Posted by bobmisteer on May 30, 2006 at 17:34:58:

I had UUUP, GA. and tongue somnoplasty two weeks ago. Stopped the pain medication about 2 days ago. Right now It feels more like a bad sore throat that is not going away!
As far as pain, it was not as painful as I thought. I have had 2 surgeries in the past, so i knew what to expect.
I asked the aneathesiologist to give me some pain medication during the surgery, so when I woke up in the recovery room, I had no pain. the nurse in the ICU was totally suprissed that I have no pain and could not figure out why.
Well the pain started after a couple of hours but they kept me comfortable with morphine. The pain was not as bad as I thought.
Instead of liquid vicodene, I used oxycodene which in stronger than liquid vicoden. I knew from my previous operations that liquid vicoden did not work for me.
it really helps to take your med before you eat that way you won't have too much pain when you eat.

after two weeks, my lower chin, tooth, and jaw are still numb.The doc told me that it might last up to a month.
however I know people whose lower teeth is still a bit numb after one year.

Now, I can actually see the back of my throat now. most of the uvula has been cut,a small portion of it has been folded and sutured to the roof of my mouth.

if you like to know more about my surgery, here is a story
of a guy who had a simillar surgery to mine.
http://www.ski-epic.com/snoring/surgery.html

remember that this surgery is not for every one.
I went to stanford and got scopped by dr R.
after paying 1K and doing the scope he told me that this was the best option for me.

chances of success in my case in between 50% to 70%
remember that this surgery does not cure your sleep apnea.
it might reduce it to a point where you might not need to use CPAP at night depending on your API.
Chances of success are also differnt depending on each persons anatomy. Many people have this sugery and they feel ok for a while but their sleep apnea returns after a few years.
My doctor did explain all these to me.
If you are overweight and specially if you gain any weight
in the future, it can negate the rusults of the surgery and
you will be back to square one.

Sleep apnea also get worse as you get older. Our muscles tend to relax more as we age. This is the second reason
why many people with UUUP have their apea return after a few years.

The other factor that my doc talked to me about is
how large your airways are. Mine are about 11mm i think.
if you have small airways, a small chin and a large tongue then UUUP might not be that helpful for you.

when I was diagonsed 6 months ago, I was totally confused and didnt know what to do. I can not tell you how helpful this forum has been to me.

well that is all the info I have for now
good luck to every one :)

Follow Ups:

• Re: UUUP and GA two weeks update bobmisteer 16:39 6/05/06 (0)

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