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[Treatment] My severe OSA is .. cured
#1
My severe OSA is .. cured
In early 2013 I began suffering with what was essentially walking pneumonia. Had been previously diagnosed with moderate OSA a few years before but told them i was not interested in the mask. By the time pneumonia resolved, i was falling asleep at work and while driving on interstate on way home. Had home sleep test at my wife and dr. buddy's insistence. Averaged over 75 apnea/hr. Took a while to get fitted for machine and mask because i didn't wan to and i was not about to be prescribed an inferior machine type from a sleep doc i never saw (courtesy of home sleep test).
Began cpap at end of may. Daytime sleepiness gone. No trouble driving. Had to modify settings considerable to even be able to put the BLANK thing on. I hated it from the first day until the last on 9/26.
Turned to this forum for a cure because i knew it would only be months before i could not keep promise to wife about using the evil device. Only found stuff about you'll get used to it and there is no cure.

Well, for those of you like me, there may be. I just had the TORS sleep apnea surgery on 9/27. Wife is amazed. No snoring, no gasping, no choking. They took out pallet, tonsils, other stuff, and the base of the tongue. I would not wish this pain on my worst enemy. Been a week and it's the first the pain meds have made any progress at all against the unremitting agony of trying to swallow with organs that were cut open. Have not eaten in a week.

But, they say 2 more weeks of recovery and i'm done. No machine, no pain.
you have to be like me. The doc told my wife i was a perfect match forn the anatomy they are looking to succeed against. to that end there was a physical exam, an MRI, and a sleep endoscopy where they put the camera in your nose and watch the throat collapse.

so, if i knew the pain that i would have to undergo, i would hold off. But i didn't, so .. Please pray that i mend quickly. If you hate cpap as much as i were you feel like you're drowning, never felt like you had a good night's sleep, just that you could work without falling asleep, check it out for yourself and see if you're a good candidate. Guys, you need a good, compassionate, caring wife. Ladies, only try this with a caring sister.

We'll see final results in 3 months. i have to go back for a sleep test at the hospital. But for now i think for others, it would be best to see if they can improve the post operative care. I'm rambling under the influence of the pain meds. let me know if you have questions
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#2
RE: My severe OSA is .. cured
(10-05-2013, 11:51 AM)cured Wrote: In early 2013 I began suffering with what was essentially walking pneumonia. Had been previously diagnosed with moderate OSA a few years before but told them i was not interested in the mask. By the time pneumonia resolved, i was falling asleep at work and while driving on interstate on way home. Had home sleep test at my wife and dr. buddy's insistence. Averaged over 75 apnea/hr. Took a while to get fitted for machine and mask because i didn't wan to and i was not about to be prescribed an inferior machine type from a sleep doc i never saw (courtesy of home sleep test).
Began cpap at end of may. Daytime sleepiness gone. No trouble driving. Had to modify settings considerable to even be able to put the BLANK thing on. I hated it from the first day until the last on 9/26.
Turned to this forum for a cure because i knew it would only be months before i could not keep promise to wife about using the evil device. Only found stuff about you'll get used to it and there is no cure.

Well, for those of you like me, there may be. I just had the TORS sleep apnea surgery on 9/27. Wife is amazed. No snoring, no gasping, no choking. They took out pallet, tonsils, other stuff, and the base of the tongue. I would not wish this pain on my worst enemy. Been a week and it's the first the pain meds have made any progress at all against the unremitting agony of trying to swallow with organs that were cut open. Have not eaten in a week.

But, they say 2 more weeks of recovery and i'm done. No machine, no pain.
you have to be like me. The doc told my wife i was a perfect match forn the anatomy they are looking to succeed against. to that end there was a physical exam, an MRI, and a sleep endoscopy where they put the camera in your nose and watch the throat collapse.

so, if i knew the pain that i would have to undergo, i would hold off. But i didn't, so .. Please pray that i mend quickly. If you hate cpap as much as i were you feel like you're drowning, never felt like you had a good night's sleep, just that you could work without falling asleep, check it out for yourself and see if you're a good candidate. Guys, you need a good, compassionate, caring wife. Ladies, only try this with a caring sister.

We'll see final results in 3 months. i have to go back for a sleep test at the hospital. But for now i think for others, it would be best to see if they can improve the post operative care. I'm rambling under the influence of the pain meds. let me know if you have questions

Here is sending wishes for a speedy recovery.

I don't think I could handle this surgery.
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#3
RE: My severe OSA is .. cured
Not to belittle your experience in the least, but I don't consider you cured just yet.

Your final results aren't for another 3 months. After that, let us know how it goes.

As much as I dislike my mask and machine and all the "joy" that goes with it, I cannot understand hating it that much I would go to that extreme. I would LOVE the chance to be able to simply nap wherever I happen to be. I would love not having to lug that dang thing with me every time I need to sleep away from home. I hate having something stuck up my nose, making noise, drying me out, all that stuff. But I just cannot see myself going through what you did.

I wish you luck.
PaulaO

Take a deep breath and count to zen.




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#4
RE: My severe OSA is .. cured
(10-05-2013, 11:51 AM)cured Wrote: In early 2013 I began suffering with what was essentially walking pneumonia. Had been previously diagnosed with moderate OSA a few years before but told them i was not interested in the mask. By the time pneumonia resolved, i was falling asleep at work and while driving on interstate on way home. Had home sleep test at my wife and dr. buddy's insistence. Averaged over 75 apnea/hr. Took a while to get fitted for machine and mask because i didn't wan to and i was not about to be prescribed an inferior machine type from a sleep doc i never saw (courtesy of home sleep test).
Began cpap at end of may. Daytime sleepiness gone. No trouble driving. Had to modify settings considerable to even be able to put the BLANK thing on. I hated it from the first day until the last on 9/26.
Turned to this forum for a cure because i knew it would only be months before i could not keep promise to wife about using the evil device. Only found stuff about you'll get used to it and there is no cure.

Well, for those of you like me, there may be. I just had the TORS sleep apnea surgery on 9/27. Wife is amazed. No snoring, no gasping, no choking. They took out pallet, tonsils, other stuff, and the base of the tongue. I would not wish this pain on my worst enemy. Been a week and it's the first the pain meds have made any progress at all against the unremitting agony of trying to swallow with organs that were cut open. Have not eaten in a week.

But, they say 2 more weeks of recovery and i'm done. No machine, no pain.
you have to be like me. The doc told my wife i was a perfect match forn the anatomy they are looking to succeed against. to that end there was a physical exam, an MRI, and a sleep endoscopy where they put the camera in your nose and watch the throat collapse.

so, if i knew the pain that i would have to undergo, i would hold off. But i didn't, so .. Please pray that i mend quickly. If you hate cpap as much as i were you feel like you're drowning, never felt like you had a good night's sleep, just that you could work without falling asleep, check it out for yourself and see if you're a good candidate. Guys, you need a good, compassionate, caring wife. Ladies, only try this with a caring sister.

We'll see final results in 3 months. i have to go back for a sleep test at the hospital. But for now i think for others, it would be best to see if they can improve the post operative care. I'm rambling under the influence of the pain meds. let me know if you have questions

I don't know how they could really improve the post op care without keeping you drugged so much that you didn't do anything but sleep for 3 to 6 weeks and give you a feeding tube. But, sleeping and not getting up and moving after surgery can be dangerous (blood clots, pneumonia, etc.).

For me personally, I couldn't do something like this unless it was my only hope I had of not dying. Did the docs tell you what the repercussions are from having your pallet and base of your tongue removed? The thought of that to me is very scary.

Again, I hope your recovery is fast and you are feeling better soon. I am going to check out this surgery to see how long it has been done, etc.
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#5
RE: My severe OSA is .. cured
(10-05-2013, 11:51 AM)cured Wrote: In early 2013 I began suffering with what was essentially walking pneumonia. Had been previously diagnosed with moderate OSA a few years before but told them i was not interested in the mask. By the time pneumonia resolved, i was falling asleep at work and while driving on interstate on way home. Had home sleep test at my wife and dr. buddy's insistence. Averaged over 75 apnea/hr. Took a while to get fitted for machine and mask because i didn't wan to and i was not about to be prescribed an inferior machine type from a sleep doc i never saw (courtesy of home sleep test).
Began cpap at end of may. Daytime sleepiness gone. No trouble driving. Had to modify settings considerable to even be able to put the BLANK thing on. I hated it from the first day until the last on 9/26.
Turned to this forum for a cure because i knew it would only be months before i could not keep promise to wife about using the evil device. Only found stuff about you'll get used to it and there is no cure.

Well, for those of you like me, there may be. I just had the TORS sleep apnea surgery on 9/27. Wife is amazed. No snoring, no gasping, no choking. They took out pallet, tonsils, other stuff, and the base of the tongue. I would not wish this pain on my worst enemy. Been a week and it's the first the pain meds have made any progress at all against the unremitting agony of trying to swallow with organs that were cut open. Have not eaten in a week.

But, they say 2 more weeks of recovery and i'm done. No machine, no pain.
you have to be like me. The doc told my wife i was a perfect match forn the anatomy they are looking to succeed against. to that end there was a physical exam, an MRI, and a sleep endoscopy where they put the camera in your nose and watch the throat collapse.

so, if i knew the pain that i would have to undergo, i would hold off. But i didn't, so .. Please pray that i mend quickly. If you hate cpap as much as i were you feel like you're drowning, never felt like you had a good night's sleep, just that you could work without falling asleep, check it out for yourself and see if you're a good candidate. Guys, you need a good, compassionate, caring wife. Ladies, only try this with a caring sister.

We'll see final results in 3 months. i have to go back for a sleep test at the hospital. But for now i think for others, it would be best to see if they can improve the post operative care. I'm rambling under the influence of the pain meds. let me know if you have questions

I had 44.8 events per hour during my sleep study and I thought that was horrible. A lot of the reports I see people posting here are much higher and some of them have much lower pressures on their machines. I never had good results for 2 years as far as sleep improvement, etc. and I blamed it on the mask and I do believe that was part of it. However, now that I have the S9 Auto Set, I believe another part of the equation has been my pressure was too low.

The past 3 nights, my AHI's are the lowest they have been in over 2 years. Last night it was .2 over 9 plus hours (including a nap). An important concern of mine, even though I have been under 5 per hour on the AHI's, is that I am at the top pressure 95% of the time (so that tells me that my pressure setting that was originally 12 was probably not high enough and part of why my sleep quality did not improve) is that I may need a higher pressure and the machine I have will not go any higher. I am taking control of my apnea and will be seeing a doctor about it on Monday and get another sleep study test and I hope that they give me a sleep study test that checks everything. I think there is one that they also do during the day to see how things go as I am still sleepy during the day and often wonder why. I will update when I know more. In the meantime, I never, never go to sleep without my machine, especially if I take a nap because there isn't anyone with me during nap time. Even at night, I want that machine on because even with a spouse, that doesn't mean they may hear if you are having some issues during sleep time (especially if they are heavy sleepers).
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#6
RE: My severe OSA is .. cured
(10-05-2013, 12:53 PM)PaulaO2 Wrote: Not to belittle your experience in the least, but I don't consider you cured just yet.

Your final results aren't for another 3 months. After that, let us know how it goes.

As much as I dislike my mask and machine and all the "joy" that goes with it, I cannot understand hating it that much I would go to that extreme. I would LOVE the chance to be able to simply nap wherever I happen to be. I would love not having to lug that dang thing with me every time I need to sleep away from home. I hate having something stuck up my nose, making noise, drying me out, all that stuff. But I just cannot see myself going through what you did.

I wish you luck.

hello Paula.
not sure if this is correct way to post a reply yo a reply, but here goes.
The purpose of the post was to admit that i'm awfully hard headed and stubborn. They (my wife keeps telling me) told me of the pain and that i focused on the pain meds. So, just wanted others to know that the pain is real and that the post op care needs improvement. Knowing what i now know, i think i would have chickened out. Just want others to know that this seems to work but at great expense, if you are anatomically matched to it. Don't make a decision to do this lightly. One thing i found out for myself is that just rinsing the front of the mouth with cool water helps. They didn't mention it. Keeping house at 69 helps, they didn't mention it.
Will let you know in 3 months after sleep test, but wife's report is that my breathing is now a slow steady stream in each direction. And believe me, she's an expert at catching me in an apnea. One night she woke me so many times, i begged her to let me pass!
As for the mask, I had to sit on the edge of my bed, steeling myself through prayer to the Lord to just put it on. Then I had to manage througfh a panic attack as i laid down in settling mode where even though it was set to run from 4 to 8 or i think eventually 4 7.6, it felt like there was no air and i was drowning.
Nothing other than my promise to her to use it kept it on

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#7
RE: My severe OSA is .. cured
Wow - what an ordeal - as they say, experience is a harsh teacher.
Not sure I would be up for it as I have adapted to the hose fairly well and it works for me, even though it is inconvenient etc.

Best wishes for this being a long term permanent cure - , as you say looking good for that.

Very interested how this goes.
Please update us when you have your checks etc.

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#8
RE: My severe OSA is .. cured
(10-05-2013, 02:11 PM)me50 Wrote:
(10-05-2013, 11:51 AM)cured Wrote: In early 2013 I began suffering with what was essentially walking pneumonia. Had been previously diagnosed with moderate OSA a few years before but told them i was not interested in the mask. By the time pneumonia resolved, i was falling asleep at work and while driving on interstate on way home. Had home sleep test at my wife and dr. buddy's insistence. Averaged over 75 apnea/hr. Took a while to get fitted for machine and mask because i didn't wan to and i was not about to be prescribed an inferior machine type from a sleep doc i never saw (courtesy of home sleep test).
Began cpap at end of may. Daytime sleepiness gone. No trouble driving. Had to modify settings considerable to even be able to put the BLANK thing on. I hated it from the first day until the last on 9/26.
Turned to this forum for a cure because i knew it would only be months before i could not keep promise to wife about using the evil device. Only found stuff about you'll get used to it and there is no cure.

Well, for those of you like me, there may be. I just had the TORS sleep apnea surgery on 9/27. Wife is amazed. No snoring, no gasping, no choking. They took out pallet, tonsils, other stuff, and the base of the tongue. I would not wish this pain on my worst enemy. Been a week and it's the first the pain meds have made any progress at all against the unremitting agony of trying to swallow with organs that were cut open. Have not eaten in a week.

But, they say 2 more weeks of recovery and i'm done. No machine, no pain.
you have to be like me. The doc told my wife i was a perfect match forn the anatomy they are looking to succeed against. to that end there was a physical exam, an MRI, and a sleep endoscopy where they put the camera in your nose and watch the throat collapse.

so, if i knew the pain that i would have to undergo, i would hold off. But i didn't, so .. Please pray that i mend quickly. If you hate cpap as much as i were you feel like you're drowning, never felt like you had a good night's sleep, just that you could work without falling asleep, check it out for yourself and see if you're a good candidate. Guys, you need a good, compassionate, caring wife. Ladies, only try this with a caring sister.

We'll see final results in 3 months. i have to go back for a sleep test at the hospital. But for now i think for others, it would be best to see if they can improve the post operative care. I'm rambling under the influence of the pain meds. let me know if you have questions

I don't know how they could really improve the post op care without keeping you drugged so much that you didn't do anything but sleep for 3 to 6 weeks and give you a feeding tube. But, sleeping and not getting up and moving after surgery can be dangerous (blood clots, pneumonia, etc.).

For me personally, I couldn't do something like this unless it was my only hope I had of not dying. Did the docs tell you what the repercussions are from having your pallet and base of your tongue removed? The thought of that to me is very scary.

Again, I hope your recovery is fast and you are feeling better soon. I am going to check out this surgery to see how long it has been done, etc.

They do go over the negatives. Surgeons are not like medicine docs. They whush in, look you over, here's what you need to know, any questions, and are gone. This doc probably spent more time with me than she was accustomed to because i was such a match and had a lot of questions. I, and it's my fault, kept hearing better quality of life once it's over and not that this is really painful. So, part of publishing this was to help someone thinking of this that they need to carefully consider the post op part.
to be honest, though, i had been looking for an ENT to cut my tonsils for 2 years. I have allergies to everything. Finally got tested for the IGE molecule and was considered a good candidate for XOLAIR. If you have not been tested for this do it!! I've been on it for 6 months and it has made a huge differene. That and was a blessing, and i suspected that the sinus infections, being unable to get over a cold without massive anti-biotics, etc was related to something in the tonsils. I went to a number of ENT's and they told me i was crazy.
Well, crazy maybe i am, but when the doc cut into the first tonsil, she discovered a pool pf puss. Infection had been hiding there for who knows how long. She told my wife this really surprised her. I'm glad it's out.
the sleep endoscopy showed the upp was causing a complete collapse of the airway, so glad it's gone. Just wish it didn't hurt somuch
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#9
RE: My severe OSA is .. cured
(10-05-2013, 04:43 PM)cured Wrote:
(10-05-2013, 02:11 PM)me50 Wrote:
(10-05-2013, 11:51 AM)cured Wrote: In early 2013 I began suffering with what was essentially walking pneumonia. Had been previously diagnosed with moderate OSA a few years before but told them i was not interested in the mask. By the time pneumonia resolved, i was falling asleep at work and while driving on interstate on way home. Had home sleep test at my wife and dr. buddy's insistence. Averaged over 75 apnea/hr. Took a while to get fitted for machine and mask because i didn't wan to and i was not about to be prescribed an inferior machine type from a sleep doc i never saw (courtesy of home sleep test).
Began cpap at end of may. Daytime sleepiness gone. No trouble driving. Had to modify settings considerable to even be able to put the BLANK thing on. I hated it from the first day until the last on 9/26.
Turned to this forum for a cure because i knew it would only be months before i could not keep promise to wife about using the evil device. Only found stuff about you'll get used to it and there is no cure.

Well, for those of you like me, there may be. I just had the TORS sleep apnea surgery on 9/27. Wife is amazed. No snoring, no gasping, no choking. They took out pallet, tonsils, other stuff, and the base of the tongue. I would not wish this pain on my worst enemy. Been a week and it's the first the pain meds have made any progress at all against the unremitting agony of trying to swallow with organs that were cut open. Have not eaten in a week.

But, they say 2 more weeks of recovery and i'm done. No machine, no pain.
you have to be like me. The doc told my wife i was a perfect match forn the anatomy they are looking to succeed against. to that end there was a physical exam, an MRI, and a sleep endoscopy where they put the camera in your nose and watch the throat collapse.

so, if i knew the pain that i would have to undergo, i would hold off. But i didn't, so .. Please pray that i mend quickly. If you hate cpap as much as i were you feel like you're drowning, never felt like you had a good night's sleep, just that you could work without falling asleep, check it out for yourself and see if you're a good candidate. Guys, you need a good, compassionate, caring wife. Ladies, only try this with a caring sister.

We'll see final results in 3 months. i have to go back for a sleep test at the hospital. But for now i think for others, it would be best to see if they can improve the post operative care. I'm rambling under the influence of the pain meds. let me know if you have questions

I don't know how they could really improve the post op care without keeping you drugged so much that you didn't do anything but sleep for 3 to 6 weeks and give you a feeding tube. But, sleeping and not getting up and moving after surgery can be dangerous (blood clots, pneumonia, etc.).

For me personally, I couldn't do something like this unless it was my only hope I had of not dying. Did the docs tell you what the repercussions are from having your pallet and base of your tongue removed? The thought of that to me is very scary.

Again, I hope your recovery is fast and you are feeling better soon. I am going to check out this surgery to see how long it has been done, etc.

They do go over the negatives. Surgeons are not like medicine docs. They whush in, look you over, here's what you need to know, any questions, and are gone. This doc probably spent more time with me than she was accustomed to because i was such a match and had a lot of questions. I, and it's my fault, kept hearing better quality of life once it's over and not that this is really painful. So, part of publishing this was to help someone thinking of this that they need to carefully consider the post op part.
to be honest, though, i had been looking for an ENT to cut my tonsils for 2 years. I have allergies to everything. Finally got tested for the IGE molecule and was considered a good candidate for XOLAIR. If you have not been tested for this do it!! I've been on it for 6 months and it has made a huge differene. That and was a blessing, and i suspected that the sinus infections, being unable to get over a cold without massive anti-biotics, etc was related to something in the tonsils. I went to a number of ENT's and they told me i was crazy.
Well, crazy maybe i am, but when the doc cut into the first tonsil, she discovered a pool pf puss. Infection had been hiding there for who knows how long. She told my wife this really surprised her. I'm glad it's out.
the sleep endoscopy showed the upp was causing a complete collapse of the airway, so glad it's gone. Just wish it didn't hurt somuch

Too bad they didn't just start with your tonsils and adenoids before they proceeded with your pallet and base of your tongue.

I think part of my problem (as it has been even with dental issues and is the same for my children) is that my mouth is small but my tongue is large in comparison which probably doesn't help my apnea.
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#10
RE: My severe OSA is .. cured
(10-05-2013, 11:51 AM)cured Wrote: They took out pallet, tonsils, other stuff, and the base of the tongue.

The palate is pretty important for making some sounds of language, although less so in English than in other languages. However, in English being able to advance and retract the tongue root is critical to making some of the vowels. So how is your speech?
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