It's procedure day! Before being able to properly treat his sleep apnea, ADVENT's Dr. Kandula is going to fix Erik's airway by reducing the size of his inferior turbinates and opening up his sinuses with a balloon sinuplasty.
If you haven't read the last part of Erik's journey, check it out here.
Transcript:
- Hi everybody, Erik Here. I'm on my way to have my procedure done. We're gonna be getting a balloon sinuplasty in the office, and a turbinate reduction as well. So I've seen the procedure done before, in fact, Dr. Kandula will be performing the procedure. You could actually watch him get his own balloon sinuplasty and turbinate reduction and narrate the whole thing on YouTube. YouTube.com/ADVENTknows. Check it out, it's worth watching. So since I have seen the procedure I have a pretty good idea of what to expect. It's closer to goin' to the dentist office than havin' surgery. So yeah, I'm not particularly nervous. Our doctors have done this procedure thousands and thousands of times. They're very good at it. Pretty quick, pretty painless. They do give you an option of taking a sedative before hand, but I think I'll be alright without it, and this way I can drive myself home when I'm done. So if you haven't seen my previous videos, I've been struggling with sleep apnea and nasal breathing in general; And my CPAP treatments did not work for me. The providers at ADVENT think that it's probably due to the nasal obstruction; when I got my CT scan done, things were very very tight in my sinuses, my septum is very significantly deviated. I have even chronic sinusitis that I wasn't even aware of. This procedure will hopefully open things up, allow me to breathe through my nose better, and the idea is then I will be able to use a CPAP or possibly even an oral appliance to treat my sleep apnea; and it'll be effective because I can breathe through my nose now. That's the plan, so hopefully it works out that way.
- [PA] Alright, so we're gonna do a few sprays on each side okay?
- Okay.
- [PA] We'll start on this side. Ready, one, two three. And you can dab that up if it's drippin' on you. Ready for the next side?
- Mhm
- [PA] Okay--
- How am I doin' with my nose hair trimming?
- [PA] You're actually doing very good!
- Alright!
- [PA] You know, you don't have to do that for us!
- Well I have to do it for my wife's sake.
- [PA] Oh!
- [PA] Take a deep breath, it'll feel real funny. Good job, you did great.
- Felt like a covid test. It's a very strange sensation.
- [PA] Yeah, it is.
- [PA] You're gonna have to keep those in there, so if it's hard to breathe with them in you're gonna have to breathe through your mouth.
- Okay.
- [man off camera] On a scale of one to 10, how weird is it?
- How weird? On the weirdness scale it's up there, it's a seven or an eight. On the pain scale though, it's at a zero. Like it doesn't hurt, it's just weird. I didn't want surgery. I don't want to go under the knife. I don't wanna go- I don't wanna be sedated. I don't want that recovery period. I don't want to be taking narcotics. I don't want any of that.
- [Doctor] So next step forward, we're gonna lay you back a little bit further.
- Okay.
- [Doctor] Once we get you a nice we'll do numbing injections.
- Mhm.
- [Doctor] So numbing injections, a little pinch, more drip than anything. It tastes really bitter, so it'll taste just bitter- kinda nasty.
- Okay.
- [Doctor] It will get your heart rate racing, so just know that right now. The numbing medicine's got a little bit of adrenaline in it,
- Mhm.
- [Doctor] So when your body feels that or senses that, it tells your heart to start racing; and so know that that's just a normal part of that process.
- Okay.
- [Doctor] But even if you know it's comin' it'll still make you feel a lil Funky.
- [Doctor] So just prepare for that.
- Okay.
- [Doctor] If you don't know it's coming, then it can be really, you know, kind of alarming. Anyways, the main thing to focus on is on your breathing. So breathing is key the whole way through.
- Mhm.
- [Doctor] Slow, deep breathing. Ideally through your nose if you can get air through there once I get these things out of your nose.
- Okay.
- [Doctor] The first part it just kinda smells bad, sorta smokey, otherwise pretty mellow. The last part is where your gonna feel like I'm giving you kind of a push up in those sinus areas. So it's short lived, it's just kind of an odd sensation as those areas are opening up-
- Okay.
- [Doctor] Like I said i'll talk you through it, Alright?
- All right.
- [Doctor] Any questions?
- Ah, nope.
- [Doctor] Nothing? Alright.
- [Doctor] You made it. I'm gonna sneak those cotton balls back in, and then that's the end of the show, okay?
- Alright.
- [Doctor] These guys are gonna be annoying goin' back in there, so just kinda bear with me. They've got their numbing medicine on them so once they get in they'll start kinda soothing those surfaces again. Your nose has just kinda had enough of me at this point, so it's just kind of annoying, so- and then throughout all that stuff, you know, Tiffany will kinda run you through, but starting out today with that; so the saline, the saline rinses, the more the better. Once you get outta here, blowin' your nose is okay just kinda keep it gentle.
- Okay.
- [Doctor] Activity wise, do what you wanna do, just kinda listen to your body. So there's nothing specific that you need to stay away from-
- [Doctor] It's just kind of- you know, if you feel up for stuff, that's fine. If you don't feel up for stuff, that's fine. Most of the time it's usually- it's gonna be stuffy and kind of annoying, but other than that it's usually pretty mellow.
- Okay.
- [Doctor] Any questions?
- Ah no, I don't think so.
- [Doctor] Nothin' too much? Kinda headache-y right now?
- Yeah, a little bit. Yeah, Still some pressure.
- [Doctor] Any particular areas or kinda all over?
- Kind of all over. I feel it most right temple.
- [Doctor] Yep, gotcha. And that spot, right side, up high here, that's where your septum was kicked over, and so that probably hasn't seen the world for a long time, and so-
- Okay.
- [Doctor] It can feel kinda un-nerving.
- Yeah.
- [Doctor] It's tryin' to figure out what's goin' on.
- Gotcha.
- [Doctor] Alright, anything else you can think of?
- Ah nope, I think we're good.
- [Doctor] Alright, excellent. You wanna keep laying back? You wanna sit up?
- I think I'm ready to sit up.
- [Doctor] Sit up? Okay. And whenever you want you can sip a little of that water, you don't have to, and whenever you do do that, just make sure your being careful.
- Okay.
- [Doctor] Good job!
- Okay, thanks a lot.
- [Doctor] You're good!
- [PA] Want that Tylenol now?
- Yeah actually. I would like that Tylenol now.
- [Man Off Camera] Yeah, how is it?
- That was actually a little more intense than I was expecting. Just a lot of really weird sensations. Nothing really painful, a little pinch here and there, but mostly just a lot of pressure and tickle and I kinda wanna sneeze, I kinda don't wanna sneeze. I think I did okay with it, it didn't really bother me too much. The increased heart rate after the numbing medication was a little odd too. But once again, not bad. I didn't feel like I was gonna throw up or freak out or anything. I can definitely see though if you do have trouble with like dental procedures, you might wanna do the medication up front.
- [PA] You are probably gonna need to take the cotton out, you're gonna get a lot of blood on there. And you're actually probably gonna be able to breathe pretty well. And then, the swelling will set in. So this next week you're gonna feel like you have a cold. You're gonna feel pain and pressure even in your face and you may even get green or yellow drainage. It's not a sinus infection, it's normal.
- Okay.
- [PA] Do you have any questions before we let you leave?
- I don't think so, I think I've got all my information. I got the plan. I just need to pick up-
- [PA] The prescriptions?
- The prescriptions. I've got my stuff for the sinus rinse. I've got my saline spray at home.
- [PA] Okay.
- That's everything I need right?
- [PA] Right. Before I have you leave, I want you to stand up first, just to make sure your not gonna feel dizzy, nothings gonna happen. Feel okay?
- Yeah, I think we're good. Okay.
- [PA] Feel okay?
- Yeah, yeah. I have a lot of pressure around my head, but-
- [PA] Yeah, yeah.
- But otherwise, doin' fine.
- [PA] Okay. Should we roll you out in the wheelchair? cause we have one.
- Nope, I think we're good. Should probably put on my mask.
Alright, on my way home after my in-office balloon sinuplasty and turbinate reduction. There's a bit of a headache, some pressure around my nose. Yeah, not the most pleasant feeling in the world. But at the same time it's better than surgery. Thanks for joining me on my ADVENT patient journey. Look out for more updates next week.