'I dreaded bedtime before new sleep apnoea treatment'

A woman who used to "dread bedtime" says being one of the first UK patients to be offered a new treatment has been life-changing for her sleeping condition.

Catherine Turnbull, from Chippenham, was diagnosed five years ago with sleep apnoea, a common but serious disorder where breathing repeatedly stops and starts.

She has now been fitted with a hypoglossal nerve stimulation (HGNS) device, which moves her tongue while she sleeps, after Swindon's Great Western Hospital (GWH) became one of five trusts to offer the treatment.

Turnbull said the treatment had stopped her waking during the night and suffering from headaches, adding: "It is amazing because it changes your life."

She said: "My life's just started again. I can't wait to get to bed to go to sleep now."

Wearing a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine has traditionally been the only treatment option, something Turnbull tried but failed to "get on with".

She said: "I would wake up in the night trying to rip it off my face. I felt suffocated. I've tried every single mask going, but no, it's awful."

According to the NHS, the condition sees people's breathing stop and start while they sleep.

Other symptoms include waking up a lot, loud snoring and gasping, snorting or choking.

Those who have the condition can often feel very tired, find it hard to concentrate and suffer from mood swings.

Having read about HGNS, the implanted treatment for patients who cannot tolerate CPAP, Turnbull said she was "extremely grateful" to have been chosen as one of the first patients to have the device fitted.

The treatment has mainly been rolled out in Europe and United States, with about 125,000 people worldwide having the surgery.

It involves an operation where a generator is implanted into the patients chest.

A lead then goes up to the nerve that pushes the tongue forward so that every time they breathe, the airway is opened by the tongue leaning forward.

It is controlled by a small remote, that looks like a computer mouse, which the patient turns on each night when they go to bed.

Joseph Sinnott, an ear, nose and throat surgeon at GWH, said the first treatment was still CPAP but if patients were really struggling, then this was a good second option.

In Wiltshire, only a few patients a month would be offered the treatment as there was a "very strict criteria for inclusion" and only for "extreme cases", said Sinnott.

Sam Backway, GWH's lead sleep and ventilation nurse, said as well as affecting their work and ability to drive, sleep apnoea could cause people "extreme distress", with common symptoms including "brain fog" and "poor concentration".

She also said it could cause issues with people's relationships because of the loud snoring.

Backway, whose own husband has sleep apnoea, said it could go undiagnosed for years due to the symptoms being blamed on other things, "especially for women".

Backway said for women, poor sleep could often be put down to menopause or being kept awake by young children or stress.

She said sleep apnoea was "actually quite serious" as some patients can stop and start breathing around 100 times a night.

For Turnbull, it impacted every aspect of her life over the years, including her work where she would often feel herself falling asleep at her desk.

She hoped by being one of the first to try the new treatment, it "paves the way for others".

Follow BBC Wiltshire on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to us on email or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630.