British Snoring & Sleep Apnoea Association

Since I was 18 I have snored.

This has led to many funny stories where my mates have abandoned sleeping in the same room for, well lets say, unusual sleeping positions! However the real truth is that they all hated to share a room with me.

Luckily I have been a bit more fortunate with my love life and whilst I have suffered a number of nocturnal nudges my relationships have not really suffered.

I am now 48 and the snoring and the Apnea has got worse and worse. I was also recognising that I was not getting any quality sleep and apparently the holding of breath was frequent enough to cause all concern!

Steps had to be taken.

On 2nd Sept at the Private Clinic in Harley Street I endured a Laup and a laser proceedure that unblocked my nose.

The nose job was no problem and apart from a little dripping and a blocked nose due to anti op swelling, I had no pain whatsoever! Nice one job done.

The Laup was a bit different! I seem to have a strong gag reflex and getting through the injections was the hardest part. My Cousin who under-went the same proceedure didn't feel a thing! All I can say is you have to put up with this and it is only for a few seconds.

Both proceedures only took about 30mins. You will wonder what the hell you are doing! Also be prepared to feel somewhat violated! It is my belief that this is a natural reaction.

The taste of charring is not too pleasant but goes withing 24 hours.

Now the pain. I had a middling level for the first week but this turned up to a high level for another week. I was taking pain killers every 2 hours day and night. These worked very well, but after 2 hours wow everything in this area from you jaw to your ears will hurt. Be prepared for this! Soluble Paracetamol becomes your best friend! 2 mins after one tablet (and 2 Ibrophran) and you gain massive relief.

I was surprised at how long this pain continued! I turned a corner on 18th Sept and another today. Today I have only taken 2 doses of painkillers.

The soring has fallen to a level that is very acceptable! The Apnea seems to have gone! The bed is not jumping around and I am getting the best sleeps of my life. I am awaking refreshed and I have a happier out-look (which confuses most people as I was pretty happy before!).

Would I recommend this! This is a very individual choice. So far for me the result far outweighs the pain. The past couple of weeks have been reasonably hard. However I have been at work all this time and have taken 2 trips to Germany, although I was all in when returning from the first one!

As the scarring develops I am advised that the effect increases and the airway becomes larger. I will try to add to this report in a couple of months with any developments.

Hi Phil,

Thanks for that report.
Please do keep us informed as to how things develop.

Now 5 weeks in and the pain has stopped completely.

My partner reports that snoring has been reduced by 80% and any Apnea seems to have completely gone!

A couple of things that spring to mind that may have made the recovery better: the pain I expirenced stayed at a level for many days! I was expecting it to get less day by day but this was not the case! You may also feel the wound with the scarring on with the back of your tongue! This is not unpleasant just different and is subsiding!

I am actually waking early (04.30) each morning and feel like I have had my quota of sleep. I guess I will learn to sleep longer as I adjust.

To sum it all up. For me this was very worthwhile. I has a lot of pain for about 3 weeks and now hopefully the rest of my life with less snoring and far better sleep.

I hope the positives continue for you Phil.

Please pop in every now and then, the more the better.