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• A Nurse told me there was no room on the High Observation Unit (which I didn't mind since my private room was nice). She pointed out it wasn't necessary. However, the anesthesiologist over-ruled her and said if they didn't make room there would be no operation. Turned out it was a good thing they made room.• The anesthesiologist came to see me and I asked (in a joking way) that she make sure she watched out for obstructions while I was under anesthesia. She told me that most apneas came from the brain. I pointed out that they don't with obstructive sleep apneas - only with central. She seemed a bit taken aback when I said that!• My CPAP went down to the operating room with me, ready to put on after I came round. I asked the recovery nurse if she wanted me to put it on, but she said there was no need as I was still attached to oxygen. I explained that oxygen wouldn't stop apneas happening, and some people with OSA have oxygen with their CPAP. She asked how they could administer oxygen as well. I showed her my mask, which had the plug over the oxygen inlet, and explained that's where the oxygen tube would go. She was amazed and said she'll tell the others!• When I was back on the High Observation Unit and very sleepy, I told the nurse that I would set up my CPAP machine. Again, I was told (by a different nurse this time) that there was no need as I was still hooked up to oxygen. I didn't want to make a fuss, so I just made sure I kept myself awake the rest of the day.• At sleep time I asked a nurse if I should remove the padding that was blocking my nasal passages. She told me to leave it on. I'm not sure if that was good advice, since things went horribly wrong when I had the high pressures blasting into my mouth only and straight to my lungs. I could not breathe at all and was kicked out of sleep 3 times - the 3rd time I had intense pressure in my head and my legs collapsed underneath me. I was in a state of panic by now! The staff did their best to understand what was going on, but it was a joint decision to remove the packing from my nose and try again. However, I pointed out that I wasn't sure what would happen with the CPAP blowing air up my nose, which was full of blood and gunk, so I wasn't confident about using it, as I didn't know where it would all end up. The staff didn't know what to suggest, so 'we' agreed (which did not give me confidence, as I was just the patient) that I would leave off the CPAP and would be put back on the monitor to keep an eye on my O2 destaturations. Problem is, everytime I went to sleep or even dozed, my O2 dropped and the machine set off the alarm. I realize this could be because I have an underlying problem, but it was still frightening to think I was in the hands of people who didn't seem to understand sleep apnea!The operation itself was 100% straightforward and I had full faith the surgeon. However, it seems the staff should be educated more in sleep apnea for the sake of future patients.
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How frightening! Out of curiosity di you have a fell face mask? I have heard of nasal sugery where they do not use the packing, though with the blood and crud in your nose thiss might not make a difference. Seems like a good heads up to have an in detail talk with your surgeon prior to the surgery. Thanks for the heads up.
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