Hello Guest, Welcome to Apnea Board !
As a guest, you are limited to certain areas of the board and there are some features you can't use.
To post a message, you must create a free account using a valid email address.

or Create an Account


New Posts   Today's Posts

New Here with significant findings.
#1
New Here with significant findings.
I'm a 37 year old male with very mild sleep apnea and pretty bad UARS lots of reras.  I use to get a full 7 to 8 hrs a night through out my entire life that was until 2016.  

In 2015 I had my deviated septum corrected with turbinate reduction. Moving forward 1 year to 2016 I started having sleep issues. I would wake up every few hrs and never get a good night sleep.  This has persisted  leading up to now.

I went to all kinds of doctors and none of them could figure out the issue. I went to a sleep specalist and that's when he found the issue. He said I could try CPAP and see if it helps, I agreed. 

I will receive my airsense 10 for her on June 5th.  Deep down I feel the issue was a botched septoplasty back in 2015.  I have seen my old surgeon and wanted him to scope my entire nasal passage but he would not and only looked in my nose and said it was ok.  So I decided to go back to my PCP and see of she could recommend a great ENT.  She actually took a look at my nostrils and right away saw that I have nasal valve collapse when breathing in.

I tested my nostrils and they do collapse especially the left one.  This makes sense because it was hard for me to work out being that I was not getting enough air!

So now I have an apt with a new ENT and my old facial surgeon again next week, I may have to get this surgically repaired.

Being that I only have very mild sleep apnea AHI 5 and UARS.  I am 80 percent confident repairing this will solve my mild sleep apnea and UARS.   What do guys think?
Post Reply Post Reply
#2
RE: New Here with significant findings.
(05-26-2018, 09:58 PM)BlueMachine Wrote: I'm a 37 year old male with very mild sleep apnea and pretty bad UARS lots of reras.  I use to get a full 7 to 8 hrs a night through out my entire life that was until 2016.  

In 2015 I had my deviated septum corrected with turbinate reduction. Moving forward 1 year to 2016 I started having sleep issues. I would wake up every few hrs and never get a good night sleep.  This has persisted  leading up to now.

I went to all kinds of doctors and none of them could figure out the issue. I went to a sleep specalist and that's when he found the issue. He said I could try CPAP and see if it helps, I agreed. 

I will receive my airsense 10 for her on June 5th.  Deep down I feel the issue was a botched septoplasty back in 2015.  I have seen my old surgeon and wanted him to scope my entire nasal passage but he would not and only looked in my nose and said it was ok.  So I decided to go back to my PCP and see of she could recommend a great ENT.  She actually took a look at my nostrils and right away saw that I have nasal valve collapse when breathing in.

I tested my nostrils and they do collapse especially the left one.  This makes sense because it was hard for me to work out being that I was not getting enough air!

So now I have an apt with a new ENT and my old facial surgeon again next week, I may have to get this surgically repaired.

Being that I only have very mild sleep apnea AHI 5 and UARS.  I am 80 percent confident repairing this will solve my mild sleep apnea and UARS.   What do guys think?

I am sorry but I do not understand.
What do you mean that you tested your nostrils and the left one collapses? What test are you performing?
You said you saw a sleep specialist and he "found the issue" and that you should try CPAP? What did he do and what did he find? Did you have a sleep study? What were the specific results?
Post Reply Post Reply
#3
RE: New Here with significant findings.
What we think is really immaterial at this point because you are still awaiting further medical exams and haven't received your machine yet. That is like asking someone to peer into a crystal ball and see the future.

I suggest you continue your diagnosis and if you take delivery of your xPAP, load #Sleepyhead software, and post a few screenshots -- then you will get a better-informed opinion of what you might do to improve your sleep statistics.

In the meantime, have you tried nasal dilators: external like Breathe Right strips or the internal silicone internal ones for night wear?
Until then, stay the course and we wish you the best of luck.
"The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane." -- Marcus Aurelius
Post Reply Post Reply
#4
RE: New Here with significant findings.
As usual srlevine has some solid advise. Taking delivery of the CPAP will let you experience the therapy relief from that device, and if the surgery works out successfully, you may find you don't need the machine. The CPAP will provide enough pressure to open your nostrils and relieve any other source of UARS. IMO if this is as simple as a nsasal collapse, you could use a stent like the SnoreQuiet to see if that resolves the problem.

I'm yet to see the ENT that thinks CPAP is better than his surgery, but I have encountered many of their patients that said they never experienced relief until they got on CPAP.
Sleeprider
Apnea Board Moderator
www.ApneaBoard.com

____________________________________________
Download OSCAR Software
Soft Cervical Collar
Optimizing Therapy
Organize your OSCAR Charts
Attaching Files
Mask Primer
How To Deal With Equipment Supplier


INFORMATION ON APNEA BOARD FORUMS OR ON APNEABOARD.COM SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED AS MEDICAL ADVICE. ALWAYS SEEK THE ADVICE OF A PHYSICIAN BEFORE SEEKING TREATMENT FOR MEDICAL CONDITIONS, INCLUDING SLEEP APNEA. INFORMATION POSTED ON THE APNEA BOARD WEB SITE AND FORUMS ARE PERSONAL OPINION ONLY AND NOT NECESSARILY A STATEMENT OF FACT.
Post Reply Post Reply
#5
RE: New Here with significant findings.
Ditto the above.

Fortunately I've not dealt with ENT personally, however, my dad suffers daily from ENT attempts and promises that his sleep apnea would be cured by their sword tricks. He is not cured and obviously I'm peeved with the surgical option.
Jesse


Post Reply Post Reply
#6
RE: New Here with significant findings.
Hi BlueMachine and welcome to the forum!

You said you went to a sleep specialist who said xPAP may help. Did you have a sleep study? If not, perhaps having one might be the way to go. It is certainly far less invasive than surgery.

Good luck and keep us posted!
APNEABOARD - A great place to be if you're a hosehead!!  Rolleyes  

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
EVERY ACCOMPLISHMENT BEGINS WITH THE DECISION TO TRY!
Post Reply Post Reply
#7
RE: New Here with significant findings.
Hi, BlueMachine, and welcome!

You've been given some excellent suggestions and advice — which I can't enhance; I just want to note that your level of OSA doesn't qualify for insurance coverage of an xPAP device.  If insurance is a factor, you would want to consider that cost.
Post Reply Post Reply
#8
RE: New Here with significant findings.
You are young.  The surgery, if it is suggested by a couple of competent practitioners, could make PAP moot.  I would ask them to convince me that the condition they intend to fix is THE cause of your sleep quality defect, AND THAT what they intend to do will ameliorate that conditions.  If they convince you, and we should assume the surgery will eventually correct the defect, you won't have to deal with PAP therapy for the foreseeable future.

Or, you could avoid the surgery altogether and just live with PAP of one kind or another for the next 50+ years.

I know what I'd do.
Post Reply Post Reply
#9
RE: New Here with significant findings.
Actually my insurance did cover pap with an ahi of just 5. But internal nasal dilators has greatly improved my quality of sleep. I will update what the ENT and surgeon say tomorrow. Nasal collapse is not a joke it's very serious. That is the only surgery I will do because it is very noticeable.

Please YouTube nasal valve collapse. It's amazing how much more rem sleep I am getting because of a good internal nasal dilator. The breathe right strips was not strong enough to prevent the collapse.
Post Reply Post Reply
#10
RE: New Here with significant findings.
I look forward to hear what the doctors have to say tomorrow. I'm glad that you are focused on the one condition and I hope that should you have surgery, that it will be a complete success.

You have a great CPAP machine and CPAP therapy is, in my opinion, the best way to overcome sleep apnea. I see that you have the default pressure settings, and if that works well for you than keep right on. Usually a minimum pressure of 4 is too low for adults and most CPAP users are comfortable at slightly higher minimums.

If you want to find out, download Sleepyhead and collect the data. If you want to post some charts then you will get some optimization advice. Instructions are in my signature.

Edit: I just saw that you have sleepyhead, still encourage you to utilize that information to better your therapy if possible.

Best wishes.
Jesse


Post Reply Post Reply


Possibly Related Threads...
Thread Author Replies Views Last Post
Gross [Treatment] Successful Treatment... Still Significant Struggle TiredTim 0 60 03-27-2024, 07:01 PM
Last Post: TiredTim
  Home Sleep Study - Low AHI but significant desat ArcherNeedsSleep 65 5,932 03-19-2024, 07:08 PM
Last Post: SarcasticDave94
  [Pressure] DreaamStation Stays at virtually constant pressure; Significant AHI increase Tom Buck 6 406 01-06-2024, 09:09 PM
Last Post: Sleeprider
  [CPAP] Significant noise from mask since change of CPAP machine! SwissTruffle 7 703 01-03-2024, 10:00 PM
Last Post: Sleeprider
  CPAP and Significant Other that Cleans the Bedroom StratCat48 0 279 09-03-2023, 07:12 PM
Last Post: StratCat48
  Small tweaks can lead to significant changes. nathanoj 0 447 06-14-2023, 01:13 AM
Last Post: nathanoj
Question Any Significant Difference Between S10 & S11? mikepd2510 3 1,993 04-29-2022, 07:44 PM
Last Post: mikepd2510


New Posts   Today's Posts


About Apnea Board

Apnea Board is an educational web site designed to empower Sleep Apnea patients.