What can i expect having my entire throat and nose reconstructed all at once by ENT?

[Mandalyn07]

I was recently diagnosed with sleep apnea after severely failing a sleep study. I was referred to an ENT for tonsillectomy consult, due to abnormally large tonsils. The ENT told me I had deviated septum causing 90%blockage on right side of my nose. I also had enlarged turbinate tissue, as well as enlarged soft palate. I am awaiting insurance approval to set surgery date to correct septum and turbinate issues, as well as removal of tonsils, and removal of soft palate tissue and reconstruction of my uvula.  What can I expect as far as recovery time and pain for all of this together? I know it's going to be quite painful. I will have to stay over one night in the hospital for observation.  Will I be able to talk? I know I probably won't be able to eat for several days, which may give me a jump start on path to lose about 40 pounds also. How long would I guess I am out of work? Iam very nervous and I would say borderline scared. :(  

[Jwright1984]

I can't speak for the throat reconstruction aspect but I had a septoplasty a couple years ago. That is basically where they go in and removed excess tissue and enlarge and unblock the nasal passages. The procedure didn't take too long and after the initial day the pain wasn't too bad, nothing that a couple hydrocodone a day couldn't knock down, which, I would imagine they will prescribe for pain control afterwards. The only super bad pain I had was in recovery after the procedure. As I started coming to I was suddenly hit with a ton of pain in my nose/face area. The best way I could describe it was as if my nose had been completely smashed with a brick. I called, well, yelled for the nurse. She came in, injected some meds into my IV and I was good within about 3-5 min. Took my hydro as prescribed after that and didn't have anymore pain for the two week recovery. The only really uncomfortable thing is that they pack the sinuses. This is only uncomfortable because it feels like your nose is stuffy, like when you have a bad cold. When they remove the packing, usually in about 2 weeks, it feel so awesome to be able to breathe clearly again. Your sense of smell might even be heightened for a while like mine were. Ultimately it didn't help quite as much as I had hoped for but there was some improvement. It sounds like you are getting the whole package deal though so your outcome may be much greater than mine. I wish they had, at the very least, removed my tonsils as they are larger than they should be. Fortunately my sleep apnea is under control with CPAP therapy. Using my machine I usually have 1-3 events an hour which is down from 180 events an hour at my initial sleep study. I still get sleepy during the day but my sleep doc prescribe provigil and it works great. I hope your procedure goes well and works great for you.