Obvious Obstuctions/surgery
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Obvious Obstuctions/surgery

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Posted by GahImTired on August 13, 2008 at 07:29:10:

Hi all. I am glad I found this site. It seems there is a plethora of sites that want nothing to do with the surgery to help sleep apnea, but keep insisting on the machines. I have had sleep apnea since I was 26 and a mere 110 lbs. Since that time, I have gone through four tests, two machines and several masks. I am highly closterphobic and it was interesting using the full face mask, to say the least. On the nose mask, I felt as though I was being suffocated. Not only that, but I was "slingshotting" myself all night long, when I was trying to pull "that thing" off my face during sleep only to realize it was my mask after it woke me up being stung back to my face. Right now, I am on a bipap machine with a nasal mask. HA! Is all I can say to that. I have been wondering why, as someone who has OSA, I have NEVER been evaluated for what those obstructions ARE. I have been two two ENTS, both of whom were not concerned with my sleep apnea in the least, or my OBVIOUS obstructions.

And here is what they are: my nose has been broken not once, not twice, but three times ( and not corrected). I have two VERY different sized nasal passages, and if I hold my right and try to breathe through my left, you can clearly see it goes concave and hear a "nose whistle" but I get no air through there. I also have severe sinus disease and a large adenoid left up my nose as shown by CT scan. AND, I have a very very large bone spur called a torus on the roof of my mouth. To say the least, I feel a bit jaded that these issues weren't taken seriously. I truly feel that anyone walking around with a bone spur or broken nose is going to have a bit of trouble sleeping. HECK, i can't breathe during the DAY let alone at night!!

Through internet searches, I found an ENT who does sleep apnea surgery. To my surprise, he is one street away from me. Hows that for ironic? I can walk to his office. Unfortunately, I've been so tired, walking through the yard is something I havent been able to do in years. The office said they will need all my results to get my insurance to "approve" me having surgery. Approve? Did anyone have to go through this or get denied the surgery due to results?

I still have sleep apnea, even when WEARING the mask. Just last night, for example, as the sleep apnea kept jolting me awake, the first thing I noticed was that my mask was STILL ON. That has always happened to me, and on my "results" that my insurance company will want, they can clearly see that when I went back for the second part of any sleep apnea test, I was still having apnea with the mask on my face.

I do not understand all the medical definitions, usages, etc, but I know that my oxygen saturation is a big problem. A nurse flew into my room on my first test and woke me up telling me to breathe as my oxygen had hit 59 percent and I had not been breathing for over 30 seconds. She was more scared than I was.

Also, I now have heart problems and lung issues. I have developed tachcardyia with bradycardia, atrial dialation issues, mitral valve issues and the list goes on, since having apnea. Not to mention the weight gain. Obviously, its not working for me.

Also, when on the machine I have an interesting symptom. I NEVER have a voice. I ALWAYS have laryngitis and my machine uses water that I put in it every night to prevent issues like this! That and having gunked up sinuses all the time ( which I actually do need surgery for) ... really doesn't help me be able to breathe even with the mask ON.

Has anyone had a torus removed? Broken nose issues? I am looking at all possible solutions for this problem. I do not know what an MMA is but will look it up. I am figuring a UUVP will probably work best for me, since I already have a large bone spur that needs cut out of my mouth.

And, Im majorly venting. I cannot understand how someone with obvious obstructions ( trust me you can see my broken nose coming before you realize theres a woman behind it) was thrown a machine and various masks and told to go breathe now. LOL.

Any advice?

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