Inspire Implant : My Journey

[Plmnb]

Good morning 


I haven't posted in many months because I felt as if I was obsessing about my OSA.  I am not going to go into any details about my background in this thread because I have a thread I started that is voluminous. 


The reason I am posting now, is because I did a search for INSPIRE in the forums because my neurologist has recommended I look into it.  (He is also a sleep apnea doctor but he is not the one I see for my sleep apnea).  He was very pro INSPIRE because he said he had many patients that have had fantastic results.  He told me he does not benefit financially from suggesting the procedure and that I should consult with an ENT.

I had considered INSPIRE many years ago because after twenty plus years I still do not tolerate pap therapy well.  The removing my mask situation is really impacting my therapy and there does not seem to be anything more that can be done to correct the situation.  I have not smoked in over four months now and am on thyroid medication.

At the time I considered it I found out that my insurance company would not cover it, they said it was considered experimental.  I think I was also told I was too heavy.  I did a little research on the treatment and I wasn't too sure I wanted such invasive surgery.  In addition, I read how the INSPIRE is supposed to work and I wasn't real excited about it.

When I more recently mentioned it to my sleep doctor, I was told yet again, that my weight would be an issue.  (I am 5' 2" and weigh 218.  I do carry it well if I may say   )

I have read reviews from people that was positive, but the negative reviews scare me.

I really am in a quandary about whether I should pursue the INSPIRE treatment.  I was going to contact my insurance company to find out if the INSPIRE is now covered.  Any thoughts?

Thanks!

[Sleeprider]

Plmnb, Inspire is primarily used to treat mild to low-moderate sleep apnea where obstruction is mainly in the upper airway from a tongue obstruction. It works by implanting an electronic device in the hypolossal nerve resulting in a contraction of the muscles in the back of the tongue lifting it off the soft palate. While we do not know the origin of your airway resistance and sleep apnea, we know that it is neither mild, nor likely to respond to this stimulation.

[Plmnb]

So nice to hear from you Sleeprider.

Thank you very much for your honest assessment of this treatment for me.  It is especially comforting because you are so familiar with my situation.  I must say that my neurologist isn't as familiar with my condition/history as is my current sleep doctor.

Carry on! 

[mmorel536]

I would like to know if Inspire has limited your physical activity. Golf, swimming, or any activity that involves a lot of arm and chest mobility.

Sorry it’s been years since I’ve followed up here, but will try to answer some of the questions that came up for posterity and future curiosity.

First off, my own experience has been downright unremarkable since my last postings here.  I still use Inspire nightly and am excited to be almost halfway towards getting a new generator that will hopefully have some more features like ramping and automated “no remote” mode.  To the posters that didn’t have a good experience, I’m truly sorry to hear that since Inspire has been such a life changer for me being able to enjoy the outdoors and family adventures with small kids sans dragging around a CPAP.

  I wish there was some way to let people feel the stimulation first so they could be best informed about the reality.  As a reminder, it took me more than 6 months of acclimation and titration to really feel comfortable with the system (lest anyone think this is just a magic few hours and done).

On to the questions! Does it limit my activities? Slightly. I was big into rowing which I gave up for cycling (more) and I’ve cut back on amount/durstion/intensity of shooting sports due to the generator location.  Other than that I don’t even think about it until lights out time at night.

Does it make your tongue stick out? Mine does sometimes without using mouth tape, but it depends somewhat on sleeping position. Not really a big deal overall.