[at-l] hiking and snoring.

[gwbrown1 at gmail.com (Greg Brown)]

Shelter snoring has come up on a list a few times but today I have
some new information.  I had injection snoreplasty performed this
morning and thought I'd send along my experiences for anyone else who
might be considering this procedure.

First there are many procedures that can diminish snoring.  A new
player on the field is Pillar Implants and this was the procedure that
really jarred me into action to cure my snoring (and not the procedure
I had preformed).  Pillar implants are basically threads that can be
inserted into the soft palate to stiffen the palate and thus end
snoring.  My physician, Dr. Clarkson, said he has is doubts about this
and was taking more of a "wait and see" approach to Pillar.  He said
that, in theory, it should work describing the procedure as "re bar"
for the palate but he also thought that the threads might start to
work themselves out over time due to the nature of the tissue in the
palate.  So no pillar for me.

Laser palate tissue removal was the next procedure we talked about and
then only briefly.  Dr. Clarkson said that my palate did not have
enough "redundant tissue" to warrant laser removal.  He also said that
the procedure is a bit uncomfortable for most patients and he only
uses this procedure for less then 1% of his patients.  And it's
expensive.  Strike that one off the list.

Next we talked about an even more invasive procedure called
uvulopalatopharyngoplasty.  This is the most radical of snoring
procedures, very invasive, and quite uncomfortable for days, sometimes
weeks following the operation.  No thanks.

And finally we discussed injection snoreplasty.  Basically what is
done here is one shot is given in the soft palate of a substance
called Sotradecol.  Once injected the medicine will spread out and
create a scar on the palate that will stiffen the palate and reduce
snoring.  It's doesn't work right away but you should start to see
improvement in a few days and full effectiveness will come around 12
weeks.  Now, on to the actual procedure.

I arrived on-time at 8:45.  Before the shot was administered we had to
do a test.  Dr. Clarkson was going to insert a fibre optic scope into
my nose, through my sinus where he could see the top of my palate
flutter when I made a snoring sound.  This was to verify that this
procedure would actually do something beneficial.  Snoring can also be
reduced due to weight loss (something I'm still working on) so if my
snoring was weight related then this procedure would be pointless. 
But it turns out that it would be beneficial for me thanks to the
construction of my palate (and I knew this already having heard many
complaints of snorting even back when I was a skinny lad).

Alright.. so first thing the good Doctor did was take a medicated
cotton ball and he stuffed it in my nose for four minutes.  This would
help once the scope was inserted (turns out that once you get
something far enough up your nose your brain responds with "GET THAT
OUT OF HERE" so the cotton ball would help reduce this kind of
reaction.  Getting a cotton ball stuffed up your nose is an odd
sensation, but not painful.  Just odd.

Once the cotton ball was out the scope went in.  Now *THAT* was
strange.  I had to keep my eyes closed.. it didn't hurt, but it sure
felt weird.  Once the scope was in place I did a fake snore and the
docotor said "oh yeah, this will help".  He then proceeded to check
out lower in the throat to see how at risk I was for sleep apnea and
it turns out that I don't have a tremendous amount of obstruction even
though I've got a good bit of weight to take off still.  But good news
is good news.

So now we're at the point of no return.  Once the scope was out I said
"go for it, let's get this done" and I was expecting to get the shot
right then.  Nope.  First in my mount with a medicated spray that
numbed the entire roof of my mouth.  Then I got two "dabs" of numbing
goo right on the spot of the shot, about two minutes apart.

Then came the shot.  I'll be honest, it was not comfortable but
looking back about two hours it wasn't so bad.  Once the medicine is
in place the real fun begins.  A sensation that I could only describe
as "hot" rushed over my entire head and quickly subsided.  Over the
next few minutes my nose ran and I experienced several other waves of
heat, though not nearly as intense as the first.  After the first few
minutes of all this strange stuff going on in my head things gradually
got back to normal with only a numb sensation over most of my mouth. 
My voice sounds funny, but I expected that.  The area where the shot
was administered also feels a bit odd, but it doesn't hurt.  Overall
I'd say that this was fairly easy procedure.  The first few minutes
after the shot is no walk in the park, but it's not that bad.  I feel
good right now and I have Tylenol III with codine to look forward to
tonight.  Dr. Clarkson said that the Tylenol III was mostly to ease
the minds of patients who are worried that it might hurt later.  Most
don't even take the pain killers as they are not needed.  I'll
probably take one before bed tonight to keep me in la-la land all
night.

My insurance would not cover this (united health care) so I had to
foot the bill: $375.00.  Expensive, but well, well worth it in my
opinion.  We'll just have to give up sushi and perhaps car poll
another month to make up for the cost.

I'll let everyone know how it works out long-term.  I'm hoping for the best.

Greg