British Snoring & Sleep Apnoea Association

Hello everyone

Trust you all had a good Christmas and New Year?

I am having an operation on 19th January... eeek!! I have told them all about my severe apnea and they seem reasonably ok although just keep saying 'anasthetic nurse' will sort that out...!! So, hope she/he knows what they are doing!!!!

Will mean 2 nights in hospital, can't wait for all the weird 'stares' whilst i'm lying there wearing APAP!!!!!


Anyone else had experience with ops and sleep apps?

Cheers

No, thankfully.

They don't appear to mind as long as they know about OSA.
Make sure the recovery staff also are aware of it.

Oh, and good luck.

I had a endoscopy couple of years ago that should have been sedated for ,took machine along and got it set up ready . Doc comes along and i tell him i need the machine putting on as i have sleep apnoea at that he declares "We will try without sedation " omg i was crapping myself when he said that but they did it without sedation.

The plus side was i was taken to recovery where everyone was asleep from there op's ,
Got dressed within 5 mins had a cuppa and was out within 15mins heheheeee .

Hope it all goes well for your op don't worry your in safe hands ,

Best wishes ,

Hi,

I had heart valve replacement surgery before Christmas, and I was absolutely terrified about the anaesthetic/sleep apnoea .. but my sleep nurse said I had two advantages .. I'm OSA diagnosed, and compliant for over two years .. also that the anaesthetist would be vigilant.

He actually spent quite a long time answering all my questions and explaining procedures the day before the op, and my machine went into theatre with me, then CICU and HDU, before I went onto the main ward.

All the staff were aware of OSA and C/APAP .. I hope it's the same at the hospital you're at, and all goes well for you .. good luck.

I wouldn't worry about weird stares with your machine on in the wards - people will just assume it's exactly what it is (a bit of medical equipment). In fact it's probably the one place you can wear it without it being seen as odd!

I was in hospital a few years ago and my machine was with me and if anything it was a help and a comfort for getting enough quality sleep while healing up - something familiar and associated with going to sleep in a very unfamiliar environment.

Plus I can guarantee if your machine prevents you doing the 'snoring/choking to death' noises that mine prevents for me every single person in your ward will be hugely grateful even if they don't know they should be!

Hope everything goes well x

Haha yeah that's true Suse, even the neighbours used to hear my noises before.. yikes lol.

Oh well, I'll see you all on 23rd.. if im still alive!!!

Good Luck - you will be back to normal before you know it!!!

Michael

ur silly attitude gets a bit annoying TBH.

I've been away so have only just seen your post. All the very best for your hospital stay. It is not pleasant to anticipate but I think you'll find things go more smoothly than you'd think.

When I was hospitalised unexpectedly in the UK in 2008 and went for a planned colonoscopy in 2007 being already diagnosed as an OSA sufferer was, surprisingly, a blessing in disguise. For the colonoscopy, the docs knew my pressure requirements in advance and knew that I was used to using the machine, so they took special care of me in the recovery room and as soon as I'd regained consciousness after the anesthetic had worn off, they hooked me up to my CPAP whilst I was drowsy and all was well. So get the nursing staff to bring your xPAP with you to the operating theatre recovery room and ask them to hook you up once you come round. As for being hospitalised with my CPAP, it was great because I could control its use by having it next to me. If I wanted a nap, I simply put the mask on and snoozed to my heart's content. No-one gave it a second glance and it's very empowering to be in charge of one's own health. Plus, I also discovered that you don't get a lot of sleep at night in a hospital unless you are in a single room ..... so extra sleeps in the daytime were just a normal occurrence.

Good luck with your op. I hope it will be a success and will finally cure whatever gave rise to it. And don't worry about using your xPAP, it's a medical device, and will fit in perfectly in a hospital situation ... and it will probably do you more good than grapes! (No flippancy intended .... just hope that things go better than you think they will at present.)

Thanks Alsa, very nice response.

Op on Thurs, so will let you know how I get on.

Thanks

That's me back now.. and dispite me taking my apap to theatre - they never used it once!!!
only time i used it was when i slept at night....

Now .. time for 2 weeks recovery.... arrrgh.

Glad to see you're back and hopefully everything went ok. Plenty of rest and plenty of sleep if you're recovering as your body does a lot of it's good healing work during the snoozin'! x

aw thanks suze.