Procedure helps to eliminate sleep apnea

EurekAlert ^ | 10/24/07 | Akram Khan, MD

[TalBlack]

Try saying that fast five times.

I’ve tried that with MD’s and they can do it with out hesitation, a thing which surprised me since they weren’t expecting the question and the words were jaw-breakers like that one.

[discostu]

Yeah that’s the big hazard, killed Reggie White. Suffocating a couple hundred times a night turns out to be pretty bad for you. Glad the treatment is working for you, SA is a pretty scary thing.

[reagan_fanatic]

My Wife says I snore quite a bit at night, but that it only occurs when I lay on my back.

Since it's rather hard to make yourself roll over onto your side when you're asleep, I wonder what other methods I could use to keep from sleeping on my back?

Ideas, anyone?

[RockinRight]

My wife serves that purpose.

[reagan_fanatic]

Yea, she's tried giving me a push, and even the occasional elbow in the side.

I'm such a heavy sleeper that neither one of those does the trick.

[FortWorthPatriot]

"Been there, done that, had the procedure."

Same here, back in 2001. I tried the CPAP and just couldn't tolerate it - kept having sores on the bridge of my nose from the tight straps needed to keep the darn thing sealed against my face. It did help me sleep better but I kept waking up from pressure of it on my face.

The doctor suggested the UP3 as well as a septoplasty (sp?). Apparently I had broken my nose when I was younger because I had nearly 90% blockage. For the life of me I cannot recall ever breaking my nose!

In any event, I have slept WONDERFULLY every night since the surgery. I dream like crazy every single time I sleep since I am now able to reach REM sleep, which I never could do when I had SA. Based solely on my experience with the procedure, I'd highly recommend it to any one having SA problems.

By the way, my 65 year old father was just recently diagnosed with SA and is currently on the CPAP. He says it helps him sleep and isn't considering surgery just yet.

[FortWorthPatriot]

"I wonder what other methods I could use to keep from sleeping on my back?"

I read somewhere once that some people sew a tennis ball into the back of their PJs. When they try to roll onto their back, it obviously annoys them and keeps them on their side.

But I am sure there are other methods that would work just as well.

[JenB]

Check with the cpap manufacturer, Respironics I would assume. Your doctor may have prescribed a more expensive model than you need. All the new models work the exact same way - they’re the same exact hardware, just different software. The different software allows for more diagnostic but the “help you breath” functionality is the same. You might be able to get a cheaper model.

I did an internship with Respironics and have had family members work there in various capacities - and I had an uncle die from sleep apnea. For everyone who thinks it’s not serious, you’re wrong. Severe snoring and bad sleeping are no fun but the real problems are much more serious. If you’ve got sleep apnea, get a cpap/mpap machine. Sleeping with a mask is better than being dead.

[Osage Orange]

Hopefully they aren't trying to "you know" with a CPAP mask on....HA!!

Stats wise....more often than not, the person with OSA...is overweight.

[joebellis]

My wife had the procedure, smooth sailing, went from API of 47 to 0.

She had more energy and eventually lost over 50 pounds.

Before the procedure, I didn't get any sleep as I was worried about her not waking up. One time she began to turn blue.

[Big Red Clay]

I tell people that the cpap saved and changed my life. I am pretty chubby but I had SA in college when I was thin and in great shape (my best friend was my rommie freshman year and he used to beat me with a pillow because my snoring was driving him nuts). Like you, I was getting worse and worse. Falling asleep at work while trying to write reports and while driving.
The wife talked me into taking a sleep study after bugging me about it for 4 or 5 years. The next day after I was done, the Dr called me and said they needed to get me a machine THAT DAY (normally it takes a couple of weeks for them to evaluate the study and make a diagnosis and then get a machine prescribed) because it was so bad. The dr called my wife and told her it was a miracle that I hadn’t died in my sleep.
It is such a gift to not be tired and fatigued all the time. I can go to the movies and not fall asleep in the middle and snore and stay awake at work without massive doses of caffeine.
Glad you are feeling better brother FReeper.

[Old Professer]

I’d rather be dead than sober.

[Osage Orange]

Hey.....I can find you one cheaper than that.

Let me know...

[CholeraJoe]

UPP has been around for years. It works. Since I no longer belong to the American College of Chest Physicians, I have no idea why this suddenly made Front Page news out of their meeting.

DC, if your problem is just snoring, resist the impulse to have anything surgical done. I've had several friends have the laser version of this procedure. It worked, but they could only eat liquids for about a month while the carnage in the back of their throat healed.

[Osage Orange]

ROFLOL!!

[Osage Orange]

I have no idea why this suddenly made Front Page news out of their meeting.

I thought it odd myself............

[Dubh_Ghlase]

I had neck/spinal surgery where they came through the front of my neck, narrowing the throat passage. Though I snored previously, it was shutdown-mode after that. My wife took to sleeping in another room because she was afraid I would not start breathing again and could not get any rest with the my constant stoppage. When I was tested, they found I was going 40-45 seconds at a time without breathing before finally waking up and taking a breath (suddenly and abruptly). I was in a bind, and the CPAP machine has been a lifesaver for me. My wife also moved back in as it stopped my snoring entirely. I rather doubt the surgery they mention here would help my condition, but don’t knock those of us who use a CPAP machine. I rather doubt I would be here without mine, and I know my quality of life is vastly inproved because of it.

[crazyshrink]

This is a new study, which acknowledges UPPP has been around since the 80’s, and has/will be published soon is all. And you are right, it comes from their annual meeting in which many studies and presentations were made.

[momincombatboots]

My hubby had it done 10 years ago, he did not have a lot of success. Yes he is obese, but his sleep study just a few months ago revealed 84 times a hour he did not breathe and a traditional CPAP caused or revealed central sleep apnea. This is neurological and he does not even exhale. Anyway, bottom line, the procedure did not work but the BPAP does. Best of luck- he sleeps!

[bmwcyle]

It help to open up my breathing but I still snore. I’m glad I had it. I don’t wear the mask.