Inspire device

I am a Retired Respiratory Therapist. I used to setup & instruct patients on CPAP/BiPAP.
I am a CPAP patient but during the Covid Pandemic & the recall of Respironics CPAP. I was without the device for about a year. During that time my Sleep Doctor recommended considering the Inspire device. Which I did agree to proceed with the procedure. The surgery went well however I could NOT adjust to the Inspire after many months of use. The vibrations on my tongue kept waking me up & I never was able to sleep throughout the night. I even had additional testing at the Sleep clinic with the Inspire representative attending this study.
The Inspire philosophy on how it should work, looks good "on paper" however for my case. It wouldn't work.
I would recommend anyone looking into the Inspire device should research it very carefully.
It is a Surgery & the internal battery needs to be replaced every 10 years. This means additional surgery to replace the internal battery.
They make the commercial look very simple but it is quite intense.
Another "buyer beware" situation.

Thank you for sharing your experience.

Although I applaud the fact that there are approaches available for people who cannot, or will not, make CPAP work for themselves, my biggest issue with most such alternative treatments is the low bar for what is considered "success" with them:

"A clinical study found that after 12 months of using the Inspire device, 66% of study participants
cut their AHI scores by at least 50%. The study also determined that 75% of participants had at least a 25% reduction in oxygen desaturation index (ODI), which measures how frequently a person’s blood oxygen level dips below normal for 10 seconds or longer. The median AHI score decreased by 68%, while the median ODI score fell 70%."--What Is Inspire Sleep Apnea Treatment and Does It Work? (Updated July 15, 2025) Written by Lauren Fountain; Sleep Foundation.
https://www.sleepfoundation.org/sleep-a ... -treatment

My diagnostic AHI was 115. By Inspire's standards, my treatment with that device would be considered "successful" if my AHI with treatment averaged below 57! (And not everyone even gets that "success.") With PAP therapy, however, my nightly AHI with treatment, as verified each night by machine-reported data, averages below 1 (one)!

As I said, it is good that there are things people can do who can't successfully use PAP therapy, the gold standard for OSA treatment, to get some relief. I just think it very important that patients realize that success with PAP and the so-called "success" with the alternatives are, by definition, two very different things.

I had an acquaintance who was diagnosed with OSA around the time I was. He was not overweight but became a bit obsessed with losing weight ostensibly to reduce or cure his condition. Unsuccessfully of course, he was not obese or anything just getting old Ultimately he got the inspire some years ago and it was working well for him, at lease he felt like it was. I asked him at one point after he had it what about an MRI? What happens with that if you need an MRI with this thing in there? I think later I read somewhere the MRI can be done if needed with this implant in place, that MRI was OK'd at some point with the Inspire after he got his done. But his response was telling - he just said something to the effect "what would I need an MRI for?". That answer kind of spelled out that complications had taken a back seat to pre-op considerations. He's probably close to a battery change by now.

The article I quoted above says the following:

"Once you have the Inspire device installed, you can have MRIs performed on your head, neck, arms, and legs as long as medical technicians follow specific guidelines. You cannot have an MRI on your chest or torso. However, you can have torso CT scans, ultrasounds, and X-rays."

As I remember it the MRI question was kind of up in the air in early days of Inspire, seems like it had not been approved or whatever. I can't imagine it not coming up in pre-op conversations. Like if one were getting a pacemaker "don't get an induction range top" or "you'll have to give up your arc welding hobby". I see they now have some pacemakers that are MRI friendly though. Perhaps I'm more risk averse than the typical OSA sufferer

amenite wrote: ↑

Sat Aug 16, 2025 6:16 pm

He's probably close to a battery change by now.

He should get an MRI while the battery is being changed.

ChicagoGranny wrote: ↑

Mon Aug 18, 2025 11:57 am

amenite wrote: ↑

Sat Aug 16, 2025 6:16 pm

He's probably close to a battery change by now.

He should get an MRI while the battery is being changed.

What's with all this battery changing anyway, why not just have him hold a wireless phone charger on his chest? It works for my phone after all

I met someone for whom the inspire worked very well, but (maybe because this is a CPAP forum) she is the only one I've heard about had good results. She was relatively young and did not get much relief from her primary symptom (cognitive impairment) from CPAP.