung pain. I'm planning on having UPPP/nasal surgery and RFA. Has any one had this? If so what can I expect? Recovery period? Did anyone have complications? Any shared experiences would be helpful so I can make the right decision. Thank you.

[Richard]

UPPP is not for me!

If you had your tonsils and adenoids removed when you were young, then UPPP is a step too far. I bet you're not getting this done on the NHS!

Just have a look at this:

http://www.sleepnet.com/noncpap/messages/349.html

And then have a determined try again with the CPAP. Surgery is not the answer.

Richard