Trying to get UPPP surgery - Dr. denies me

[SuperSleeper]

Not knowing the "whole" story, it is sometimes difficult to give encouragement or adverse advice to someone. When I say the "whole story", I mean I;m sure there is a lot of other circumstantial info that has lead you up to this UPPP surgery decision. I would like to enter some "food for thought" about this.
You said that you have been on CPAP therapy for 2 years..BUT.. you haven't been complaint! Why not? Is it embarrassment, inconvenience, poor equipment fitting, a vanity issue?

I'm surprised that both your MD's say that UPPP .. is the best option. They obviously know you and your personality better then I. Strangely to me, UPPP would normally be a last option for MILD sleep apnea. There must be some other extenuating circumstances. CPAP should correct that MILD apnea situation easily.
You have had several bad incidents of falling asleep. Thats scary. Hopefully not in an automobile. I share your concern for your and others safety.

You say that you are terrified and frightened of hospitals. So?? why go? Wouldn't CPAP therapy be the easier course of action for you? I think the reason that the MD's (at a loss??) think that UPPP is your best option is because you are mind-set about NOT using (non-complaince) the CPAP to correct your dangerous apnea condition.

Sorry to be so pointed and I truly wish you well with your surgery.

[SuperSleeper]

Get your tonsils out first, see if it helps.

Then try CPAP again.

Then do UVPP as a very last resort.

[SuperSleeper]

My husband underwent corrective surgery for his Obstructive Sleep Apnea just over three months ago, but it hasn't made much of a difference. His sleep study was fairly old, but i knew he still had the Apnea because when you sleep in the same bed as someone with OSA it's hard not to notice.

He tried the CPAP machine when he was diagnosed with the OSA but hated it and wouldn't give it a long-term chance... Which is why he decided to go with the surgery...
The ENT took out his tonsils and uvula, and also corrected his deviated septum and reduced the turbinates on one side of his nose. Since the surgery, he seems to have stopped gasping for breath and snoring 90% of the time, but energy-wise... he is still tired ALL THE TIME!

The deviated septum fixed his being able to breath out of both nostrils, but he says all the mucus and phlegm he has now makes him wish he didn't have it done. I read on another board that success rates for this kind of surgery are only 20%? Yikes... we never would have done this if we knew what we know now.

Has anyone else had bad experiences with corrective surgery? Is there anything else besides the CPAP that can be used or done to alleviate the symptoms?

[SuperSleeper]

Thanks for your responses - I have to say I'm having the surgery because I've resigned myself to it - I know that sounds awful, especially for such a serious surgery, but as I mentioned before, I am desparate to sleep properly. Since the MDs are saying it's the best, I'm hoping they are right. Again, I know it's naive, especially being aware of the lower success rates. I appreciate the pointed feedback as well - I'm glad to hear of others who have experienced at least similar issues regarding sleep interruption.

I only seem to have extreme sleepiness on long driving trips, and have dozed off once to be awoken by the rumble strip, so I pulled over and asked my husband to drive. My daily commute to work is only 15 minutes each way, so luckily I don't usually get to that point. However, lately I've found my reaction time has slowed, and that my truck needs new brakes. Embarassing... but it adds to my desperation.

To answer questions - my non compliance with my CPAP is based soley on my uncanny ability to rip it off through the night. It's always around the 4 hour mark (I do have a data compatible machine and the doc reviewed my data on a bimonthly basis to see how I was doing), and I do it without waking up. We've tried chin straps, I've tried eye masks (to try to help strap it to my head), I've tried nasal pillows as well as full face masks, I've tried setting an alarm halfway though the night, my husband will wake up and make me put it back on, but it is always off by the time I wake up again in the morning. The doc thought Ambien or Trazadone might work to help me fall into a deeper sleep so that I am less likely to pull it off, but neither worked and just made me groggy and stupid in the mornings. I also have a sneaking suspicion that it is causing my apnea to worsen, even though my doc swears it wouldn't.

While it's frustrating and irritating (I'll be honest and admit that), I did give the CPAP an honorable try, and really wish that it would work. It was when I finally went back to the sleep specialist in tears after trying all of the various strapping modes because one of my coworkers caught me snoring (thank GOD it wasn't my boss!), he said we should try the final option (Which he'd laid out when I had my sleep study done initially as CPAP, Mandibular advancing device which also has not helped, but I can at least use, and finally UPPP).

I do reserve 8 hours for sleep each night, I make sure to... I am in bed from 830pm - 430 am. I make sure not to be overly stimulated before bed, I eat a light dinner at 5, no spicy food, no caffiene after 10am... despite my sleepiness, I'm a rather neurotic person and track this stuff like it's nobody's business. Which is why hospitals terrify me - I'm not entirely thrilled with being put under and at the mercy of someone else... heh.

[SuperSleeper]

Duckydoom, I don;t think that it >sounds awful at all<, to having resigned yourself to do whatever it takes to champion yourself toward better health. Complacency is a recipe for health disaster. Your honorable try at CPAP is to be commended. Agreed, CPAP therapy is not for everybody, and no one, needs to make any excuses for its failure, if they have tried. And you gave it, your best shot!

Now, go get the brakes fixed before you or your loved one needs additional surgery.

Still, wishing you all the best toward a successful surgery and a speed recovery.

[SuperSleeper]

If anyone who is participating in this thread has the surgery please keep us posted on how you do. It will help others to make the decision and educate the rest of us on how to respond to this question in the future. Thanks.

[SuperSleeper]

Thanks, JudgeMental I agree, complacency is awful for health management. I actually work for an HMO doing clerical type stuff, so I see lots of that, and it amazes me how many simply suffer, and conversely, how many take advantage and go for every feasible option out there. It still is scary though, only because it's currently the unknown. Once the anesthesia wears off on Friday and I go home, we'll see how it is then. And @ zimlich, I'd like to share as I go along, if that's okay. Sort of a "work in progress" if you will. Hopefully it'll be a good story to share. I'll also try to post my sleep study stats if I can find them (I see everyone else has). We're just in the process of moving (which also doesn't help with lack of sleep), so I'm not entirely sure where everything is at.

[SuperSleeper]

Have you tried taping the mask to your face? Maybe that will be sufficiently difficult to remove that you will wake up without taking it off.

If you need to get up to go to the bathroom, do you take the mask off or disconnect the hose from the mask?

[SuperSleeper]

If I got up at all during the night (ie to go to the bathroom), I would take the mask off completely, and then put it back on once I got back into bed. Perhaps if I tried the other means - disconnecting the hose, that would yield different results. I haven't tried taping it to my face, though I have considered it. I was worried about my hair getting caught in the tape and having difficulties with that.

[SuperSleeper]

You're not willing to risk getting your hair caught in the tape, but you're OK with having someone cut pieces of your mouth, nose, and throat out?