Posted by Captin Cannuck on January 02, 2009 at 21:55:11:In Reply to: Post Surgery - Cant Sleep posted by UPPP patient on January 02, 2009 at 05:15:12:
Sorry to hear about your troubles. I have gone through what you are going through.
Can you explain more about your history and situation. What was your apnea like before UPPP? Were you on CPAP? Was CPAP effective before? What did they tell you about UPPP before you got it?
I can tell you that i had damage to my airway by uppp. If you check out the blogs on the surgical board, you will see that many other people have had damage done by that operation (see Bobmisteer, Apneamom, as cases in point). In my personal opinion, the operation should be banned. It often does people more harm than good.
If your airway has been damaged, you will need to get MMA surgery (this is called maxilomandibular advancement), basically it involves cutting your jawbones and pulling them forward. It is an extensive surgery which requires orthodontic braces before and after surgery. The good news is that it is often quite effective in improving the situation. In other words, unlike UPPP, this one usually works (90% percent show significant improvement). Bad news is that it is expensive. It costs between $40-70,000 if done in USA, and insurance companies are not so keen to cover it. You will have to fight them for it. MMA surgery is what doctors call a "salvage" for UPPP. Be careful not to have any additional work done to your soft palate.
Good luck.
- Re: Post Surgery - Cant Sleep UPPP patient 03:45 1/03/09 (1)
- Re: Post Surgery - Cant Sleep Captin Cannuck 13:59 1/03/09 (0)