Hi Shambles,

I share your dilemma. I snore more loudly than anyone I know.

I have had the operation to cauterise the tissue on palate and throat, and while I think it helped for a while it didn't last for more than a year at most. The surgeon also removed my uvula - the funny thing that hangs down in the back of your throat, loved by cartoonists for close up shots of people's open mouths while yelling. That made no difference at all.

Losing weight, if that is a problem with you - it is with me - may help because the more soft tissue you have the more it can vibrate.

A deviated septum may be contributing to the problem, i.e. the partition wall between the two nasal passages may be crooked. Straightening this surgically may help. I tried this too, but it seems to have made no difference. One thing the surgeon told me is that sleeping on my left side may ease the snoring slightly because if I sleep on my right side all the blood rushes downwards into the left nasal passage which is the narrower one and it is more likely to get blocked up.

Sleeping on my left side all the time caused cramps in my side so it works for only as long as you can sustain the position. I don't sleeping deeply either when I am half awake trying to remember to sleep on the left side, so eventually I had to sleep in the other room just to get a proper deep sleep.

I have been using the plastic strips on the outside of my nose every night for about 3 years, and they help a little bit but don't solve the problem. They would be expensive if I threw them out after a few days so I've got a system where I buy a roll of elasticised sticking plaster and re-construct the strips every few days. I bought one packet 3 years ago and am just about to buy another one.

I ordered a plastic mouthpiece form the 'net. It works to an extent, but it doesn't completely fix the problem. Part of the problem, I think, is that hubby is so pissed off about the snoring that even though he reluctantly agreed that the mouthpiece did make a difference, he was over-sensitised to *any snoring at all* and so an improvement wasn't as good as a complete recovery.

This mouthpiece could be the best discovery I have so made so far, though - plus losing weight - easier said than done.

I tried homeopathic tablets from the health food shop but gave up without a proper trial - a bit dispirited by then. I have also tried using anti-histamines, and they work a bit but not a complete cure.

So, there may be some help out there but I haven't found it yet. Still looking, though.

My biggest worry is going on holidays and having to sleep at other people's places and knowing that I am disturbing them. I have never been on an overnight flight, never been overseas yet, but that would be so embarrassing. I used to fall asleep on the train to Sydney when I was teaching down there and still living here in Nukes, and the looks from other passengers as I got up to leave the carriage still haunt me.

Helen