My night time OSA symptoms have gone – Your thoughts appreciated

[WilliamTheFirst]

After undergoing an in hospital over night sleep test I have recently been diagnosed with severe obstructive sleep apnoea ( AHI score of 35 ) and I am awaiting my insurance company's approval to purchase a CPAP device. 

My night time symptoms were that after going to sleep I some times ( not every night ) suddenly wake up and have the feeling that I need to breath in more air , that feeling only lasts for 30 – 60 seconds and a feeling like there was a lump in the back of my throat ( voice box area ) then after I have just remained calm and lay in bed the feelings disappeared and I go back to sleep . This feeling generally occurs once a night but on occasion twice a night. When asleep I do not snore and my wife tells me that I tend to breath through my nose .

During the day time I have no symptoms at all and feel fine , apart from the lump in the throat sensation .


The feeling of some thing being stuck in my throat is some thing that I have been continually experiencing for several months before I was diagnosed with OSA and that lump in the throat feeling is constant through out the day time.

Many years ago I underwent surgery ( Laparoscopic surgery - also called Nissen fundoplication) to help cure my then reflux acid problem , which it did , and that reflux acid issue after the surgery  never returned . But during that past reflux acid period I do remember experiencing similar feelings of some thing being stuck in the back of my throat , which then disappeared after the surgery.

So over the past week I decided to take a daily dose of Omeprazole ( used in the treatment of gastroesophageal reflux disease ) and within a few days of starting to take Omeprazole my night time symptoms have completely disappeared along with a definite feeling that what ever was causing the lump in my throat has now been reduced. ( The lump feeling , feels a lot smaller but currently still there ) 

I’m not really sure if my lump in the throat feeling is in any way connected to my recent sleep test results , all I can say is that since taking the recent daily dose of Omeprazole , my night time symptoms have gone.

Any thoughts , suggestions or advice most welcome 

 

[ardenum]

Nissen fundoplication has a small chance to undo 'itself'. I'd go back to your gastroenterologist and ask if your nissen might have done just that. If it did I'd recommend Linx procedure this time instead of the nissen. You won't be able to have MRI's after but it won't undo itself.

[DeepBreathing]

G'day WilliamTheFirst. Welcome to Apnea Board.

The lump in the back of the throat doesn't sound like an apnea symptom to me - apnea tends to occur higher up around the base of the tongue. Neither does it sound like a result of GERD. I had something similar many years ago (together with uncontrollable coughing) which turned out to be polyps on the vocal chords. If it was me, I'd see an ENT and ask specifically about this feeling of a lump and get them to investigate it. The first action is to look down the throat using a dentist-type mirror and if they can't see anything then a fibre-optic camera is used. It takes about 5 minutes, quick and easy, and it can rule out anything more sinister.

[WilliamTheFirst]

Nissen fundoplication has a small chance to undo 'itself'. I'd go back to your gastroenterologist and ask if your nissen might have done just that. If it did I'd recommend Linx procedure this time instead of the nissen. You won't be able to have MRI's after but it won't undo itself.

 

I did wonder about my past Nissen fundoplication surgery and if the original effect was wearing off in some way , So I will go and see a gastroenterologist and explain my current symptoms and at the same time inquire about the Linx procedure . One thing that I’m still not sure about is why my original symptoms have completely disappeared after taking Omeprazole .

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G'day WilliamTheFirst. Welcome to Apnea Board.

The lump in the back of the throat doesn't sound like an apnea symptom to me - apnea tends to occur higher up around the base of the tongue. Neither does it sound like a result of GERD. I had something similar many years ago (together with uncontrollable coughing) which turned out to be polyps on the vocal chords. If it was me, I'd see an ENT and ask specifically about this feeling of a lump and get them to investigate it. The first action is to look down the throat using a dentist-type mirror and if they can't see anything then a fibre-optic camera is used. It takes about 5 minutes, quick and easy, and it can rule out anything more sinister.

Thanks for the welcome 

Your polyps on the vocal chords comment has got me thinking and I’m now going to make an appointment to see an ENT specialist and outline my current symptoms. I’m still not understanding very well why my original symptoms have completely disappeared after taking Omeprazole .