I have been through all of the sleep tests, CPAP, Pills, Prescription Nasal sprays and anything else you can think of.  I have a DR's appointment this thursday to talk about the surgery to remove the soft tissue in the back of my throat that is blocking my breathing during sleep.  

When I get to sleep I will breathe out of my nose.  Regardless of what position that I am in I snore.  I can feel the soft tissue in the back of my throat slowly shut off my air way.  For example, I will breathe in my nose but eh air that I take in gets blocked from coming back out my nose and is forced out of my mouth.  That is why the CPAP did not work effectively.  My oxygen levels for most of the night were about 86%.  

Has anyone had the surgery?  Does anyone else have symptoms like I have explained?

Thanks


_________________
"Excellence is not an act, but a habit"


Fsuwarrior

fsu-

I'm still a novice on apnea, but there is more than one surgery to solve it.  Please make sure you research all options before you decide on one.  Some remove part of your tissue, while another puts stiffeners in your soft pallette, removing nothing.  Make sure the doctors you are dealing with are accredited and on the lists that are available on this board.  Good luck!

joe

How bad is your apnea and what type of surgery are you looking at?  If you post all the details I'm sure people on the board can tell you about there experiences.

Please post back.

Melinda

fsuwarrior
If you were using a nasal pillow interface with your cpap of course it would not work with you inhaling thru the nose and exhaling thru your mouth.  You would need a full face mask.   More information is needed about your machine, your pressure, AHI's etc to determine why it failed.  Surgury for anything is risky, not always guaranteed and should be the last step after all else has been tried and failed.  Please give us more details and see if their are other options for you

MelindaR wrote:

How bad is your apnea and what type of surgery are you looking at?  If you post all the details I'm sure people on the board can tell you about there experiences.

Please post back.

Melinda

It is bad enough where my oxygen levels were 86% during the night.  I get up and my throat is swollen along with the uvula.  So much so that I can almost swollow the uvula.  That is how bad it gets sometimes.    
I am looking for the laser assisted surgery to remove the soft tissue and the uvula.  

I am not overweight.  I eat good and am very healthy in general.  

What other kind of info do you need?


_________________
"Excellence is not an act, but a habit"


Fsuwarrior

It is wise to have a copy of your sleep study report if you haven't already.  Your doctor should be able to give you a copy.

Severity of sleep apnea, as Melinda was getting at, depends on the medical criteria as defined by the number of apneas you experience per hour as determined from your sleep study.  Mild apnea is 5-15 apneas per hour; moderate is 15-30; and severe is 30 or more apneas per hour.  People with either severity can dip into low oxygen.

Surgeries for sleep apnea have a low success rate, and that rate is for those who have mild apnea, so it's necessary to know what kind you experience.  If it were me, I would want to know more from the doctors about the swelling of the uvula, and if there's something more going on, like problems with the tonsils, etc.  Most apneas are the obstructive sleep apnea kind, but the obstruction can vary per person but usually involving some aspect of the throat.  I would want to know precisely what's happening, given what you're describing.

And the guest is correct, the type of mask is important.  There are many people who cannot be nose-only breathers, for different reasons.  It can be from sinus problems, asthma, deviated septum difficulties, just habits of breathing, or others.  Those people need the full face mask.  It doesn't cover the whole face, just the nose and mouth, so that you can breathe through your mouth.  

You needn't be overweight to have sleep apnea; most are but many aren't.  Many regular folks on this forum are not overweight.  Weight contributes, but obstructive sleep apnea occurs because of the architecture of your throat, so weight may or may not be a factor.  Additional weight can make  using cpap somewhat more difficult if it makes it necessary to have higher pressures to keep open the airways.  I run a local sleep apnea support group.  You'd be surprised how many healthy looking folks attend.

The following link is to a list of various discussion topics about the different types of surgeries, from our Interesting Links section:
Click here for link


Linda

I have had the surgery you are talking about.  I would think lllloooonnnnggg and hard before you have this surgery.  It has other side effects and is very painful.  For me it did little to no good and now I have a reoccurring problem, I try to breathe what ever I am trying to swallow.  I am not sure that I would have this surgery if I had it to do again.  I was promised all kinds of improvement, and have seen little to none.  Please remember that i have a slanted opinion.

You say that you can breathe in through your nose but can't breathe out through it?

That happens to me sometimes when I sleep on my back and it seems to come from nasal congestion, which should be curable and not with an operation either.  I haven't pursued the problem yet with my doctor so I can't say any more about it.  But obviously I would be very interested in hearing what you find out about  it.

BTW, I am not a CPAP user (that's my husband).

fsuwarrior wrote:

MelindaR wrote:

How bad is your apnea and what type of surgery are you looking at?  If you post all the details I'm sure people on the board can tell you about there experiences.

Please post back.

Melinda

It is bad enough where my oxygen levels were 86% during the night.  I get up and my throat is swollen along with the uvula.  So much so that I can almost swollow the uvula.  That is how bad it gets sometimes.    
I am looking for the laser assisted surgery to remove the soft tissue and the uvula.  

I am not overweight.  I eat good and am very healthy in general.  

What other kind of info do you need?

Are you on any blood pressure medications?
Some of the ACE inhibitors can cause the symptoms you've described.
I used to take Lisinopril and had edema (swelling) of my uvula and the tissues in the back of my throat.
I've not had my adenoids or tonsils out.  though it has been presented to me as an option.
One of my children is a loud snorer, thankfully, not apneic.
After having his adenoids and tonsils out, he is MUCH quieter.