My personal experience with Inspire for Sleep Apneas

Why do I get the feeling his doctor/surgeon may not have been the best/smartest to begin with? Not that I support getting the Inspire thing at all, but the fact that the doctor didn't even explain how it works makes me wonder. Some days...

jsmit86 wrote: ↑

Mon Jan 13, 2020 9:49 pm

. . .
As luck would have it, my son also was put on CPAP about 5 years ago. He ended up with some F&P unit. It was not great for him, and his wife also moved out of the room due to the noise. Once I got me Resmed unit, I shared my experience with him. He got the same Resmed unit, and uses it every day now.

. . .

My first CPAP was an F&P CPAP back in 1999. It was noisy, but I never really minded, as I was so exhausted that the noise didn't bother me (and it was much quieter than snoring to anybody else in the room). My second CPAP was also an F&P back in 2005. It was very quiet, at least compared to to the first one. Since then I had an Aeio-MED Everest III (that manufacturer is now out of business) and I now have a Dream Station. Both of these are quite quiet.

At least he didn't list the next ten machines he was going to use in the future,. and how well they plugged in to the power socket in every country he has ever been to, yet! Jim

Sorry, ChicagoGranny, I hear you, but I'm still confused.

"That day, I found out for the first time that this device does not work by sending an electric impulse when you are having an apnea, but rather it constantly fires the electric impulse during all the time you are sleeping or trying to sleep. By doing this, you have to subject yourself to a constant electric shock sent to the hypoglossal nerve which moves your tongue forward. This electric shock is painful and excruciating, it is literally a torture, you cannot sleep at all while Inspire is doing “its job”."

So, are we saying the device stimulates with every breath, or that it stimulates all the time when it's on, or something in between? I am trying to figure out how the device works.

Duncan1 wrote: ↑

Wed Mar 04, 2020 11:49 am

So, are we saying the device stimulates with every breath, or that it stimulates all the time when it's on, or something in between? I am trying to figure out how the device works.

If the design were such that stimulation was only delivered when an apnea occurs, it would probably wake the patient and not be effective.

A brief explanation:

The Inspire system is designed to sync with the natural breathing of the body to deliver mild stimulation.

Similar to a pacemaker, two wires called leads are connected to the generator. One lead senses when the patient inhales. The other delivers mild stimulation that nudges the tongue forward, preventing the collapse that blocks the airway. This happens throughout the night — the system continues to keep the airway open, giving the patient a restful night’s sleep.

https://news.sanfordhealth.org/pulmonol ... hout-cpap/

So, it nudges the tongue forward on each breath before the tongue collapses in the airway.

I have also read that explanation, but I've heard otherwise. Have you had this surgery? Not that I'm not interested in what you've got to say - you're clearly well informed, and I'd love your view. But I'm most interested in hearing from people who have actually had it implanted. I've read on some boards that it fires rhythmically rather than in time with your breath. On the other hand, i've heard that doesn't really matter because you end up synching in with the thing anyway, like you might unconsciously synch your breathing to the rhythm of a bed partner or something. But I'd still be interested to know if that's what's going on.

Duncan1 wrote: ↑

Thu Mar 05, 2020 1:49 pm

Have you had this surgery?

No.

Duncan1 wrote: ↑

Thu Mar 05, 2020 1:49 pm

But I'd still be interested to know if that's what's going on.

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ChicagoGranny wrote: ↑

Wed Mar 04, 2020 12:00 pm

One lead senses when the patient inhales.

This is what you are questioning. It's possible that a lead could be designed that senses inhalation. I don't know if this one actually does.

BTW, it seems unlikely that satisfied Inspire patients would spend time in this forum.

So glad you posted your experience. Hopefully it will save a lot of people from having that device. Someone asked if you had it removed, and what you are doing now. I would like to know too.

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ChicagoGranny wrote: ↑

Wed Mar 04, 2020 12:00 pm

BTW, it seems unlikely that satisfied Inspire patients would spend time in this forum.

That's disappointing as I'm trying to find more information about Inspire and I value the opinions here. I appreciate that CPAP is so effective but I haven't been able to stick with it and am exploring alternatives. I'll keep looking around.

brownboy wrote: ↑

Wed Dec 01, 2021 5:38 pm

ChicagoGranny wrote: ↑

Wed Mar 04, 2020 12:00 pm

BTW, it seems unlikely that satisfied Inspire patients would spend time in this forum.

That's disappointing as I'm trying to find more information about Inspire and I value the opinions here. I appreciate that CPAP is so effective but I haven't been able to stick with it and am exploring alternatives. I'll keep looking around.

if you want, start a thread and tell us of your problems sticking with cpap.

we could maybe help with that?

brownboy wrote: ↑

Wed Dec 01, 2021 5:38 pm

I appreciate that CPAP is so effective but I haven't been able to stick with it

It's not surprising that you are having difficulties. You haven't used the forum as a support group. Get engaged - "Building Your CPAP Support Team" - https://www.cpaptalk.com/wiki/index.php ... pport_Team

I'm grateful you posted. I'm aware that this device is successful for some people, but may others are willing to undergo surgical procedures with inherent risks and side effects just because they don't want to do the work of getting used to CPAP when it might be the very best safest and most effective option.

I know someone who had very good results with Inspire, but she worked very hard to use CPAP first, and only went on to this device as a last resort.

I'm truly touched that people here would offer their support to improve my CPAP experience! I should start a separate thread for that. But in short it works well but I don't find it comfortable and go extended periods without using it. I live in many different places but have a simple life and don't like taking it with me all the time (and I have a resmed travel unit in addition to F&P home unit). I'm slightly claustrophobic but I won't blame it on that. I toss and turn and find it hard to keep the mask in place and it's annoying with new bed partners.

The invasiveness of Inspire worries me and I'm going to hold off for now but will keep an eye out for new user experiences and studies. I found several studies that had good outcomes but they were funded by Inspire. Independent studies would be best but perhaps there isn't interest or the cost is too high. It looks like they passed 5000 users in 2019. That's probably a drop in the bucket compared to xPAP but it seems to be gaining some popularity now and insurance is covering more of it.

I'm going to try to stick with CPAP at least the days I'm at my primary home and go from there. But it's great to know that this community is here and willing to help.

I registered here a few years ago to post about how I fixed my old F&P Icon that wouldn't turn on.

I tried CPAP for months, tore it off in my sleep. So I now have the I have the Inspire device, or the sleep button as I call it. I have one more week before we turn it on so I can’t post on the effectiveness of it yet. Sounds like you had a bad surgeon or some sort of infection. My incision on my chin is about 1 1/2 inches long and the swelling went down in about a week. I am completely healed at this point (3 weeks in), the two scars are still noticeable but you have to look for them. I never used painkillers, aside from Tylenol and didnt experience any bad symptoms. Everyone is different so if you don’t heal fast, take that into consideration. My OSA is so bad that the CPAP, when I was able to actually keep it on for more than 10 minutes, did nothing for me. And I am really tried all the time even though I eat right and workout. I will post results after I get to turn this thing on. I have an excellent Dr that discussed everything with me prior to the surgery and on the follow up after. One note, he used a skin glue instead of stitches. Not sure if that helps.