Sleep Apnea and Surgery

mypov · October 22, 2006

Hello Again! I am so glad I have somewhere to go with my many many curiousities and questions about this surgery! Okay so when I filled out the health information required by my surgeon's office, it came to the question about sleep apnea. Well, I have never been diagnosed but I marked off on the list of symptoms they provided that I had EVERY symptom of sleep apnea and then I wrote "STRONGLY BELIEVE I HAVE SLEEP APNEA, THOUGH NEVER DIAGNOSED." Anyway so the surgery is going ahead and no one has told me anything more about it. I really can't afford a sleep study right now as I have no insurance right now (hubby jsut started new job) and all my money is going for the lap band- however, I do want them to take every possible precaution as IF I had sleep apnea, ya know? So what would that include? What would I make sure they knew of or did so that I would be safer? Thanks!!!

maudeispam · October 22, 2006

I had sleep apnea prior to having surgery and losing the weight. For surgery they put a tube down my throat and hooked me up to oxygen, this was just a safety precaution. If you suspect you have sleep apnea then ask to be tubed and on oxygen during your procedure. Better safe than sorry. (By the way they numb your throat prior to putting the tube in and other than a slightly sore throat it doesn't hurt at all.) Best of luck!

mypov · October 22, 2006

Thanks for the info maudeispam, I will tell my surgeon thats what I want. I definitely want to play it safe!

GE Mom · October 22, 2006

I'm puzzled that the surgeon will perform the surgery without having you evaluated for sleep apnea. If you really do have it, anesthesia can be very risky for you. So I would talk to the anesthesiologist.

And the post-op period, when you're taking narcotic pain medication, can also be risky. I apparently do have sleep apnea, and the surgeon insisted I stay in the hospital the first night after surgery and use CPAP. That whole night, every time I went to sleep, my oxygen levels dropped to an unsafe level, and an alarm went off on the pulse oximeter. If the doctor had done what I wanted and let me go home, I suppose I could have simply died in my sleep.

Sleep apnea is both a cause and an effect of obesity. So it could be that you have apnea 'cause you're obese, or that you're obese because you have apnea. Like it or not, you should figure this out and get adequate treatment.

Elisabethsew · October 22, 2006

EVERYONE gets a tube down their throat when they undergo general anesthesia. The endotrachial tube protects/maintains the airway and allows for the proper administration of oxygen to maintain adequate saturations of oxygen in the blood.

If you are fairly sure that you have sleep apnea, you NEED to tell your surgeon AND the anesthesiologist. The problem will not be during surgery but afterwards. Anesthesia takes quite some time to completely be gone from your body and can cause respiratory depression. Post-op sleep apnea patients should be using a C-PAP mask/therapy post-op as well as when they sleep at home.

mypov · October 23, 2006

Thank you all. I will be very clear and make absolutely sure that EVERYone knows of my concern. I will also make sure my husband and mother (who will be there by my side in recovery) know of the issues and make sure they are making sure people are attending to me while in recovery. I know it would be best if I was tested, but I honestly have no way to pay for it right now- and I would think they should still take those precautions either way.

As far as the narcotics, what kind is generally used and for how long? I wonder if anyone gets by post-op on tylenol alone or something?

GE Mom · October 23, 2006

Well, I wouldn't want to get by on tylenol alone. They gave me dilaudid, which was very, very nice. Made me more mellow than I've ever been in my life! But one of the side effects of all narcotics is respiratory depression, which affected me in a major way when I slept. I think the only solution is to talk with surgeon and anesthesia, and they will know what to do.