Betty Sanchez58 said:Thanks for starting this thread. 🙂
My husband was supposed to go in for surgery, but I’ve been such a nervous wreck that we actually ended up pushing it back. The doctor had scheduled him right in the middle of winter, and honestly, I just couldn't shake the fear of him catching the flu or some nasty virus while he was recovering. I guess I just panicked.
We’ve officially decided to pull the plug on this one. It’s clearly not a simple procedure, and after doing our homework and reading through everyone's firsthand accounts here, we just don't think it's worth the risk.
We finally pulled the trigger on the CPAP machine. It’s a bit of a lifestyle shift, I guess, but when you have to make a move, you just make it.
I don't want to sound like an alarmist or blow things out of proportion, so I’ll just lay out my experience and let you all be the judge. It’s been exactly one week since my surgery.
The surgery went down on Thursday, March 22nd. The actual procedure was pretty quick—maybe an hour tops. Once they moved me to recovery, I ended up crashing out for about three or four hours straight on my back. My roommates mentioned that I was dead quiet the whole time, sleeping peacefully without a single twitch. It’s actually kind of wild because before this, my sleep apnea was brutal. I used to snore louder than four drunk elephants and would constantly choke myself in my sleep. And just to be clear, I’m not overweight at all; I’m about 5'7" and 180 lbs with a pretty athletic build.
That same evening, I managed to nurse down about four or five cups of tea. As for the meds, I was on Dexamethasone three times a day to help with the swelling, plus IV pain relief every five hours, along with glucose drips whenever they felt necessary. The pain was definitely there, but I suppose it stayed within a manageable range. By Friday morning, I actually had a little Cocoa Puffs for breakfast, followed by some spinach and mashed potatoes for lunch. Swallowing wasn't exactly easy, but I managed to get through it—I actually worked out a little deal with my nurse to get my pain meds about thirty minutes before mealtime. 🙂Same deal this Saturday, except they scaled my Dexamethasone back to twice a day. Sunday was alright, I guess. Food stayed pretty much the same as Friday and Saturday—just some chocolate milk, soup, and something soft like mashed potatoes or spinach.
Now we’re getting to the real issue, though I suspect I might be the one at fault here. On Sunday night, I showered, washed my hair, and headed to bed. I slept with the window cracked open just a bit, almost by accident. By Monday morning, I woke up in total agony—everything in my mouth was stinging. I tried an over-the-counter painkiller, which helped slightly, but the pain stayed worse than before. After a quick clinic visit, I was sent home and went straight to see my primary care doctor, who prescribed Ibuprofen. I took it the second I walked through the door, and while it provided a tiny bit of relief, it wasn't much. By evening, things had taken a turn for the worse; I took more Ibuprofen, but it felt useless. By Tuesday, it was a disaster. The pain was catastrophic, and it honestly felt like the Ibuprofen wasn't doing anything at all. That night, I ran a fever of 100 degrees and felt dizzy from the sheer intensity of the pain. I ended up at the ER, where they put me on an IV and gave me a strong painkiller that, thankfully, started working immediately. The doctor there put me on antibiotics because she was worried about an infection or pus forming in the wound. I took 600mg of Clindamycin right away, and did the same dose Wednesday morning. Along with the antibiotics, she prescribed Ketoral for the pain. I picked that up first thing in the morning, and I have to say, it was a total game-changer. The pain vanished, and I felt significantly better—I even managed to eat some chicken, eggs, and grapes that afternoon. On Wednesday, I followed up with my surgeon. He told me everything looks fine; there's no sign of infection or pus. It seems the intense pain was likely just due to being on the wrong medication initially. Today is Thursday, and I'm taking Ketoral twice a day and 300mg of antibiotics every eight hours. I have to admit, I feel pretty good. There’s still some lingering discomfort, but it’s easily manageable. I’m sticking to soft foods and drinking plenty of tea. I’ve even started brushing my teeth again. I think I’m finally turning a corner.
So, here’s my take on things seven days after my UPPP surgery. As far as how well the procedure actually worked, I’d say the snoring and gasping episodes are pretty much gone. However, breathing still feels a bit restricted because of a deviated septum—turns out breaking my nose back when I was a kid left its mark. In my first post, I didn't mean to scare anyone, but I guess I really felt that way at the time.
The main thing I want to emphasize is that everyone is different. We all handle pain and recovery in our own ways. Before you decide to throw in the towel, maybe give my experience another read and think it over. If you have any questions at all, please feel free to ask; I’d be more than happy to help out.
Best regards,
Goran.
