Turbinates and Apnae

I'm not sure if this is the right place to post this, but...

You know those turbinate things up your nose, that cause the sensation of a blocked nose? Mine have been 'blocked' for 2 years now; not even a runny nose. In the past year or so, and especially in recent months they've caused my breathing to become tougher, to the point I've caught myself shallow breathing in my sleep or waking up gasping, just like someone with Sleep Apnae. Meds for congestion/saline sprays etc don't help or make things worse. There is no connection to my diet. We suspect I have LPR reflux, but even when I take my meds for that and watch my diet and lifestyle, the symptoms continue.

My question is, if I were to have my turbinates operated on, would that fix my breathing problems, and therefore my potential sleep apnae?

Sinus surgery or turbinate surgery might fix the problem, but I would recommend trying a while longer to get the swelling down by treating whatever's causing it first.

You didn't mention trying antibiotics for a possible sinus infection. What kind of doctor are you seeing? My family doc puts me on antibiotics when I say I've got an infection that's gotten into my lungs. My ENT usually just doesn't do anything, until some other doc has gotten me an MRI or CT that shows completely filled sinuses.

I had the sinus surgery, but the ENT never straightened the septum, so I still get an awful lot of infections on the side where, I believe, the septum still blocks that maxillary sinus. He always says the sinuses are completely open. Yeah, right! Then the infection seems to get into the other sinuses and down my throat and into my lungs. Again. I get more infections since the miserable surgery.

So, my solution is to use a saline sinus wash when I first start getting congested and twice a day of more when it gets bad. If I can't get rid of it, it's time for antibiotics.

Sinus surgery can help some people, but it's really not fun! Find a doc who will send in a sinus culture, maybe do a CT or MRI to see what's going on.