Apnea Forum Posting

Posted by bjhoney4ever on July 12, 2000 at 08:12:43:

In Reply to: Did it work? posted by Goodnight Girl on July 12, 2000 at 07:11:14:

I had a UPPP, tonsillectomy and a septoplasty on June 7, 2000. I think I've had sleep apnea for at least the past 11 years. I brought it to my doctor's attention way back then and from there I was on a steady spiral downward and all my docs and therapists chalked it off to depression or mental illness. They couldn't figure out if I was making up things to get attention or did I feel bad because I was depressed or was I depressed because I felt so lousy. I had all the symptoms of major depression: excessive tiredness, insomnia, irritability, sadness, unexplained aches and pains that never responded to treatment and I had headaches - boy, did I have headaches. I had headaches so bad I was disabled for them a year ago.

I kept complaining about these headaches that woke me early in the morning day after day, week after week. I was eating a bottle 1000 ibuprofen in a month so I could be functional enough to go to work. I gave myself an ulcer - and somewhere while this was going on I developed GERD. I was also failing protocols for migraines left and right. I tried beta blockers, SSRI's, Imitrex (which worked sometimes and sometimes it didn't), Visteril, Fiorinal...there are so many I can't even remember. Finally, everyone got so fed up with me with symptoms that wouldn't resolve, they accused me of drug seeking. I was in and out of the doctor's office for narcotics and in and out of the ER. I guess, I can see how they might think that. IF I hadn't been depressed before, I was now. The last straw for me was when I was accused of the drug seeking and told I was wasting everyone's time - and that everyone has issues to deal with and I needed to 'get over it'. I admit I was rather fragile at the moment. To make a long story short, I ended up in the psych unit for a 'suicidal ideation' and depression. A nurse saw me sleeping one of the nights while I was there. She told me the next morning that I had been very restless, choking, snorting, etc., etc. She said I should get an appointment with a neurologist when I got out. So I did. The next week. I told him what the nurse had observed. As I said before, all the docs called me 'somatic' overly focused on bodily aches and pains - etc. I also told him that I was having early morning headaches everyday. He immediately said I needed a sleep study and he called himself and got me into the sleep center that night. He also looked at my throat - and I'd heard this before - and said my tonsils were very large - he said I should be evaluated by a surgeon for a tonsillectomy. I saw the surgeon the next week. He said my tonsils were large and my septum was completely blocked. He said I should have surgery to accompany CPAP. He also said CPAP wouldn't work because I wasn't moving any air through the left side of my nose. (I was always congested and I had no idea why.)

So, with the recommendations from both docs and having had a sleep study in the interim - and knowing that my Dad had died from PPH, I chose to have the surgery. I was aware that the results could be less than optimal.

However, I can tell you that, for me, I knew the difference in my breathing when I woke up in recovery. I never realized how hard I was working to breath during the day, much less having no idea at night.

For the first time in years, I started sleeping through the night (after the first 8 days - it was so painful). I stopped waking up with the coughing, choking, paralyzed feeling numerous times per night, night after night. I stopped getting the headaches in the early morning. I actually stay awake during the day and I don't feel tired all day.

So for me...so far so good. I will go back in a few months for a follow-up sleep study. My goal was never to go without using CPAP. I was told for me, it wouldn't work without it. As it turns out, I may not need to use it at all now. However, if it becomes necessary, I wouldn't hesitate to use it in the future.

Follow Ups:

Copyright ©1995-2005 Sleepnet.com., All rights reserved