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+--- Thread: Deviated Septum (/Thread-Deviated-Septum--44694)
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RE: Deviated Septum - HalfAsleep - 05-23-2024
@snoozemaster....answer to your questions
I realized during CPAP use that my nose wasn't functioning properly: I couldn't use just a nasal mask, as I wasn't getting enough air. I stopped using a CPAP altogether.
I got the septoplasty and turbinate reduction, had a new in-lab sleep test (basically same results as before), was switched to a biPAP, and I have a mask I like. I feel the therapeutic results. But, as you can see, the surgery is only one piece of the puzzle. And a sleep test doesn't really reproduce the sleep experience at home or as part of daily life.
My doctor told me I could go back to work 3 days or so after the septoplasty. He considers it a minor surgery. So, I guess for most people it wouldn't be more than a blip on the scale of life. My recovery was longer, but evidently that's very unusual: it turns out, I have an entirely separate issue on my face that played up at the same time.
I totally recommend the surgery. Even though I had a complicated recovery (owing to a condition unrelated to the septoplasty), just being able to breathe has been wonderful. So much depends on that, not just quality of sleep: exercise, the smell of a baby, the taste of an onion bagel...
Yep, the way your nose works affects your taste, and your smell, and your breathing!
So, yes, for me, the surgery was definitely a quality of life thing. It's not my experience that it changed my AHI numbers, BUT it did allow me to benefit more from the therapy, and to actually enjoy the unit's cool air entering my nose.