I stop breathing and snore a lot when I sleep. I ended up having surgery to fix my deviated septum (septoplasty) and shrink the turbinites in my nose, and I also had a Uvulectomy. It was an outpatient thing, And after much consideration and the fact that I had met my deductible for the year with the sleep study, I decided to go ahead with it.

My only concern was being nauseous after the procedure, especially since they are working on my soft pallet. I get nauseous easily, I have to drive everywhere or I get car sick. Certain smells will make me vomit, and anesthesia sometimes makes me toss my cookies. I always make a point of expressing my concerns of vomiting after surgery. I must say, this particular anesthesiologist ROCKED! He actually listened and gave me a nifty patch behind my ear, which did the trick.

The doctor had said that the Uvulectomy is quite painful, perhaps like the worst sore throat of my life, I thought, piece of cake. For the record, between my motorcycle accident, and the tragic walking on ice accident that shattered my left foot, I have a high threshold for pain. (I walked on a shattered foot for 1 month because the ER didn’t x-ray my foot from the top, only from the sides).

Boy was I wrong!!! I have never, EVER felt so much pain in my life! It hurt to move, it hurt to swallow, it hurt to breath.. it fricken hurt to exist. Thank god the codeine knocked me out for that first week. And seriously, if I NEVER eat soup, apple sauce or pudding again it would be too soon. Although I still have a special fondness for the bomb-cicles.

A week after the surgery I went out with my girlfriends to a movie.. a bad idea in some ways. It was torture to smell that popcorn and not be able to have any. But it was fun to get out of the house and connect with the girls. My girlfriend Jenny wanted to see what it looked like to not have a Uvula. I never looked out of fear of becoming nauseous, so I let her take a peek.(Plus it hurt to open my mouth wide) She said, “You still have one, and it’s HUGE!” I was like “WHAT!?!?” . So we ran to the restroom to inspect and sure enough there was something dangling and it was larger than what it was before!

I was LIVID!!! That night when I tried to sleep, it felt as though I was swallowing it.. repeatedly. I called the Dr. first thing in the morning and they explained that they do indeed cut it out completely. But they also make 2 incisions on either side in the soft pallet, which at first makes it look like there is a Uvula, but once it heals it leaves a little nubbin, and the scarring from the incisions actually help pull the soft palate up and back, which makes the success rate much higher. I wish they would have explained that upfront. It’s not even called a Uvulectomy, it’s Palletectomy (sp?) but insurance companies do not cover it so they call it Uvulectomy. And just so you know, some insurance companies don’t cover the Uvulectomy either.

So here I am two weeks post op and I can kind of eat real food again, it only hurts to breath if the air is really cold (it’s winter time) and in the mornings after sleep. Which is another thing, I haven’t really slept through a whole night. I get up because I can’t breath and the whole feeling like I’m swallowing my Uvula thing.

The nose part wasn’t bad at all, even when he pulled out the stints.. yes I was nauseous but I think that it was more from the codeine and very little food in my tummy. There is the usual discomfort from healing, but the nasal sprays help a lot with that. I can tell you, I have a nose of a blood hound though. I can smell EVERYTHING. I mean everything!!! Sometimes, I get nauseous because I’m that sensitive to smell. I’ve got like a super bionic nose or something!

I feel badly for those who had to deal with me during the first week. My mom and dad, a very good friend and my boyfriend were all there for me, and for that I’m greatful! I appreciate their help and kindness, because lord knows IT WAS NOT PRETTY dealing with my drugged up ass!

It was the most painful procedure I’ve gone through, and once I’m healed completely I’ll let you know if it was worth it.