Surgery for the holidays

[loCAtek]

Is it over? Won't they at least, like you have some ice?

[Crackpot]

what a Fucking waste. Surgery cancelled

[Sue U]

Sorry, I think?

[loCAtek]

Really? How so?

[Crackpot]

didn't like my blood sugar. Just creates a huge hassle down the line with rescheduling the surgery and reworking a bunch of other crap like my Cpap just pisses me off

[Liberty1]

Hey Crackpot.

I had that exact sugery about 5 years ago. Pay attention when they give you 85 percosets and keep up with using them In other words, take them religeously even through the night, set an alarm clock. Don't try to tough it out. You will not be able to swallow them whole, grind them up and swallow them in some apple sauce. Make sure you stay well hydrated, you at times will not want to swallow at all. Get apple sauce, pudding, jello, gatorade, soup, any kind of liquid or soft food you like.

The oddest thing about the surgery is that recovery is different form any other I'm aware of. I won't go into details, but they cauterize (sp?) your throat with a hot knife when they reshape it. It feels better after a few days, (I had it done on a Thursday and ate pork chops on Sunday) but then at about day 6 or 7 it starts all over again. It will take about a month for the uncomfort to fully go away. I did loose 20 pounds during the ordeal.

Now for the good news. It works. No more apnea, virtually no snoring. I'd do it over again in a second to keep from being tied to a CPAP for the rest of my life.

[loCAtek]

[Jarlaxle]

It is nowhere near 100% and anyone saying otherwise is lying. My stepfather had it done, and i make him WORSE. Id never even consider it...i will.deal with the cpap.

[Liberty1]

Nothing is guaranteed. But it is well over 90% sucessful and of course you need a good surgeon. Mine was a specialist in both ENT and plastic surgery.

[Jarlaxle]

Probably also depends how bad the apnea is.

[loCAtek]

My friend Red, doesn't even like the CPAP so he just snores like a freight train. Fortunately for him, when he crashes here; I'm used to sleeping through freight trains.

...the problem is when he stops snoring. Here, I've been attuned to the noise all night, and as you know, when it stops that means he's stopped BREATHING!
That's when my Loca-sense starts tingling, and tells me to wake up! Red is trouble!

Of course, when I wake a little, that's when he starts breathing/snoring again. The BF says that's better than last year, when he used to talk in his sleep too.

[Liberty1]

Probably also depends how bad the apnea is.

Probably so, mine supposidly was not that bad. And to be honest, I did it as much for family unity as for the apnea.

[BoSoxGal]

Nothing is guaranteed. But it is well over 90% sucessful and of course you need a good surgeon. Mine was a specialist in both ENT and plastic surgery.

Um, that is a patently false statement.

I'm glad it worked for you, but uvulopalatopharyngoplasty is actually only about 65% effective in the near-term, and over time averages out to less than 50% effective. This is well documented in the medical literature.

The surgery, like all surgery, involves significant risks and possible complications, some of which are long-term and debilitating - certainly affecting quality of life. AND, many or most people who get the surgery eventually require CPAP treatment following surgery. Up to 40% of patients get infections post-op that require further surgery.

I looked into this, extensively. Decided CPAP was just fine.

[Liberty1]

The stats I got were from my doc, he had done between 300 and 400 of these back when I had it done, so maybe he's just better than most. I know 4 people who have had it done, by him, including me and we are all extremely pleased with the results.