Sleep apnea/adult tonsilectomy.

Hi gang,

I had several bouts of tonsilitis last year and with each one I suffered with terrible sleep apnea. I was waking gasping etc many times a night.

6months later I finally got in to have my sleep study done (thanks public health waiting list) and only just go the results last week another month later.

Results show a test score of 50 which is apparently up there with terrible whereas an acceptable score would be 15.

Apparently I have "enormous" tonsils and an "exceptionally long epiglotis" so I'm to have my tonsils out, my epiglotis trimmed and "everything in there tightened up a bit". (LOL I should have suggested he do my boobs, belly and bum too) Another 6months waiting for surgery apparently and I feel my throat is getting worse despite having lost 10kg already.

Does anyone else suffer from sleep apnea and if so has it been helped by having tonsils out? I know I have to lose at least 20kg to get healthier and that will of course have benefits too. Will losing weight reduce my puffy soft pallete?

Ah, losing weight is tough normally but with constant exhaustion it's almost impossible to get motivated! I'm a bit scared of how painful the surgery will be but looking forward to breathing comfortably as I now feel it in my normal day breathing.

Thanks for any info.
Sazz

I cannot help with adult sleep apnea, I just wanted to wish you luck.

My DD1 has server obstructive sleep apnea and we have our second sleep study of Monday night to see if she has improved as she has grown. Her problem is related to her jaw and tounge, she was born with a small jaw which she had destracted at 9 weeks as her airway was so small however her tounge still drops back and obstructs her airway, she to jolts awake gasping for air.

I actually watched a show on discovery house on Monday about a middle aged man who had severe sleep apnea and had a operation to have his epiglotis trimmed, it was very large as well as 3 other things, his tounge, jaw and something else?... I just cannot remember what the show was called.

I hope you do not have to wait to long for your good nights sleep.

Sazz I had my tonsils out at 30. To cut a long story short I had ~ 6 years of recurring low grade infection and heaps of sleep issues. I never had a sleep study but knew I snored heaps, woke up gasping for breath and drove hubby mad. I was exhausted and kept getting really sick every 3 weeks (ie once I went off AB's). Getting them out was the best thing I have ever done and despite the discomfort I honestly felt so much better once they had been removed it was incredible how ill they had made me feel. Good luck.

my DH has chronic sleep apnoea. He stops breathing 63 time per hour. He has has it forever and when in the Navy weighed under 90kgs (he's 6'2"). In recent years he's lost up to 20kgs at a stint and none of that has had any impact on his snoring.
He still has his tonsils though. So I am def going to investigate that.
Good luck Sazz, really hope it helps. Please keep us updated.

Thank you so much for your replies ladies.

DD, your poor daughter!!! It is just the worst feeling ever, waking feeling like someone has been standing on your chest. I hope her situation has improved, poor darling! I would have loved to have seen that program.

Mak, yeppers, I am always tired. I stay up late because I wait till I am soooo tired I know I will fall asleep rather than going to bed to try to go to sleep. I am constantly feeling like I am coming down with something. My ears/tonsils are sore right now! Was the op as painful as everyone keeps telling me? I figure it will be worth it.

Kim, I would get him to look into that too. Kind of good news to know about the weight. I know of several people who have it and they arent overweight either. It seems doctors always blame everything on weight. I know it does effect a lot of things but I dont see how it has made my tonsils bigger!!! Does he have a cpap machine? I am dreading having to get one. I hope I can avoid it.

I must admit that anything I have heard about sleep apnea effecting the heart and leading to high blood pressure and stroke has freaked me out a bit!

I've always snored and DH has often complained over the years that I would sit bolt upright in bed, or leap out, and I had no memory of it. I think perhaps I have always had it but it got so severe with my illness that I finally figured it out. (Slow learner???LOL)

Ah, there are worse illnesses but this does scare me! Plus it feels really scary in the night when it happens. I have been still awake at 4am, phoning dh at work in tears as I havent been able to go to sleep at all because every time I drift off I can feel it starting. :(

Oh Sazz, I truly hope this op helps you :hug:

Yes my DH has a cpap machine and it's awful - it really help, but it's awful. He won't wear it cos it makes his nose stuffy so since his snoring is sooo bad he sleeps in the spare room unless he wears it. Sadly he can snore through that too.

Sazz - the recovery was not pleasant BUT I felt so much better instantly (aside from the pain, lol) that it kind of made up for it, IYKWIM. The pain was ok for the first 48 hours and then ramped up (prolly bc I hadn't taken any pain meds - not too smart). After 7 days it started to improve and did so quite quickly. Honestly my body was working so hard to fight the infection I only realised how sick I had been constantly feeling after it all disappeared. It is without a doubt the best thing I have done.
Is there anything else you wanted to know? Good luck!

Mak, I'm a bit worried about swelling after the surgery. Did you have any? I asked the dr and he said even with swelling it would still be roomier in there than it is now.

Public wait list is nearly 6months I think :(

Definitely felt like there was heaps more room even straight after - my tonsils were massive too. The worst bit was the pain when it all started to heal and kinda get tight so it made swallowing painful. I tried to focus on the endpoint tho. xxx