Sleep Apnea & Deviated Septum

[Anonymous dog lover]

I'm posting this to share my experience with having sleep apnea issues and a deviated septum that I was unaware of.

My wife let me know I was having breathing issues and after putting it off for awhile I scheduled an appointment with a sleep apnea doctor. It took months to get the video appointment and I was instructed to do an at home sleep test.

While I was waiting for the test to occur, I spoke with my mom, a retired nurse. My mom indicated I had issues eating as a little guy and suggested I also go see an ear, nose & throat doctor.

The home sleep test indicated I had sleep apnea and the doctor indicated I needed to get a cpap machine. When I discussed my mom's concerns, the doctor became agitated and thought I'd be wasting my time going to an ENT doctor. I thanked him and indicated i would be seeing an ENT doctor before decided what to do.

When I went to the ENT doctor, he looked inside my nose and indicated my septum was so deviated he didn't think a cpap machine would work unless I had surgery for the deviated septum

I ended up getting surgery done for my deviated septum and swollen turbinates. I was down for just about a week and I would suggest everyone speak to an ENT doctor along with a sleep apnea doctor if they are having issues.

I no longer have sleep issues, I'm sleeping through the night, I feel totally rested and I've lost a bunch of weight!!

 

[david.h]

I had a hard time breathing through my nose for as long as I could remember. Mouth breather, and had to breath while chewing. Seeing people in movies with tape over their mouths made me cringe. As you, my wife said I snored a lot and would have trouble breathing at night. Got a cat scan, deviated septum almost 100% blockage on one side and 90% on the other. Surgery and turbinate reduction, much better now 10 years later. I do use a cpap, but it's more for insurance that I get a good night sleep and no snoring than anything else. You are not alone, OP.