Clydesdales/Athenas (200+ lb / 91+ kg) - Sleep Apnea Surgery

A while back someone started a thread about CPAP machines/Sleep Apnea well.....

On 4-11-07 I had a tonsilectomy(spl) and U(PPP) done. Verdict from Mrs. Missing no more snoring, she also says I'm not struggling to breath in my sleep. She said that my breathing is very heavy and strong. Yeah I know I need a sleep study to confirm her observations but it seems to have been a success!!!!!

Only down side, VERY painful!!! It still hurts abit to swallow after over 2 weeks but is getting better every day ( I lost 15 pounds because it was so hard to eat, so maybe it's an up side).

My doc says as long as the CPAP machine works, no surgery for me. I guess I could fake it and say I am still snoring but I'm afarid of the pain of surgery. My son had it when he was 15 y/o just last year. He is was tougher than me and he said it hurt like heck.

My doc says as long as the CPAP machine works, no surgery for me. I guess I could fake it and say I am still snoring but I'm afarid of the pain of surgery. My son had it when he was 15 y/o just last year. He is was tougher than me and he said it hurt like heck.

+1. I've been using mine for 5 years now. I'm 44 and have no desire to have surgery.

I hope this works out for you. My doc said that surgery wouldn't help me but I did have a septum reconstruction and my sinsuses widened. that helped me breathe a little better, but mostly just while I'm awake. If you do end up needing a CPAP down the road, don't fight it. As soon as you know what a good nights sleep is (which you might if the surgery helps) you'll want to do anything needed to keep getting them. speaking of which, (and this is not an attempted thread-jack) does anyone know how to keep a cat from chewing through CPAP tubing?

I hope this works out for you. My doc said that surgery wouldn't help me but I did have a septum reconstruction and my sinsuses widened. that helped me breathe a little better, but mostly just while I'm awake. If you do end up needing a CPAP down the road, don't fight it. As soon as you know what a good nights sleep is (which you might if the surgery helps) you'll want to do anything needed to keep getting them. speaking of which, (and this is not an attempted thread-jack) does anyone know how to keep a cat from chewing through CPAP tubing?
Spray iot with a nicotine based spray.....tastes terrible to the cat and once they tast it a couple of times, they will quit chewing.

Not a hijack as far as I'm concerned, but it's not my thread!:p It is apnea issue related though!:D

By the way, for you fellow apnea sufferers, as you lose weight, it's likely your apnea will recede as well. I've gone from BIPAP 17/20 on the pressure to 10 cm on a CPAP unit and can tolerate sleep without it if I need to now! A bit more and I may even be able to lose the CPAP permanently!:D :D :D :D :D

I had the CPAP for 3 years, never really helped me any. I'm 1 year post op from having the facial reconstruction surgery, and I can say I don't regret it all...... Yes it sucked, but it never hurt. Just really uncomfortable, lost of swelling, and I'm just now eating solid foods (like steak) with relative ease..... I just happily donated my CPAP to a local charity last week... Man was I glad to see it go. If the CPAP works, use it. You will get used to it, and finally forget you ever have it on... But if all else fails, see a good surgeon, you won't regret it-----Fog

As soon as you know what a good nights sleep is (which you might if the surgery helps) you'll want to do anything needed to keep getting them.

Before the surgery I thought I slept pretty good, now...... WOW!!!!!! Since I've gone through the surgery and it seems to have worked very well I have to make sure the weight loss continues so there is no chance that I get put on the machine later in life.

As a side note I no longer have to take blood pressure meds, it seems once the apnea was cleared up by the surgery my BP returned to normal.

I hope this works out for you. My doc said that surgery wouldn't help me but I did have a septum reconstruction and my sinsuses widened. that helped me breathe a little better, but mostly just while I'm awake. If you do end up needing a CPAP down the road, don't fight it. As soon as you know what a good nights sleep is (which you might if the surgery helps) you'll want to do anything needed to keep getting them. speaking of which, (and this is not an attempted thread-jack) does anyone know how to keep a cat from chewing through CPAP tubing?
Also a watered down hot sauce sprayed on it will work. my cat's chew on tubing, wires, styrofoam, cardboard, papertowels, toilet paper, and sponges. Hot sauce definately works. Somethings I also used a watergun method on. Watch for them to do it and spritz them with water. A little hard to do when sleeping though.

I use CPAP with a pressure of 7.5. Works great and I love it: no more snoring, sleepiness or depression. I even use it when I take a nap. My sleep test prior to CPAP showed me having 597 waking events in 8 1/2 hours. I HIGHLY recommend aanyone who is having trouble sleeping to have an oevrnight sleep study. My wife is certainly glad I did!

Tony

I use CPAP with a pressure of 7.5. Works great and I love it: no more snoring, sleepiness or depression. I even use it when I take a nap. My sleep test prior to CPAP showed me having 597 waking events in 8 1/2 hours. I HIGHLY recommend aanyone who is having trouble sleeping to have an oevrnight sleep study. My wife is certainly glad I did!

Tony
Good idea, keep me in a job!

BS, RPSGT here...

CPAP for me until I lose the weight. I am told the soring should clear up. We'll see.

My sleep test prior to CPAP showed me having 597 waking events in 8 1/2 hours.
Holy crap! That's gotta be a record. I only had 36 waking moments in 6 hr of sleep during my sleep study.

How do you sleep during a sleep study? I'd be concerned about everyone looking at me, wires, cameras, etc. I'd never be able to fall asleep.

How do you sleep during a sleep study? I'd be concerned about everyone looking at me, wires, cameras, etc. I'd never be able to fall asleep.
yes there are wires and a camera, but there isn't anyone actually in the room with you. I didn't have a problem falling asleep because I get home from work at 7 AM. I didn't take a nap all day so by the time I got there at 8:30 PM it was hard for me to stay awake while they were hooking me up.

Jorpe, your about like me, I had a crazy high number like that with the longest episode lasting almost 1 minute. No wonder my wife used to tell me I looked a little dusky in the morning. Been CPAP'n almost 5 years now and have encouraged many to get a sleep study done. The last place I worked we got up to 5 guys hooked up to CPAP. Productivity went through the roof! I was a little hesitant joing the forum but jumped right in after reading this topic. - XXL

I've considered having surgery to straighten septum, tonsillectomy, etc. because my dependency on the CPAP means that I feel tied to an electrical outlet. How'm I gonna tour & camp with a CPAP? Yes, yes, I know it can be done but being apnic, relying on a CPAP certainly cuts into the long wilderness backpacking trips...

I've considered having surgery to straighten septum, tonsillectomy, etc. because my dependency on the CPAP means that I feel tied to an electrical outlet. How'm I gonna tour & camp with a CPAP? Yes, yes, I know it can be done but being apnic, relying on a CPAP certainly cuts into the long wilderness backpacking trips...
Unfortunately, most likely even after the surgery you're going to have some of the resistance/obstruction in your upper airway... I see it all the time in pts who go into any corrective surgery thinking they'll be cured of OSA or UARS...

Think of it this way... Your insurance company already invested over $1k in you for the CPAP (if you've gone through a couple masks, filters and hoses) and if you say ''no doc I cant handle it anymore'' most likely your insurance will cover your surgery. Then they'll say... we just paid an ENT to bore out your upper airway, you damn well better be cured.... so back to the sleep lab. IF there's any trace of obstruction in your upper airway they're going to script you a CPAP again anyways. They look at it as they've spent a lot of money on you to keep you from having the long term effects of untreated apnea, so you better be using your prescribed treatment.

Well, I think there is wisdom in your response. I don't have to like it & I have heard the same from my GP that 1) surgery, 2) CPAP, 3) whatever else in treatments, all have their success stories and failures.

Boy, though, I'd really like to be a success story. Since my deviated septum cuts off 80% of airflow on one side & 20% on the other, it is pretty annoying.

With 2 boys in college, I'm not likely to come up with the $ 2,000+ that will be my co-pay on a surgical procedure any time soon so my whining is just wishful thinking.

anyway, thanks for your thoughtful response...

Well, I think there is wisdom in your response. I don't have to like it & I have heard the same from my GP that 1) surgery, 2) CPAP, 3) whatever else in treatments, all have their success stories and failures.

Boy, though, I'd really like to be a success story. Since my deviated septum cuts off 80% of airflow on one side & 20% on the other, it is pretty annoying.

With 2 boys in college, I'm not likely to come up with the $ 2,000+ that will be my co-pay on a surgical procedure any time soon so my whining is just wishful thinking.

anyway, thanks for your thoughtful response...
Sorry, not trying to be a downer. I'm a sleep tech and have started labs in the past, it sucks how that works... BUT... BUT... a deviated septum is a different story. You could very well have a lot higher chance of success than someone who just wants the surgery instead of CPAP because they think they can get away with it. A deviated septum is really annoying in the sleep lab. You'll undoubtedly test positive for obstructive apnea, but may beathe fine through your mouth. With a deviated septum you're not giving yoruself a chance to sleep well. The negative physiologyical effects of sleep apnea will FUBAR your fitness attempts. If you're out riding and makin it with a deviated septum, my riding helmet is off to you... Congrats!

If you're interested in knowing more about the physiology of sleep (and pathophysiology) I can give you some good info... It'll get you pumped up for getting treatment/therapy for OSA/UARS/snoring. My favorite part of my job is seeing people making runs at killer fitness levels getting the boost they need from getting OSA treated.

A deviated septum is really annoying in the sleep lab. You'll undoubtedly test positive for obstructive apnea, but may beathe fine through your mouth. With a deviated septum you're not giving yoruself a chance to sleep well.


Yup, I have to sleep with a full face mask (that doesn't fit - too small but it's the largest one made) due to deviated septum. But there's also a relaxation of the throat muscles that close the throat airways. Between not breathing through my nose & having the throat close up, I feel pretty trapped into the CPAP technology at this point...

As a follow-up to my earlier post, I too have a deviated septum, but it wasn't diagnosed until AFTER my sleep study and getting on CPAP. My CPAP pressure is such that even with the partial blockage I have in my nasal passage due to the deviated septum, I can still breathe using the Swift nose 'pillow' mask, which I HIGHLY recommend.

I used to have my mouth drop open to be able to breathe, hence the snoring. Now, I rarely have my mouth open when I'm sleeping.

As for the sleep study itself making it difficult to sleep, well yeah, I'm a light sleeper and being hooked up to all that stuff didn't make it easy, but the results have been so good that I would gladly do it over again OR recommend it to anyone having sleep difficulties.

As to weight loss solving apnea, my ENT surgeon said forget it. The problem is the changes that ocurr in the soft tissues at the back of the throat due to age. She has recommended that I have surgery to correct the septum, but that would only make it easier to breathe while awake, NOT solve the sleep apnea. Somnoplasty on my nasal passages (what she could reach with her probe) did little to correct my situation.

As for traveling with the machine, I have the new smaller unit from Respironics, The M Star Plus:

http://www.cpapsupplyusa.com/Respironics-Remstar-Plus-M-Series-With-C-Flex-And-Heated-Humidifier-Ds200h.aspx

It's very small and I can travel without the humidifier if I wanted, but I don't because my nasal passages are too sensitive to dry air.

I have the battery hookups to run it off a 12V deep cycle battery when we take out pop-up trailer out camping. Backpacking it's not, but I can't do that anymore anyway. My knees won't take it and I'm too old to sleep on the ground.

Tony