UPPP Surgery
kfink426
Posts: 16
Hello. I was just curious if anyone else went through UPPP surgery to correct their sleep apnea?
I had it in mid-January, along with nose surgery to repair a deviated septum and remove a sinus polyp at the same time.
I'll admit - I was miserable for a good 3-4 weeks afterwards. It was extremely painful. I lived off of liquid Vicodin. I didn't eat for 2 weeks - and lost 20 lbs (all of which I gained back shortly after).
However, I love not having to sleep with a machine. My snoring went from sounding like a chainsaw to a very low breathing. I wake up in the morning feeling more energetic now that I get a good night's rest.
I would recommend it to anyone. My life is so much better now because of the surgery. But like I said - it hurts. It hurts a lot. It was worse for me because my nose was broken at the same time my throat had everything removed. But if you can take being miserable for a few weeks, you'll have a lifetime of quality sleep ahead of you.
I had it in mid-January, along with nose surgery to repair a deviated septum and remove a sinus polyp at the same time.
I'll admit - I was miserable for a good 3-4 weeks afterwards. It was extremely painful. I lived off of liquid Vicodin. I didn't eat for 2 weeks - and lost 20 lbs (all of which I gained back shortly after).
However, I love not having to sleep with a machine. My snoring went from sounding like a chainsaw to a very low breathing. I wake up in the morning feeling more energetic now that I get a good night's rest.
I would recommend it to anyone. My life is so much better now because of the surgery. But like I said - it hurts. It hurts a lot. It was worse for me because my nose was broken at the same time my throat had everything removed. But if you can take being miserable for a few weeks, you'll have a lifetime of quality sleep ahead of you.
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Replies
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I read somewhere that it's not always successful. Good that it's worked for you, I'm a bit scared of the thought0
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It was something I discussed with my Specialist (nose surgery) and read a lot of detailed recovery notes on (from a UK Sleep Apnea Forum) I decided that since I couldn't be guaranteed success with it that I didn't want it.0
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I have had a C PAP machine since 1998 to satisfy an ex-wife and though I don’t have anyone to wake up with my snoring I do get a lot better nights sleep with my C PAP Machine than without. I did have surgery within my nose early on since I always had nasal drainage and that helped me to lower the settings on my machine and keep my nose from draining all the time. Some of the horror stories I have heard about the surgery is that some people get such bad sinus infections that they end up with Migraine Headaches or they take so much out of the throat that they take a drink and it comes out their nose. I have been satisfied using the C PAP machine but now that I have applied to the Peace Corps I want to be able to live in a country where I may not always have electricity at night and I may want to go tent camping without having to figure out how to plug in a C PAP machine. I plan to talk to a nose and throat specialist to see if they would recommend anything that would help me get off of the machine. I am working at trying to loose 40 lbs before entering the Peace Corps. It would help keep my knees from getting too sore with all the walking I would expect to do. I would be happy to go into retirement without having to haul the C PAP machine with me wherever I go. I expect to loose weight in the Peace Corps by living on a third world diet or just by drinking the water but it would be good to eliminate the total use of a C PAP. I just would want to be able to heal up within 4 months before they tell me where they would send me so that I wouldn’t be susceptible to infections wherever I go.0
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yeah the cpap puts me off going camping without electricity, it's a pain
( good luck, let us know how you get on 0 -
I have been nominated to the Peace Corps, have sent off my finger prints for the background check and am waiting for a conditional medical release from PC Medical for a placement that has dependable electricity since I have Sleep Apnea and use a C Pap machine. I have been continuing to seek to loose weight to resolve the issue and expect I would loose some weight serving in the Peace Corps. I am getting a dental appliance that should help and if they have difficulty placing me I may go ahead and have the UPPP surgery to help resolve the issue. I hope to receive a Placement Recruiter when I pass the Background Check but they project it could be any time between October and next spring before I would go out. I expect that I could end up in Asia or Africa. I am seriously considering the UPPP Surgery and all I have to do now is set the date with my Sleep Apnea Surgeon from the U of Minnesota medical center, figure out how to pay for it, and arrange for the time off of work. At this point I want to figure out whether it is worth the pain and the money.0
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@donkrutsinger - Keep us posted on your possible UPPP surgery and your Peace Corps assignment. I am a CPAP user and work for the Forest Service. I may start going out on fire assignments and sleeping in a tent and I am weighing my options. I am thinking about one of the small cpap machines that doesn't use water for humidification and can run on batteries (such as the Transcend). THANKS!0
