Tracheostomy looks official

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Tracheostomy looks official

Posted by Dennis White on January 11, 2001 at 23:47:36:
Well, I recieved a telephone call from my ENT at the University of Washington yesterday. She conferenced with another surgeon and the head of the sleep clinic I see at another hospital. They all agree that the best way to proceed is to do a tracheostomy. It is now up to me to decide. I told the doc that I will go through with it. She said that they would not be able to perform the work on my nasal passages at the same time. As for UPP, etc...well, I have heard nothing mentioned about attempting it, and I'm not sure that I want to go that route anyway.
I'm still apprehensive about the trach, but I'm only 44 and the severity of my apnea is starting to affect me in ways that are irreversible if I don't do something. That is aside from the fact that I'm only able to work part-time (2-4 hours a day) and I'm exhausted ALL of the time. I still have alot of things I want to do and alot of travel I'm looking forward to.
I wonder if any of you out there can help me with even more questions. Will it be an inconvenience? Is there a chance it won't help? What are the real-life implications of a tracheostomy (as opposed to what the doctor will tell me). You can answer me here, or contact me at my home address dennybop2@home.com.
Apparently I will be having my health gone over with a fine tooth comb in the next few weeks. Also another sleep study to see if there are any changes since the last one (October). I can't remember the numbers...and even then, I'm not totally sure what all of them mean. I belive I was having an average of 156 events per hour, and my O2 was below 59% (?) at least part of the time. I should get my records so I can speak intelligently about my results! Anyway, I feel miserable right now, and the CPAP doesn't seem to be doing the trick, although I'd say I was fairly comfortable with it. But I still can't stay asleep.
By the way....in the past I am sure that I have had events of not breathing while I was conscious. The sleep clinician told me that it wasn't necesarily a sign of Central or Mixed Apnea. Anyone have any thoughts on that?

Follow Ups:

Re: Tracheostomy looks official Kelly 1/24/01 (0)

Re: Tracheostomy looks official Scott 1/12/01 (0)

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