I shall start the chronicles from the moment I realize I was snoring.
Many years ago before I met my present wife, the children of my friend with whom we were travelling in a group had no choice but to move out of the room I and my family were sleeping in because I was snoring. That was when I first realized I was snoring.
My wife also noticed me that I was starting to snore and told me so. In fact, for all future travelling arrangements which involve people outside the family, she suggested that I say alone by myself so that I do not disrupt others.
I thought snoring was a small matter and left it as it is as it did not affect me that much. The problem is, it developed into apnea and in more recent times it affected me in my blood pressure, wakefulness, memory, blood sugar, etc.
I had been for a sleep test at SJMC (now Sime Darby Medical Centre) a few years ago and done MRI scans. Operation was not recommended and the option was to use a CPAP machine. I seeked a second opinion with a professor doctor in MU but again, nothing permanent is recommended except for the CPAP machine.
The problem with a CPAP machine is that it is bulky and needs a power supply. It is also very intrusive because it hampers my movements. I don't know what happened but I gave up the idea and life goes on.
Eventually, through networking, I met a friend called Kok Lee Wah and she told me she had an operation done and it was good for her. I doubted, saying that maybe it works for her but probably not for me. She commented: "Don't judge till you have seen him".
In the course of a few weeks I asked for his number, called him and after consulting him, realized how much of my life has been wasted and how much problems I could have averted if I had seen him earlier.
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
It's such a long time ago that I published a blog. Anyway, here goes....
I discovered some interesting facts about OSA surgery called Anterior Palastoplasty just last week. It has been more than 4 years in practice at the time of writing and the report given is a 3 years study but more of that later.
Many years ago, I developed a snoring problem which over time gradually progressed to OSA (Obstructive Sleep Apnea). It was not a pleasant ordeal and eventually, I went to Subang Medical Centre (Now Sime Darby Medical Centre) and they went through a sleep analysis with me. With that, they said they could not help me much then. I went to MU and met another professor (forgot his name) who is noted for dealing with OSA. I forgot the reason then but it seems that he can't help me much and recommended me to use the CPAP machine. Eventually, the idea fizzled out, probably because I wanted to exercise to reduce weight and improve air passageway. Apparently that helped only a bit.
So that episode went on for another few years and I discovered Q-Link (an Australian product). That helped with a good night sleep but that did not eliminate the air passage block problem.
I had given up hope of having this problem eliminated and mentioned it during a training session. A lady friend present, Kok Lee Wah, told me not to judge so fast until I have seen her ENT Surgeon who helped her eliminated her snore so much so that her family were worried that she has passed away that they have to check on her every now and then. Her sleep was so silent!
This Anterior Palatoplasy is less intrusive in that less tissues are cut away. The old method has the disadvantage that food may possibly come out of through your nose! This one is very short and has no complications in all its history. Any tissues to cut away are done with a laser and the blood vessels cauterized at the same time to reduce bleeding.
After surgery, the patient is placed into a wards with 1 nurse to 1 or 2 max patient so that monitoring is at its maximum.
Once done and the anaethesia wears off, one can check out. In that process, the patient automatically lose weight by 5 to 15kg initially due to less desire to eat. With the the patient also tends to look younger and becomes more alive due to better air intake.
High Blood Pressure, Hypertension, Diabetes, etc. also gets reduced or eliminated because body functions get restored to it's optimum.
I am looking forward to that surgery. Now it is just to get my blood pressure and suger in manageable level suitable for surgery.
I discovered some interesting facts about OSA surgery called Anterior Palastoplasty just last week. It has been more than 4 years in practice at the time of writing and the report given is a 3 years study but more of that later.
Many years ago, I developed a snoring problem which over time gradually progressed to OSA (Obstructive Sleep Apnea). It was not a pleasant ordeal and eventually, I went to Subang Medical Centre (Now Sime Darby Medical Centre) and they went through a sleep analysis with me. With that, they said they could not help me much then. I went to MU and met another professor (forgot his name) who is noted for dealing with OSA. I forgot the reason then but it seems that he can't help me much and recommended me to use the CPAP machine. Eventually, the idea fizzled out, probably because I wanted to exercise to reduce weight and improve air passageway. Apparently that helped only a bit.
So that episode went on for another few years and I discovered Q-Link (an Australian product). That helped with a good night sleep but that did not eliminate the air passage block problem.
I had given up hope of having this problem eliminated and mentioned it during a training session. A lady friend present, Kok Lee Wah, told me not to judge so fast until I have seen her ENT Surgeon who helped her eliminated her snore so much so that her family were worried that she has passed away that they have to check on her every now and then. Her sleep was so silent!
This Anterior Palatoplasy is less intrusive in that less tissues are cut away. The old method has the disadvantage that food may possibly come out of through your nose! This one is very short and has no complications in all its history. Any tissues to cut away are done with a laser and the blood vessels cauterized at the same time to reduce bleeding.
After surgery, the patient is placed into a wards with 1 nurse to 1 or 2 max patient so that monitoring is at its maximum.
Once done and the anaethesia wears off, one can check out. In that process, the patient automatically lose weight by 5 to 15kg initially due to less desire to eat. With the the patient also tends to look younger and becomes more alive due to better air intake.
High Blood Pressure, Hypertension, Diabetes, etc. also gets reduced or eliminated because body functions get restored to it's optimum.
I am looking forward to that surgery. Now it is just to get my blood pressure and suger in manageable level suitable for surgery.
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