I have a floppy palate allegedly caused by wine.

I know, I know, A So and Craig G will have a field day with this. Especially Craig since he once accused me of having the palate of a Yak. Now my doctor tells me I have a floppy palate. And worse, she thinks alcohol causes or largely contributes to it. I knew alcohol and old age could make other things floppy, but never once did I think it could be my palate, too.

So my wife tells me that I snore like a big Yak. Of course I think she exaggerates as I have never heard it. At worst I would think it’s a nocturnal mating call, but I notice that she normally moves to one of the guest rooms by 3 a.m. So she sets me up with her tennis partner, an ear nose and throat specialist, who tells to me stop drinking during the week. Even two glasses increases floppiness, according to her.

Sound sorta suspicious to me. Anyone else experience this where alcohol makes the palate floppy, which in turn, causes one to snore, piss off spouse, get bad sleep, and less mating time?

I have another guys night on Thursday. Lots of vino will be consumed in honor of Tour de France.

A lot of people snore much worse when they fall asleep inebriated.

You might be a candidate for a CPAP machine, which could reduce those issues.

I know my gf only snores after she has had a few cocktails.

There’s too much here to address on short notice. I need some time to work on my material.

To this I plead guilty. I’ve even heard myself.

Wouldn’t viagra stiffen things up for you?

Have you ever had priapism of the tongue? it’s not pleasant, at least not for me!

You’re not alone. My snoring increases with drinking.

Too many joke possibilities here; I don’t know where to begin.

The worst part is, I just got the daily email from Crush, which I normally hit like a Rhesus monkey on a crack pipe, and I actually waffled, flip-flopped, in a floppy sort of way. Can’t believe I didn’t hit this offer of a lovely Loire CF that tastes weedy, green and ashy, just because of this terrible affliction that I have been diagnosed. Oh the humanity . . . .

When I am overweight or when Im stressed I snore more.

Robert just lended me his CPAP machine so I guess I am getting his floppy seconds

Do you snore when you don’t drink? I did and it got worse with alcohol. I went thru the sleep apnea diagnosis 8 months ago and now sleep every night with a CPAP. I love it and can’t imagine going back.

No more snoring, with or without wine consumption. Better rest and energy. And most importantly, less stress on the heart.

CPAP: Chronic Palate Anti-Priapism? Bear in mind, this could be contagious.

See ya Thursday.

On a serious note, I’ll give this a whirl for a few weeks and see if moderate nightly consumption is the issue. Gotta say, it would be a major bummer given my lifestyle preferences. What the heck would I do with all my wine?

Try it but don’t give up if it doesn’t work well for you. There are lots of different masks (mouth breathers need full mask) and the doc will dial in the optimum air pressure based on a sleep study.

It’s really not a one size fits all device.

My dad has a CPAP machine. I fear the idea of using one, but for him, it was revelatory.

Re: sleep apnea, the scary thing is if you stop breathing a lot during sleep. That’s what causes so much strain on the heart. I went from stopping like 40x per hour to 2-3x.

After the CPAP, my blood pressure also declined enough to stop taking medication for it.

And don’t assume if you are physically fit that you can’t have sleep apnea. The stereotype is very overweight people. I’m 6’1 185lbs and in pretty good shape.

I’m a lawyer. I move the tongue enough that priapism is not a risk.

I wrote a long reply, which got nuked by the site or my computer when I clicked submit. I’ll try again in brief form.

Unquestionably, alcohol makes you more likely to snore. And the more you drink that night, the more likely and more loudly you are going to snore.

Other factors include being overweight, getting older, the air being dry, sleeping on your back, and having sinus and allergy issues.

My suggestions as a first step: (1) take saline nose spray in the morning and before bed, and even in the middle of the night if you wake up or go to the bathroom; (2) sleep on your side and not on your back (if you look on line in articles about snoring, there are techniques to help make you do this, in case it’s not natural for you), (3) take Flonase or Nasonex regularly during any allegry seasons, as well as allergy pills like Allegra, (4) use a humidfier in your bedroom room during times when the air is very dry (in Florida, I’m guessing this would be periods of time during which the heater or the AC is running at night).

And then, less easily, try to lose weight. Easy to say, tough to do, as we all know.

Try those things, and see if it gets you over the hump. If not, then you can see a doctor, consider nasal strips, surgery, CPAP machines, etc., but you might as well see if you can do it more simply first. I know it’s an easy thing to make light of / uncomfortable thing to take seriously, but it is a big deal if your wife can’t sleep, if you can’t sleep together, and if it’s causing either or both of you to be tired and less rested the next day.

Good luck.

Thanks, Chris, some helpful information. I go back next week for a scan of my sinuses. In the meantime, the doctor gave me a nasal spray. So I’m to stay off alcohol (except for my Thursday guy’s night!) and do the spray nightly. We’ll go from there. As for the weight, while like most of us I could stand to drop a few, I doubt that I hit any definition of being overweight. I cycle 150-200 miles weekly and am generally in very good physical condition. Ideally I should be at 200 pounds, while I’m 210 right now. I’m 6’-1". As for the age thing, guilty as charged. I’m 49.