CPAP replacement?

In our local paper this morning there was an ad from the Medical College of Wisconsin offering a seminar on a new CPAP replacement.
I have not investigated it, but here is the web site mentioned.....This is FYI only.
https://www.inspiresleep.com/

LSAT wrote:In our local paper this morning there was an ad from the Medical College of Wisconsin offering a seminar on a new CPAP replacement.
I have not investigated it, but here is the web site mentioned.....This is FYI only.
https://www.inspiresleep.com/

Thanks LSAT, that has been in the news all over the place. Haven't seen any real statistics on the success rates.

49er

http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NE ... cleResults
one source study on the results/effectiveness. There are others but don't have the time to find them.
Hypoglossal nerve stimulation.
This sort of therapy is really in its infancy.
I don't see it being a viable alternative for someone with central sleep apnea though.

Pugsy wrote:http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NE ... cleResults
one source study on the results/effectiveness. There are others but don't have the time to find them.
Hypoglossal nerve stimulation.
This sort of therapy is really in its infancy.
I don't see it being a viable alternative for someone with central sleep apnea though.

Thanks Pugsy, I will check it out. Found this exert interesting on this link:

http://www.sctimes.com/story/life/welln ... /14876553/

To receive Inspire Therapy treatment, patients have to meet three criteria: They need to fail using a CPAP, their body mass index must be 32 or less and their sleep study must show they have moderate to severe sleep apnea (20-65 sleeping disturbances per hour).

I will ask the doctor listed in my area about this but I am wondering if 65 is a hard fast cut off for the therapy and why that would be. Time to look at the link you provided.

49er

I have sort of given this surgery some thinking on the side ever since it was experimental and hadn't realized that it was way past experimental now given the number of facilities over the country that now offer this surgery.
Not so much because I would want to be a candidate myself but mainly because I can see and understand how someone might want to try this option. I will be the first to admit that despite my success with cpap therapy itself, I do on occasion yearn for sleeping without it. I can understand someone else feeling that way too and probably much stronger than I do for whatever reason. I also understand that not everyone has had the success I have had with cpap therapy in general. I have adapted well but I know there are others who find the adapting difficult for whatever reason.

I can see opting for this surgery for some people...hey...any reduction in apnea events and someone feels better...that's better than no reduction if they don't use the machine. Maybe not ideal but life doesn't always give us "ideal".

However successful this surgery ends up being it still isn't going to fix everything because not all bad sleep is tied to sleep apnea itself. Just like cpap therapy...the machine can't fix bad sleep if the bad sleep is caused by something unrelated to sleep apnea. People are going to do with this surgery just like they do with cpap therapy...expect the machine to fix all their problems and it simply can't. There's going to be people who have this surgery and still feel like crap and sleep like crap but they have other problems causing the bad sleep....they think that cpap failed them...well maybe what failed them was putting all their problem eggs in the sleep apnea basket and didn't realize that fixing sleep apnea (no matter how you fix it) doesn't solve all problems.

As far as why people might fail cpap...I am not into judging them. Not my place.
I am just saying that for whatever reason a person might have for not being able to use the machine...I can see this as being an alternative. There's a very tiny part of me that might consider it....I can see where someone would find this attractive. I wouldn't blame someone for trying it. It's not for newbies...right now people have to fail using traditional cpap first. So it's not like newbies get a choice..they don't. Now 10 years from now who knows what's going to be out there for therapy options. Maybe this type of surgery will be more main stream or evolved to something even less intrusive...technology grows faster and bigger as each day progresses.

Remember it was just in our own lifetime that a doctor came up with the idea of reversing a vacuum cleaner motor and using air pressure to hold the airway open....and look where we are now.