Tell her to pipe down and "excuse you for breathing"  its this sort of archaic thinking that gets people dead.  She's afraid you'll use it as an excuse to be lazy and gain more weight.  I dunno about you but I've since gone back to the gym and am losing the weight that this AND ONLY THIS condition caused...sorry but today is gym day for me and I had a great 7 hour sleep with my NON DATA READING bipap and I am feeling a little feisty right now...hey I don't wanna be mean about it but no one would stand in my way if I am getting healthier for it.

My wife worries that I like my new CPAP so much that I won't consider the other options available.  I keep trying to tell her that UPPP isn't all that great but  one of the surgeons she works with had it done and keeps touting how awesome it is and how much his wife loves that he doesn't snore anymore.  I can't even think for a minute that UPPP will bring my AHI from 104.2 to 5.4 like CPAP has.  I would consider MMA etc but it will have to wait until after the Military.  Seeing as how as far as they are concerned the problem is solved with CPAP.  She believes the Surgeons more than me and I can't really say I blame her.  They are studied...  And Surgeons for goodness sake.  I am just me...  Fortunately she doesn't see the machine as a reminder.  I installed it in the nightstand drawer.  Ran the hose out the back which then comes up between the head board and mattress above my head.  I keep my mask under my pillow when the bed is made.  And just close the nightstand drawer.  I know it is a part of my life now but bringing any additional attention to it is not on my list of things to do.

If you had to use crutches while a broken leg healed....would your wife worry that you might get used to it and never want to walk again?

 

Well, I decided to go ahead and register on this forum. This thread has become very interesting since my original post.  My wife is coming around and I think she'll get used to the idea of a quiet night without snoring. Just white noise....

I liked your idea Accx4 of hidding it. I have plenty of room inside my night stand and I can make a shelf for it. My only concern is getting enough air out of the night stand. Perhaps leaving the door open at night or make openings to allow air flow.

Art

Accx4 wrote:

My wife worries that I like my new CPAP so much that I won't consider the other options available.  I keep trying to tell her that UPPP isn't all that great but  one of the surgeons she works with had it done and keeps touting how awesome it is and how much his wife loves that he doesn't snore anymore.  I can't even think for a minute that UPPP will bring my AHI from 104.2 to 5.4 like CPAP has.  I would consider MMA etc but it will have to wait until after the Military.  Seeing as how as far as they are concerned the problem is solved with CPAP.  She believes the Surgeons more than me and I can't really say I blame her.  They are studied...  And Surgeons for goodness sake.  I am just me...  Fortunately she doesn't see the machine as a reminder.  I installed it in the nightstand drawer.  Ran the hose out the back which then comes up between the head board and mattress above my head.  I keep my mask under my pillow when the bed is made.  And just close the nightstand drawer.  I know it is a part of my life now but bringing any additional attention to it is not on my list of things to do.

Well, as you say they are surgeons.  Is it any surprise to you that a surgeon recommends surgery?

Your wife needs some education.  There are no other options available for severe sleep apnea, especially sleep apnea as severe as yours, with the exception of a tracheotomy.

Quote:

My wife worries that I like my new CPAP so much that I won't consider the other options available. I keep trying to tell her that UPPP isn't all that great but one of the surgeons she works with had it done and keeps touting how awesome it is and how much his wife loves that he doesn't snore anymore. I can't even think for a minute that UPPP will bring my AHI from 104.2 to 5.4 like CPAP has

It would be wise to check out the people on this forum who had the surgery and found it worked for a couple of years and then they were back where they started.  It is a painful operation with a miserable healing time and maybe all for  naught.  If anyone has had a successful result I'm sure you will hear from him.

Nobody enjoys having to rely on and using CPAP equipment, but you do adjust and adapt and you know it does the job.


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ResMed S8 Elite, F&P Flexifit 406, Optilife
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[quote="Dave1955"]

Accx4 wrote:

  She believes the Surgeons more than me and I can't really say I blame her.  They are studied...  And Surgeons for goodness sake.

Well, as you say they are surgeons.  Is it any surprise to you that a surgeon recommends surgery? Your wife needs some education.  There are no other options available for severe sleep apnea, especially sleep apnea as severe as yours, with the exception of a tracheotomy.

Surgeons can be Good Bad and the Ugly just like Plumbers and electricians. After my stroke my neuro surgeon told my wife after conducting the angio that I needed an emergency surgery to do a PIC bye pass in the brain stem. The risk was high yet the risk of my having another massive stroke was higher. He scared my wife into believing that i would die or be a vegetable in a nursing home if I did not have the operation which was experimental and he had not performed ever. Sitting in the hospital I got a google search done on PICA byepas and figured out that this was banned in USA way back in 1987 as a purely experimental surgery. The man wanted to make a guinea pig of me and i put my foot down and said NO. He forcibly kept me in the hospital for 13 days hoping I would change my mind and agree to the surgery. I was adamant.

Six years later he said Ram you won I lost.

Uvulo Plasty. I had that done too in 2002. A laser surgery in UK. Cost me 2700 English pounds for a 15 minute butchering. The pain was killing for a month and could not even swallow the saliva. Stopped my snoring and eased my sleep apnea and helped with my stroke recovery. In 2008 I went to see an ENT and he looked at my throat and asked who butchered it. Just yesterday my friend told me that some one he knows had a Uvulo Plast done and now he cannot keep his food and fluids down and throws up all the time after meals.

For that matter long before I had sleep apnea I suffered from severe blocked nose and had a Rhinectomy. The surgeon butchered my sexy nose and the wall collapsed on the right side and makes breathing more difficult as the catiledge is gone and the nose closes on inhalation.

I do not condemn all surgeries as many of my friends would not be arond but for surgical interventions like bye pass surgeries and stents being put in place etc. So think it out carefully before going in for any surgery. Get one two three or even four opinions before saying yes.


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Ram
http://www.vadclub.com

I didn't read though the dozens and dozens of replies, just your original post....but just wanted to let you know that if your wife really thinks your apnea will disappear on its own if you lose weight, and you won't have to use that pesky, ugly CPAP anymore....have her send me a message and this CPAP user with a BMI of 18 (technically underweight at 123 pounds!) will set her straight.  

CPAP hasn't been a total solution, but I wouldn't trade the gains I've made for anything--it's worth the hassle, expense, and sometimes embarassment of going to bed looking like Darth Vader on life support.

Art...yes keep the drawer open in the night stand.  Some remove the back of the drawer.  During the day you can close it up.


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BiPAP Auto M 13/8 Mirage Nasal Swift. 20 years+ undx'd. RLS/PLMD, Hypersomnia & more.

Hey Art.  Might want to keep tabs on your life insurance.  Sounds like you might be worth more dead than alive.  Just kidding of course, but I can't imagine someone being so insensitive to their loved one needing medical help.  I'm not going to give you any advice, but I do wish you the best of luck in the long haul!!!