From the sounds of it, neither the CPAP or the Provent would work for me.
Has anyone ever had the operation to stop those muscles from collapsing? I know it’s a long recovery time ,but how are results?
TO ALL
I had a severe case of sleep apnea and had my first surgery which corrected a deviate septum and removed excess tissue from my palate. (1988)
This helped for several years. HOWEVER it recurred and the problem then was my tongue would drop back into the airway again causing problems.
My second surgery was an advancement of the maxible and mandible along with a tightening of the glottis (upper and lower jaw advanced and tongue tightened).
This surgery was done at Stanford University by the originators of the procedure, Dr. Robert Riley and Nelson Powell. (1997)
I have had no issues since. If any one wants additional information on this send me a private message and I will be happy to tell more.
I’ve had many surgeries over the last 5 years and none of them worked!
The only surgery I haven’t had yet is the one where they readjust your jaw.
If I had it to do over, I wouldn’t go through all of it again, I’m still on CPAP!!
My brother gave up on the CPAP mask and had the surgery. It’s been a couple of years and he couldn’t be any happier!
I had the operation in which they removed all the tissue in the rear of my mouth(tonsils and uvula) plus a lot of obstructive tissue. It didn’t fix the problem although I don’t snore anymore.
I don’t use a CPAP although my doctors say I should. Both my brothers do and say they couldn’t exist without it.
I tried it for a while but couldn’t stand the effects and I slept worse than without it. I don’t have Narcolepsy and other issues my brothers had.
The operation was painful for about a week after; like a really bad sore throat, but it is a mixed bag for me. I don’t snore and sleep fine, but I know it ddn’t fix the problem.
I bought one of those finger deals that measures your blood oxygen level. That’s where the problem lies. If you stop breathing, the O2 level drops below 90%, and that stresses the heart and body.
I thought it would show an improvement in my O2 but the operation didn’t. Think if they had one of these that gave you a little shock to wake you, it might be another solution.
Finally, I think there are two kinds of apnea. Obstructive is one, but in my case I think I have the other, which is the brain shuts down and you die a little.
I’ll probably stop and not start up one night. All in all that’s not a bad way to go.
My wife had UPPP surgery, still has to use the CPAP. The recovery wasn’t all that long 2-4 weeks max.
I have used CPAP for about 12 years now and don’t know how I ever lived without it. I would wake at least twice per night from the most heinous nightmares trying to scream out, but could not. During these episodes I was not be able to breathe in either - that was prior to my getting a CPAP. It took me about 6 months of constant use to get used to it. I almost gave up several times... all it took was one nightmare and I would put it right back on.
Not all can get used to them or have the tenacity to deal with it - me I had a very strong motivation...