Treatment for Snoring?

[OLDFED]

Anyone out there who has had the "pillars" inserted to prevent snoring? I read that it is 80% effective. What's your success; what's the pain issue; how long does it take to see a positive outcome? Any negatives other than the cost? Thanks!

 

[LHS]

The pain I get from snoring is the wife smacking me to get me to roll over so I stop.

 

[Duke426]

FWIW, snoring is sometimes just a symptom that something else much more serious could be wrong - obstructive sleep apnea.

Make sure you are treating the real problem. Folks with sleep apnea run a much higher risk of heart problems. Snoring is just an annoying symptom.

Never heard of the "pillars" of which you speak. I have a CPAP machine that treats the apnea AND alleviates the associated snoring that drives my wife and dog batty. I don't have any pain or recovery time either.

 

[Indiana George]

I keep my "pillers" in my bedroom and my wife keeps her "pillers" across the hall, in her bedroom. Problem solved! ~GRIN~

 

[s&wchad]

Half of the guys at deer camp would be dead by now, if they didn't get breathing machines and bring their AC converters and car batteries with them. The other half would have killed them. As a bonus, they seem to be more alert during the day.

 

[Gaffer]

My snoring problem was nearly completely cured by acupuncture and giving up milk. I now use almond beverage instead of milk on my cereal etc. Made a real big difference says the better half.

 

[n4zov]

Even though I have sleep apnea, I had never heard of the pillars treatment you asked about, but there is plenty of information online for those who are interested. I have used a CPAP machine for several years and have been very satisfied with the results. It is just a matter of making up your mind to use it until you get used to wearing the mask. My wife thinks the inventor of the CPAP machine should be made emperor for life!

 

[phs3194]

I am not familiar with "pillars", but did have surgery for sleep apnea. In my surgery they removed my tonsils, adnoids, uvula and part of the soft pallette. I had 4 trips to the ER following the surgery because of bleeding. It did nothing to help my snoring or the apnea. Also I now get choked easily when eating. Get a CPAP before trying surgery, you can always change your mind later if it doesn't help.

 

[truckemup97]

I keep my "pillers" in my bedroom and my wife keeps her "pillers" across the hall, in her bedroom. Problem solved! ~GRIN~

My wife tried the piller treatment, but I kept waking up before I was completely smothered.

 

[yaktamer]

My snoring problem was nearly completely cured by acupuncture and giving up milk. I now use almond beverage instead of milk on my cereal etc. Made a real big difference says the better half.

There's a great joke to be made out of this somehow, but darned if I can think of one right now.

 

[HCD]

Alert!!!!!Alert!!!!

please talk to your Dr. soon, thought i just snored till i ended up in ICU at the hospital, i've been off work for over a year, i have to live with a Bi-Pap (just like a C-Pap but with O2 added)
if you cant breath at night you can build up carbon dioxide in your body it is the true silent killer. it almost killed me. if you aint doin the in goes the good air and out goes the bad air correctly, you also are not sleeping correctly and that adds to the problem. it's only a Dr. visit and it's worth it. duke426 has it right the car-diox build up caused the walls of my heart to harden i'll never work again and i turn 55 next month. please talk to your Dr. it may be nothing but it may be everything.

 

[Kanewpadle]

I too had sleep apnea. Tried the CPAP and it didn't work. Losing weight was my only option. So I did. Lost about 30 pounds. As long as I stay under 220 pounds, I'm fine.

Go get a sleep survey.

 

[BUFF]

I used to have sleep apnea, snored like crazy until I was put on a CPAP. One of the masks used with them has what are called "nasal pillows." It is a form of mask that just covers your nostrils with two soft plastic billows-looking things called "pillows." Maybe that was what you heard.

I lost about 75 pounds. Sleep apnea went away. See your doc. He will either recommend an overnight "sleep study" (a night spent hooked up to a dozen wires and other things) in a sleep clinic, or at least an overnight oximeter test (hooks on a finger, monitors and records your blood oxygen level).

 

[sipowicz]

I wonder if my doctor put the pilllars in right since it hurts when I sit down.

 

[WC145]

I'm a respiratory therapist and I'm not familiar with the "Pillar" surgery for OSA/snoring, it sounds to me like it would probably be painful and not neccessarily take care of the issue. Most snoring is caused by the airway being occluded, most often do to being too heavy or having soft pallette issues. The surgery that phs3194 had is fairly common but, again, not always a cure because it doesn't do anything for the root cause of the problem.

The best thing you can do is to lose weight if you're heavy, getting close to a normal weight for your stature will almost always relieve the OSA problem, in addition to making you healthier in general. If you aren't heavy and having OSA problems then mechanical intervention, like a CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) or a BiPAP (Bilevel Positive Airway Pressure) are the easiest solutions and they do not require any sort of surgery. They are simply air pumps which maintain positive airway pressure to keep the airway from occluding (closing). CPAP maintains the same pressure continuously while BiPAP increases the pressure on inspiration and decreases it on expiration. Oxygen can be added to the mix if desaturation is an issue but it is not required for either system to function.

As mentioned, chronic, untreated OSA can cause any number of issues due not only to CO2 retention but, and possibly to a greater degree, sleep deprevation. Your heart works harder and your body never gets the rest it needs. Common symptoms are snoring and excessive daytime sleepiness - falling asleep while driving, at the dinner table, at work, during conversations - anytime you are not busy doing something your body is trying to make up for lack of sleep.

Personally, I would always try to avoid surgery if possible. Speak to your doctor about a sleep study and then you can discuss the different options with all of the facts in front of you. In the mean time, the best thing you can do is the usual array of recommendations - exercise, eat right, maintain a healthy weight, don't smoke, don't overindulge alcohol, go to bed at a reasonable time so your body can get all the rest it needs. If those things do not help/cure your snoring and the OSA that probably accompanies it, then mechanical intervention (CPAP/BiPAP) would be my personal choice for treatment. You put it on when you go to bed and sleep like everyone else and get up awake and refreshed, problem solved.

 

[7shooter]

Many people believe the myth that Billy the Kid once shot a man for snoring. The myth was probably perpetuated because it is so plausible.

 

[CAJUNLAWYER]

I don't know who snores worst-my wife or the dog. With my wife, I just reach over and grab something. That stops it pretty fast

 

[Frizzman]

I was quite overweight for a good many years. I snored very loudly when asleep. I had problems with episodes of atrial fibrillation. In 2002, I woke up one morning feeling very strange. I had a hard time walking and talking and felt rather confused. I wound up at the ER having a stroke. It left me unable to read or write or speak and paralysed on the right side. My career ended. I was told later that the sleep apnea that I had never heard of before probably caused this to happen. I am lucky. I survived and have recovered some of my abilities such as being able to read and write.

I wound up spending a few years living with a CPAP and it helped. Then a couple of years ago I woke up twice in Afib and wound up in the ER and hospital and required cardioversion to restore normal heart rhythm. That got my attention. So, I have lost well over 200 lbs and the snoring is gone. No more episodes of Afib either. My father died of a stroke at age 62. He had his during the night. He was a loud snorer.

Snoring was a topic of humor and ridicule for me. I had no idea how serious it and the sleep apnea it was a symptom of were until it was too late. Its nothing to fool with. Go to a first class sleep lab and work with a physician who specializes in treating sleep apnea and follow their recommendations. I can't speak to the pillar treatment since I am unfamiliar with it but make sure your treatment is guided by a good specialist in this area of medicine. Your life may depend on it! Good Luck!

 

[HCD]

I'm a respiratory therapist and I'm not familiar with the "Pillar" surgery for OSA/snoring, it sounds to me like it would probably be painful and not neccessarily take care of the issue. Most snoring is caused by the airway being occluded, most often do to being too heavy or having soft pallette issues. The surgery that phs3194 had is fairly common but, again, not always a cure because it doesn't do anything for the root cause of the problem.

The best thing you can do is to lose weight if you're heavy, getting close to a normal weight for your stature will almost always relieve the OSA problem, in addition to making you healthier in general. If you aren't heavy and having OSA problems then mechanical intervention, like a CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) or a BiPAP (Bilevel Positive Airway Pressure) are the easiest solutions and they do not require any sort of surgery. They are simply air pumps which maintain positive airway pressure to keep the airway from occluding (closing). CPAP maintains the same pressure continuously while BiPAP increases the pressure on inspiration and decreases it on expiration. Oxygen can be added to the mix if desaturation is an issue but it is not required for either system to function.

As mentioned, chronic, untreated OSA can cause any number of issues due not only to CO2 retention but, and possibly to a greater degree, sleep deprevation. Your heart works harder and your body never gets the rest it needs. Common symptoms are snoring and excessive daytime sleepiness - falling asleep while driving, at the dinner table, at work, during conversations - anytime you are not busy doing something your body is trying to make up for lack of sleep.

Personally, I would always try to avoid surgery if possible. Speak to your doctor about a sleep study and then you can discuss the different options with all of the facts in front of you. In the mean time, the best thing you can do is the usual array of recommendations - exercise, eat right, maintain a healthy weight, don't smoke, don't overindulge alcohol, go to bed at a reasonable time so your body can get all the rest it needs. If those things do not help/cure your snoring and the OSA that probably accompanies it, then mechanical intervention (CPAP/BiPAP) would be my personal choice for treatment. You put it on when you go to bed and sleep like everyone else and get up awake and refreshed, problem solved.

more articulate than i can type and well stated. if i may add one thing, if OSA is the problem- the first nights sleep you get will be the best you have ever had. when they sent me home with the bi-pap my first night home in my own bed i slept for 12 hours, woke up and felt like a new man. slowly down from 12 to 10 to 8 now 7 hrs each night of real sleep that took a year and 4 mo. you dont know what it's like to sleep because it happens so slowly you dont realize it. then when you do sleep it's like WOW. good luck and see your doc.

 

[OLDFED]

History Lesson....

....first, thanks to all for the comments and jokes. They both helped! I've been the sleep study route twice, been on the CPAP and hate it! I'm not overweight. I want to avoid the radiography/parts removal operation and found reports that "pillars" have been up to 80% successful. These are small dacron implants...about the size of a wooden match, but about 3/4" long. They're inserted in the upper soft tissue of the back of the mouth with an injection needle gun. They numb the area, push the needle and pull the trigger, leaving the pillar in place. Over time, the surrounding tissue is supposed to become fibrous, stiffening the palate's soft tissue and reducing its ability to flap and close off the airway. One of the downsides is that your insurance probably won't cover the cost because its too new a procedure to be fully evaluated; is considered 'cosmetic' and the company which makes the device is getting big bucks for the patent. If you Google 'throat pillars', you can learn more. If I do this, I'll post an update. Thanks again.