Vendetta1 said:

do you sleep with that on every night?

95 times an hour? That's an incredibly high number! I stopped breathing
30x an hour, and I thought that was bad...unfortunately I wasn't able
to use the CPAP...they told me I actually woke up even more when they
tried it on me, due to the fact that it collapsed the eustachian tubes
in my ears, so I'd be pulling it off in my sleep to try and unplug my ears.

Long story short....I went the surgery route, removing my tonsils and
uvula because they said both of those things were enlarged, but not
because they were infected. I was good for years with that, but now
I'm having some problems again because of sinuses.

JerseyKRS said:

What do you mean "shrinking of the interior walls"?

obsessed said:

I forgot what they're called, but there are two nodes or something on the interior walls of your nose. Mine were enlarged and the doctor shrunk them with a laser.

psychodelicide said:

Please I am no one 2 say this but, don't put it off & the not being in own bed thing is the excuse I used for YEARRRRSSSSS! I sleep with C-Pap at night now & although it's unusual 2 sleep thatt way I still sleep in any position & much better now

johnart said:

Good going

JerseyKRS said:

OK, this is really interesting...were these nodes called turbinates
by any chance?

thecloud said:

Well, trust me, it's NOT an excuse. I DON'T sleep well when I'm not in my own bed, and that's the darn truth of the matter. Anybody who knows me well will tell you the exact same thing. It sounds like the C-Pap is a good thing that I need to look into further.

My family reported I had loud snoring during our Maui trip. Made me wonder if I had sleep apnea. I was also taking muscle relaxants at the time though, so I sorta blamed the snoring on that.

Someone in my family (by marriage) has a CPAP machine for sleeping and it rules.

Vendetta1 said:

psychodelicide said:

Just because it's the truth doesn't mean it's not an excuse.

One night of shitty sleep isn't going to kill you, and if it may help you for the rest of your life, what have you got to lose?

i've been reading weight loss is the only real solution.

PunkMistress said:

Well, to me it's still NOT an excuse, so let's just agree to disagree on that. I HATE not being able to sleep, even for just one night. Drives me bonkers.

sinisterpentatonic said:

True, weight loss does help. But it wouldn't be a solution for me. I'm right where I'm supposed to be weight-wise (and walk 4 miles every day), and I still have this issue going on.

obsessed said:

that's them!

sinisterpentatonic said:

Weight loss helps but isn't the cure. Weight is not always the cause.

Cinnie said:

JerseyKRS said:

I went to a doctor that wanted to do actual surgery on my turbinates...
so I got two other doctors opinions as well, and they both said
"absolutely not"....consequently I never did it. But the first doctor
said not only did mine need shrinking but also actual reconstruction,
and that's what the other two doctors told me was too risky.

But I'm kind of wondering if just shrinking them might help some,
especially since I can't use the CPAP, and yet you're saying that
you think you might need the CPAP in addition to what you had done.

So I don't know.....it's hard to know what to do sometimes, isn't it?

Cinnie said:

That's true...it wasn't in my case...they also used to think it was only
a men's problem, but they're finding more and more women with the problem
as well...I guess this thread serves to prove that.

The first time I went in concerned about it, the doctor just looked at me
and said "No, I'm sure you don't have sleep apnea. You're a woman, and
you're not overweight". That was in 1993...it wasn't until 5 years later
that I was properly diagnosed and had the surgery.

Makes me wonder sometimes if there's something in our environment now
making it more prevalant, or if it's just because more and more people
are going in for diagnosis.

PANDURITO said:

your pic didn't work!

obsessed said:

I'm also pretty overweight, so that contributes.

Overall, the tonsillectomy, shrinking of the turbinates and fixing my deviated septum TOTALLY helped my breathing and sleeping. I have trouble sleeping no matter what, but the surgeries DEFINITELY helped.

I'm not you, but I'd give the surgery a go, then go from there.

JerseyKRS said:

Yup, I have a deviated septum as well....anyway, thanks for all your info..
I've just never run across another person with a turbinate problem....most
doctors don't ever mention them. The thing that gave me the most
relief was the removal of my uvula...it was so long it actually hung down
the back of my throat and that's what created the snoring for me...
although the tonsils were too large for my throat as well...so it made a
huge difference once all that was gone.

I may be taking a look at this whole turbinate reconstruction thing again
though,cuz as time goes on I'm having more and more trouble breathing through
my nose, period.

ZombieKitten said:

It's Darth Vader

obsessed said:

all of a sudden it works for me now

obsessed said:

the recovery from that was minimal at best, at least that is what I was told. It was hard to tell the difference with the septum surgery done at the same time.

Once I get insurance, I need another sleep study. If it recommends a c-pap, I'll get it. ANYTHING that helps me sleep is welcomed.

obsessed said:

I had my tonsils out at age 19, sinus and septoplasty surgery 6 years ago. All of those things helped a little bit with my snoring but not as much as the ENT's had hoped.
I had a sleep study done 6 months after my septoplasty/sinus surgery and I showed mild sleep apnea at the time. I was underweight back then and it was suggested that I have another sleep study in 5 yrs. to see if it had progressed any.
The worst part about the septoplasty surgery was getting the splints removed. I was not prepared for that to happen 2 weeks post op.
My father has severe sleep apnea and has been on the CPAP for many years.
I have always snored and have never been over weight, until now but I am pregnant.

JerseyKRS said:

I really hope you get your insurance and get yourself fixed once and for all..
most people do very well on the CPAP's, and that may be just the ticket for
you Good luck!

Vendetta1 said:

Tell that chick to stop trying to suffocate you Ivy...

MrsMdiver said:

I'm so sorry to hear that you're still experiencing sleep apnea, even
after the surgeries...hopefully it won't get worse. And pregnancy weight-
gain, I wouldn't think, would affect it. Hopefully, all goes well for you
when you're retested.