Swollen turbinates

Hi all,

I am wondering whether anyone has or has had swollen turbinates?

Im tossing up whether CPAP will work for me or whether its really just my swollen turbinates that are the issue. So far CPAP has been hard going for me. But I have only used it three times. The underlying cause of any apneas is almost certainly my enlarged turbinates in my nose.

I have tried so many things to remedy the turbinates. The CPAP is the last in a long line of things. I have tried steroid sprays, antihistamines, saline sprays and nasal moisturisers, getting an expensive vacuum with super suction and HEPA filter, dust mite proof bedding, the raised pillow thing that you sleep upright in (awful on your back though so I couldnt do it), an expensive top of the line air purifier being on all the time, and I have even been doing allergy shots for a year so far to no avail. Nothing works. So the CPAP is the last thing at the end of the line. But I do wonder whether it will work as so far I cant get to sleep wearing it.

With my sleep problem I regularly wake up repeatedly in the night with a sore throat and dry mouth. Eventually I cant get back to sleep again. And have significant sleep loss. I snore but I record my sleep and its maybe only about 5% of the time. The rest of the time I have loud mouth breathing which makes me see how I am really drying my throat and mouth out.

I have been avoiding having nasal turbinate reduction surgery because I am worried about Empty Nose Syndome risk. But I cant find any clear data on the percntage chance of getting that condition from the surgery.

So I really hope the CPAP can sort it out but I dont know. Or maybe I am just delaying the inevitable and maybe the CPAP is useless like everything else I have done and nose surgery is the only solution.

Anyone else have nasal turbinates issues? Or had them and resolved them? Whats your story with them?

Apnea is about your airway in your throat being narrow... whether or not your nasal turbinates are swollen. Certainly fixing your turbinates may help you breathe more easily, but it won't cure your apnea.

Julie is right.....sleep apnea doesn't come from turbinate issues. Sleep apnea comes from a problem with the airway tissues down in the airway (below the nasal cavity) and down behind the oral cavity collapsing into the airway and causing the obstructions we end up calling obstructive sleep apnea. The turbinates aren't involved at all.
You can have the most perfect nasal turbinates with no swelling and still have severe obstructive sleep apnea.

Fixing your turbinate issues can make your overall breathing better for you but it's not going to fix obstructive sleep apnea itself. Two different areas of the body are involved and they are independent of each other.
Swollen turbinates don't cause OSA. CPAP machines only fix OSA airway related stuff...not nasal problem stuff.

Watch the video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-gie2dh ... e=youtu.be

What does your sleep study look like? I had turbinate reduction along with septoplasty and balloon sinuplasty. Turbinate reduction won't cause empty nose syndrome if done correctly. They used to remove the turbinates and this would cause the syndrome because turbinates are there to warm, moisten and filter the air. Now they have learned to just reduce and not remove. And for the reducing they do it like liposuction. I have zero issues following my surgery. But it did not improve my sleep study. At home sleep study went from 5.5 to 8.3. Sleeping issues can cause high AHI so not all AHI numbers are apneas. Do nasal rinses if you are not yet. If you have clean air and still getting swollen nasal passages then it is most likely diet related via inflammation or reflux. Have you had a skin allergy test? I did and mine was completely negative.

Is your doctor pushing turbinate $urgery?
I urge you to get a second opinion.
He may be just trying to get you to pay for his new boat.

sleepcrapnea wrote: ↑

Tue Jul 21, 2020 12:50 am

Anyone else have nasal turbinates issues? Or had them and resolved them? Whats your story with them?

Gramps had turbinate reduction surgery and will tell you it was one of the best things he ever did for himself. The surgeon used a debrider to remove a good bit of bone from the turbinates. The recovery period was three days and no pain.

Empty Nose Syndrome is nothing to be feared unless you have a 100-year old surgeon who hasn't operated in 40 years. Surgeons know now not to remove the entire turbinate. They leave enough for proper air flow.

As others have said, this surgery will not cure apnea. But, it should make it much easier to use CPAP, and you will breathe better all day.

Im actually starting to think that the problem might just be swollen turbinates and no sleep apnea. I willl continue to try get results with the CPAP for the duration of the 30 day trial but if it doesnt work I will be off for the turbinate surgery.

I appreciate the feedback on enlarged turbinates surgery.

I had a Septoplasty / T. Reduction, almost two years ago.

Best decision of my life.

My turbinates had become so swollen, not only could I not use my CPAP, but I couldn't breathe through my nose during the day. The surgery made huge difference. Having said that, it wasn't 100% successful. I occasionally still have breathing issues, when I do, I just use my spare CPAP, sit on the couch and watch TV. The nasal pillows open the passages right up.

@ Dogslobber - thats great news. Thanks for sharing this.

Wow your turbinates must have been really swollen. Mine are fine during the day. I have always had nose problems. I had a septoplasty when I was 15yo - am 37yo now. Im not sure whether or not they touched my turbinates that time. My nose has never been amazing for clear breathing. But for some reason it has gotten much worse in the last 3 years when Im trying to sleep and I can get quite blocked up. No idea why. I have allergies to dust mites but I have been doing allergy shots for a year no and it made no difference.

sleepcrapnea wrote: ↑

Tue Jul 21, 2020 10:53 pm

I have allergies to dust mites but I have been doing allergy shots for a year no and it made no difference.

Gramps and I both have moderate allergies to dust mites (You may know that the allergy is actually to their dried feces.). The problems totally resolved when we started using CPAP. We are breathing filtered air coming from the machine on the nightstand.

sleepcrapnea wrote: ↑

Tue Jul 21, 2020 10:53 pm

I have always had nose problems. I had a septoplasty when I was 15yo - am 37yo now.

Have you had a recent nasal endoscopy? It's highly
recommended for CPAP patients with nasal problems. https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/ ... r%20office.

@chicagogranny - I did have an endoscopy. They ENT diangnosed me with enlarged turbinates after doing it. I should probably get the surgery and stop obsessing about Empty Nose SYndrome risks. I was recommended for surgery 1.5 years ago and have been putting it off. Put myself forward for it again but will have to wait a few months again on the waiting list.

Interesating that your issues with dust mites stopped with the CPAP. I had been excited about the same prospect until I got blocked using it. But I will carry on. Its good the nose to hose stops any other air access. But I though the dust mites, or dust mite poo or whatever, would eventually get into the hose lol

my experience with similar issues.

my complaint to an ENT that my nose clogged up at night is what started various efforts to improve my sleep. I had surgery for the swollen turbinates but it did not help my sleep noticeably nor did it reduce the clogged up nose, always on the side I'm sleeping. I also developed an intermittant nosebleed at least once a day but has reduced in frequency to once every 3 months or so. At the same surgery they corrected a deviated septum from a punched nose some decades earlier which might have been the source of the bleeding not the turbinate reduction.

Around the same time, I was diagnosed with sleep apnea and have been using a machine for the past year and a half. Its been a mixed bag. On some nights it works and others it doesn't.

hollywood wrote: ↑

Thu Jul 23, 2020 8:59 am

On some nights it works and others it doesn't.

Have you used the free software Oscar to optimize your CPAP therapy?

@hollywood - sorry to hear about your nose issues.

I am shocked that it seems there is still no decent medical technology in this day and age that addresses swollen nasal turbinates in a high success rate and low risk fashion. Although I have read many reports of successful outcomes from the surgery, but also some with low success and some horror stories.

One thing I have heard is that the turbinates can re-swell again after the surgery which can be the problem relating to low success rate. I have heard that this can take years to happen though eg 5 years.

Its such a pain in the ass as how do you identify what is causing them to swell in the first place. I did allergy test - both skin and blood tests. Turns out I am allergic to both grasses and dust mites. Dust mites reads as a far higher allergy rating than grasses. I have been doing alergy shots for both for a whole year now. Very expensive and time consuming. Still zero results. One possiblity might be that dust mite allergy may have damaged my turbinates to the point they wont shrink again even if I desenstitise myself to the allergens. So maybe I need to have the surgerry combined with continuing the shots for another two years so that the turbinates dont swell again,

But then again was it those allergies that even caused the turbinate swelling in the first place. I dont know. I never experienced other normal allergic reactions. No sneezing or anything like that. God I have tried so many ways to try and solve this problem. Changed to all sorts of diets even though I never registered an allergy to any types of food. Used high spec expensive air purification constantly in my bedroom. Changed humidity levels etc. The most likely culprit is dust mites as they are impossible to avoid and my highest allergy rating.

When I was first diagnosed with sleep apnea, I decided to have surgery instead of using a CPAP machine. The machines then (1996 ) were quite different from what we have today. It would have been difficult for me to carry one when traveling around the country. I had UPPP, turbinate reduction, septoplasty and had some work done to a couple of the sinus cavities. I would recommend any of this surgery except for the UPPP. I knew then what I know now, I would have tried to lug that big machine around with me and make it work. The work done in the nasal area was well worth the discomfort. My only pain was in the back of the mouth where they reshaped the soft palate.