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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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Can Fat Tongue And Long Uvula Affect Sleep?

Hello, I have seen two ENT specialists so far. The results were less than inspiring as they all seem obsessed with sleep apnea which I don t have and is not my issue. My issue is getting to sleep. The last ENT Doc did however point me in the right direction. My issue is this. When I m about to fall alseep at night I make a popping noise in my throat. It s driving me crazy because it always happens as I m drifting off to sleep. As a result I m very lucky if I get 6 hours sleep a day. I decided to figure this out myself as the Doctors (no offence intended) weren t much use. Ironically sleep apnea web sites provided the most useful info. What I discovered is I have a fat tongue and a fairly longe uvula. (mallampati score of 3 or 4) What happens as you fall asleep is the tongue relaxes and slides back and my uvula lies practically horizontally on my tongue when it s relaxed. I m a mouth and a nose breather. I don t sleep well with either one blocked. Anyway as I m falling asleep and breathe out (sometimes in) my uvula pops like a release valve as air is released. I have observed this with a torch whilst emulating the relaxtion of the tongue. I am considering a partial uvelectomy however I am concerned that I may be trading one issue for potentially others. I m about 95% certain I have identified the issue. I would appreciate your thoughts? Thank you.
Mon, 30 Sep 2019
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General Surgeon 's  Response
Hello,



A large tongue with long uvula are obvious reasons for the development of obstructive sleep apnea.



A sleep study with plethysmograph is best indicated in this regard for further guidelines.



Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further.



Regards,

Dr. Bhagyesh V. Patel, General Surgeon
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Can Fat Tongue And Long Uvula Affect Sleep?

Hello, A large tongue with long uvula are obvious reasons for the development of obstructive sleep apnea. A sleep study with plethysmograph is best indicated in this regard for further guidelines. Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further. Regards, Dr. Bhagyesh V. Patel, General Surgeon