HI all!
  Well I am into day 5 of recovery after having a Tonsillectomy, UP3, and Septoplasty/Turbinate reduction.   First of all, I have to say I was prepared for something much much worse.   I was expecting pain beyond belief, bleeding, regurgitation and the list goes on.  I would say that this compares to the worst cold sore throat I have ever had.  The pain is easily managable with meds.  I have been able to eat chix noodle soup and other soft foods.  Its a good thing I really like Jello.  The most uncomfortable part is the plugged sinuses from the Septo.  They did take put the packs (I couldn't believe they fit those up in my nose) but left the stints in.  I haven't been able to push any air through my nostrils which is where I am getting most of my pain from because of  breathing through my mouth when I sleep really dries stuff up and it starts to hurting.  Any tips on how I might cure that?  I have taken many hot steamy showers and used the rinses etc which help for a few minutes.  I am getting geared up for the next few days as I hear that days 6-8 are the worst.  Will this be worth it in the long run?  time will tell.  I will be sure to post on my progress.  Good luck to any others considering surgery, and recovering. any questions I'll be glad to answer

Anthony wrote:

HI all!
  Well I am into day 5 of recovery after having a Tonsillectomy, UP3, and Septoplasty/Turbinate reduction.   First of all, I have to say I was prepared for something much much worse.   I was expecting pain beyond belief, bleeding, regurgitation and the list goes on.  I would say that this compares to the worst cold sore throat I have ever had.  The pain is easily managable with meds.  I have been able to eat chix noodle soup and other soft foods.  Its a good thing I really like Jello.  The most uncomfortable part is the plugged sinuses from the Septo.  They did take put the packs (I couldn't believe they fit those up in my nose) but left the stints in.  I haven't been able to push any air through my nostrils which is where I am getting most of my pain from because of  breathing through my mouth when I sleep really dries stuff up and it starts to hurting.  Any tips on how I might cure that?  I have taken many hot steamy showers and used the rinses etc which help for a few minutes.  I am getting geared up for the next few days as I hear that days 6-8 are the worst.  Will this be worth it in the long run?  time will tell.  I will be sure to post on my progress.  Good luck to any others considering surgery, and recovering. any questions I'll be glad to answer

Hi Anthony,

Great to hear that your pain meds are working well. Not sure if days 6/8 are worst or not, but there is a risk of bleeding up to day 10. In the unlikely event of this happening you should head straight to your nearest ER.

What type of apnoea do you have, mild/moderate or severe ? Have you tried cpap or did you go straight for the surgery ?

Depending on the severity of your apnoea UP3, generally speaking, is not very successful. For very mild apnoea and snoring it has proved fairly successful (but no figures available after 18 months post op), anything worse its a case of (at best) a 50% improvement in 50% of cases (this is not a long term figure, say post op 5 years). With borderline severe or severe apnoea a 50% improvement in your AHI will still leave you needing 'mechanical intervention', such as CPAP. In the short term (anyehere from 1 to 6/8 months) you should experience an improvement, reduction/cessation of snoring and more restful sleep. Unfortunately your skin tissue will revert to its pre op state and there is a danger that your initial apnoea could get worse. I have had this surgery (didn't work) and left my apnoea more severe than initially.

I would suggest a further sleep study after 6 months or so, so that progress can be compared to the initial study.

The septoplasty/turbinate reduction should help you with a better air flow as soon as the swelling goes down, and certainly should improve things.

I wish you well and hope that you get some form of success or improvement.

Please keep us posted with updates, as it is important to record any successes.

Kind regards,

Daniel


_________________
The untreated Sleep Apnoea sufferer died quietly in his sleep.......
Unlike his three passengers who died screaming !!!!!!

(Anon)

Hi Daniel
  I was diagnosed with moderate to severe apnea last January and have been on a CPAP since.  Intial results with the CPAP were good.  I felt rested, better than I had in a long time.  Then, 3-4 months into treatment I leveled off.  I was getting rest but still tired.  The Physician and I tried a few things, Rhinocort, breating strips but to no avail.  From there I was refered to an ENT.  It was discovered that I had a deviated septum excessively large tonsills and a very long uvula.  I decided to have the procedure.  I honestly don't mind wearing the CPAP, but I want it to work the way I know it can.  I could have probably gotten away with just the nose work, but past experinces with my tonsills swung me towards having it all done.  At this point only time will tell how successful the surgery was.  Like I mentioned before, if my CPAP will work to 100% then this was all well worth it.   I will keep you posted

Day 8.  
I finally turned the corner!  The worst of the pain is gone and is now a dull throb.  I had the stints removed from my nose yesterday and I can breathe!  Also,  I have been able to drink without having anything go up my nose.  This experience was was much better than I had anticipated.  I am not saying that it wasnt miserably painful, but much better than I was lead to believe it would be like.  This isn't something i'd recommend without trying everything else first.  However, if you have decided to have it done..I thought you might like to hear about a positive for once.    
I dont know yet if it is going to work or not, but I know that I am breathing better now and I wont miss my tonsills.  I will post after a while and let you know if it worked or not.
I'll be happy to answer any questions that you may have!

Hi Anthony,
I'm glad you are feeling better now.  The surgery is too notorious for the pain it generates.  I'm, however, not too concerned about how painful it is, but how effective.  Have you scheduled a follow-up sleep study yet?  Please keep us posted.  Tks!


_________________
mild6

Anthony,
I had the same surgeries about 7 years ago on the advice of my ENT doc. It was very painful but well worth it to me.  I now know I was experiancing severe apnea at the time because I remember craning my neck back and jutting my jaw just so I could breath enough to get to sleep. I was exhausted all of the time and super irritable and depressed. I actually went through a divorce that I probably wouldnt have had I not been in such miserable shape mentally and physically. At any rate , I am very glad I had the surgery as I had tonsil and nasal problems most of my life. I was diagnosed with severe apnea about 3 months ago and got my cpap machine and used it on and off until I found this site a week ago. I learned far more here than my doc ever told me!  Since I now know how critical treatment is for my health, I religiously use my machine every night and have began to experiance some real improvement in my memory and mood. I am soooo glad to have found this site because there were days I wondered how I would hang on any longer. Good luck and keep us posted on your progress!

Jaybo2 wrote:

Anthony,
I had the same surgeries about 7 years ago on the advice of my ENT doc. It was very painful but well worth it to me.  I now know I was experiancing severe apnea at the time because I remember craning my neck back and jutting my jaw just so I could breath enough to get to sleep. I was exhausted all of the time and super irritable and depressed. I actually went through a divorce that I probably wouldnt have had I not been in such miserable shape mentally and physically. At any rate , I am very glad I had the surgery as I had tonsil and nasal problems most of my life. I was diagnosed with severe apnea about 3 months ago and got my cpap machine and used it on and off until I found this site a week ago. I learned far more here than my doc ever told me!  Since I now know how critical treatment is for my health, I religiously use my machine every night and have began to experiance some real improvement in my memory and mood. I am soooo glad to have found this site because there were days I wondered how I would hang on any longer. Good luck and keep us posted on your progress!

Jaybo - your story is familiar.  Folks have the surgery, then end up on CPAP.  I am curious, did you have a followup sleep study after the sleep study?

Mike,
I only had the one sleep study 3 months ago. I never had a study years ago when I had the surgery, I just had the surgery on the advice of my ENT. My tonsils were swolen a lot of the time and I had deviated septum from a broken nose. I was miserable and coundnt breath properly (and also had apnea I now know) so I had both the tonsils and nose done at the same time.

The study I had 3 months ago came after my brother was diagnosed and got on cpap and had a  positive improvement in sleep and energy level. (he had almost waited too late and has pretty major heart disease now)

I had some problems adjusting to the mask and was also recently married so I just slacked off but after getting super tired again and having some memory fog and depression I started looking on the net for apnea forums and found this one. Now I know I have to be 100% committed for my healths sake and Im actually excited about the potential improvements.

Sorry Mike, I forgot to log in...Im still a newbie. The above reply was from me
jaybo2

Anthony,
    I am very interested in your experiences.  I visited an ENT for an unrelated problem and then asked about the apnea problem.  It is interesting to see the differences in perspective for the various medical specialists.  The pullminary medicine folks really push the CPAP and tend to really discurage the surgical options.  The ENT had a very different perspective.  He indicated that surgery is a good option for the milder cases.  He feels that I am a good candidate for the UP3.   I am a bit wary about this since I have run into a number of of horror stories about the surgical option.   From my perspective, I am having a difficult time reconciling the widely varying opinions of the two camps.  

The ENT gave me about a 70% probability of success with the surgery.  He indiated that he would much prefer to be offering better odds, but this is what he thinks is the case for me.  I am going to schedule another visit to talk about this in more detail with him.  I don't much care for the CPAP.   While I seem to handle it well enough I really hate being teathered to a machine.  On occasion I hae to travel a lot, and the machine (even a very small one) is one more thing to have to drag along and get through security.  

Please let us know what you outcome is.  It will really help me sort out my options.