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What About Surgery?
Well I havent used cpap for a few months now because I just cant hack it. I am thinking about looking into the surgery options. Cant they do some things like remove tonsilsto help? I would really like to have a life but thats seems to be impossible when all I want to do is go home and sleep all the time.
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by RockRpsgt on
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Haven't we had this discussion before Chris? You do have other options. Find a good sleep surgeon in your erea. Shedule a consult. Then find another for a second opinion.
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Permalink Reply by Chris on
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Rock Hinkle said:Haven't we had this discussion before Chris? You do have other options. Find a good sleep surgeon in your erea. Shedule a consult. Then find another for a second opinion.
Did we talk about this? Sorry for the repeat if we did. I guess ill look into a sleep surgeon and hope I find a good one. I looks to me the only way I find out if a Doc is no good is the hard way. Wish me luck
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Ask around Chris. You will find some good ones.
Chris said:Rock Hinkle said:Haven't we had this discussion before Chris? You do have other options. Find a good sleep surgeon in your erea. Shedule a consult. Then find another for a second opinion.
Did we talk about this? Sorry for the repeat if we did. I guess ill look into a sleep surgeon and hope I find a good one. I looks to me the only way I find out if a Doc is no good is the hard way. Wish me luck
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Thanks for the link JNK. I got to tell you this really frigging stinks. It looks like the risks for surgery are big and the odds of it helping at all are slim. Excuse me while I go have a s--t fit before my nap.
j n k said:Anything we can help you "hack"? We love problem-solving and investigative trouble-shooting, no matter if we've done it before!
CPAP is great when you can make it work, but can be a living nightmare when you can't.
The right mask and machine at the right pressure can be wonderful, though, so it is worth the full shot before moving on to the more invasive or less-effective approaches.
Surgery?
Read this:
http://www.umm.edu/patiented/articles/what_surgical_procedures_slee...
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Permalink Reply by D. W. Conn on
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Chris,
One thing I learned while adjusting to nPAP was try, and try again.
The Psychology and A & P of mask wearing comes down to this… Our bodies are designed for survival. Our Human bodies know how to die, drown, and suffocate. It wasn’t hardwired with the instinct to relax when we receive more.
The nPAP provides more in the way of oxygen and/or breathing. Our body is confused and it responds by going into survival mode. Your heart rate begins to increase, you begin to have anxiety and then the suffocation or claustrophobic feeling sets in and we rip off the mask.
The trick is to desensitize you to your mask and nPAP. Just hold mask to your face. When those fight or flight feelings start just remove the mask. Tell yourself I am getting “enough”. Then repeat the process.
Do this daily-Nightly for a while. It may take several attempts.
In the meantime keep in contact with your Healthcare provider.
Before you seek surgery, seek out dental devices, weight loss if needed. If in the end you and your Healthcare provider believes surgery is warranted by all means get it done.
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Permalink Reply by JamesJ on
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I had CPPP surgery last July which included removal of Tonsils and straightning my deviated septum. I was extrememly hopeful that I would be able to get off the cpap after that but unfortunatly not. I still need it. HOWEVER, I can breath normally now during the day so that made the surgery worth while.
It took me a long time to get used to the CPAP and it happened when I switched masks to one that covers my mouth as well.
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Permalink Reply by Crabby Appleton on
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Chris,
I fought using the CPAP for several years. I'm sure half of it was just being stubborn or maybe pride. I am extremely claustrophobic too. I had a radical surgery before I finally broke down and starting using CPAP. Even though I still get no relief with CPAP, I would advise you to think very hard about whether you want to go through the surgery or not. I had my tonsils, adenoids, and uvula removed and my upper soft palate trimmed when I was 34. It was probably the most pain I have ever experienced in my life... and I've had kidney stones 7 times. I had to learn how to swallow again because of the amount of tissue that was cut out. I still have trouble with it and I'm 48 now. I have a huge tongue and it falls back in the airway when I fall asleep. I still haven't found a way to get enough air when sleeping, so I'm dragging butt every day. It's miserable. Just thought I'd throw my two cents in. Having the surgery will not guarantee the problem will be fixed.
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It has been a year since I've had my surgery. I was at wits end because I couldn't get used to CPAP, drove me crazy. If you are going to do it get it ALL done. My insurance company nixed the turbinate reduction along with the tongue reduction because they said it was experimental. So I had my tonsils and uvula removed. I have had two rhinoplasty's (Nose Jobs) to repair deviated septum. That was more painful than the apnea surgery by far. Was successful up until a few months ago. Back to where I was before the surgery. I can only assume it was because I didn't have the "WORKS" last year. I have an appointment with my ENT in July to see what the next step is. Don't care what he says CPAP is not an option. Do research and get a good surgeon for consultation. Mine was one of the best and I trust him.
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Permalink Reply by Shelia Shafer on
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D. W. Conn - it isn't just psychological and it isn't just claustrophobia to feel like you can't breathe with a c-pap. Whenever I lay down - with or without my mask - my upper nose (for lack of a better term) closes up and I cannot breathe. With a full face mask on I truly can't breathe because my mouth is closed off as well and I start clawing my face to get the mask off. I've had three nasal surgeries and it's still the same. I sleep in a recliner and I sleep like a baby. I've been told by my doctor that the full face mask is the only way for me to go - that I'm not a candidate for nasal pillows. So I sleep without my bi-pap and I sleep sitting up.
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I also went through the "tongue reduction" thing. They blast radio frequency waves into the back of your tongue (on each side and the middle) to supposedly reduce the fat in your tongue and thus reduce the size. This is a miserable procedure. I had the first "treatment" that took about 45 minutes or so. They jab this needle into your tongue and blast it for 10 minutes in each spot. They had a nurse hold my tongue (good luck) the whole time. Of course when you're done your tongue swells up. You have to sleep sitting up and with ice on your throat so it doesn't swell shut. You're also slobbering like a rabid dog. They told me it would only take "another 10 or 12 treatments to work". I said no way in heck am I going through this crap another dozen times... and I didn't.
I've also had doctors suggest I have my jaw sawed in half and repositioned. That ain't happening either. I've been through too many procedures that didn't work already. I had one doc that wanted to cut a diamond shaped piece out of my chin and twist it around, then pop it back in the hole. This would supposedly tightens the muscle that connects to the tongue, pulling my tongue forward and out of my airway. Who thinks up this crap?
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Permalink Reply by Melinda Hertel on
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If you are interested in surgical options, check out this blog article: http://melindaatezcpap.wordpress.com/2010/03/05/surgical-options-fo... . Links are provided so you can see pictures and get good information. After seeing the options, you might change your mind.
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Permalink Reply by Carl Speas on
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I had surgery 2 years ago. Please get more than 1 doctor's opinion before you do anything. See an ENT and a Sleep Specialist. My ENT insisted that surgery was the only option for me. I regret it. I had a total of 5 proceedures with 3 weeks of the worst pain in my life. I realized that I was not any better so the ENT suggested a mouth appliance, which by its self did not work either. 2 years later I sleep on a bipap with a mouth appliance. Which according to my second doctor could have been avoided if I had skipped surgery. The Specialist said with sleep apnea, as bad as mine, i should have not had surgery it only complicates things and rarely works. If I do not learn to live with bipap a trach is my only option.
Now when I eat I do not know where the food will end up, sometimes it goes up sometimes it goes down. Food is not very comfortable up the back of your nose. Liquid works the same and so does pills. This may be gross but just a couple days ago I blew a cucumber seed out when I blew my nose. Just be very sure that the cure is worth any side affects that may occur. I guarantee the doctor will not tell you them all. This cannot be reversed!
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