Implanted Device May Help Sleep Apnea

socknitster wrote:James, did you say you got mouth casts taken for an oral appliance recently?

Yep had my cast taken last Thursday.

socknitster wrote:I'm curious how this compares to your experience and which one they pushed on you?

Well I first saw the sleep dentist over a year ago. He actually encouraged me to try CPAP first rather than spending all the money on an oral device that doesn`t always work.

socknitster wrote:So, it turns out, my tongue may be largely to blame! This surgery sounds better!

I think the tongue is to blame in a large percentage of OSA cases.

Anyone have an update on the Inspire Medical hook and tether system?

It may be a long wait before it is effective enough to please the doctors
and cheap enough to excite the insurance companies.

I'm convinced that boobies will help with my OSD so I'm going to the best plastic surgeon I can find and giving him $50 for some double-D's.

And I bet you they're more effective than this device.

I actually see myself likely having some variation of this surgery in the future.

I've slowly been exhausting every avenue possible at conquering the apnea and...it's working.

I had my tonsils out. They were ginormous. Check.

I had nasal turbinates reduced and adenoids removed. Check.

I had a severe overbite reversed with braces. SEVERE overbite. I probably gained 5-8 mm when my mandible came forward with the rubber bands. My "weak chin" is no longer weak. I'm more adorable than ever. : ) This opened up my airway a lot. Check.

My last titration study showed ZERO events at any pressure. My sleep doc concluded I didn't need CPAP anymore and took me off, for now. I intend to go back once the braces are off in a few months for a split-night.

My tongue continues to be an issue. I still have scallops around the edges of my tongue. Marks/indentations left by my teeth.

Eventually I hope to have this surgery because I know I still have problems when I roll on my back. On my side I'm fine, but I haven't found a sure-fire way to stop from rolling while I sleep. I'd like to keep my tongue from falling back. I do know this is my final issue and this surgery is easily reversed and easily tolerated.

Jen

That's great Sockster. So happy to know you are serious enough about your health to go through all that. Very glad you are seeing some good results.

I don't know why someone would pooh-pooh the tongue anchor. As you indicate with your scalloping, the tongue is often the major factor in OSA. I notice jskinner quotes "a high percentage" for tongue problems.

Of course the tongue may protest that it is not the problem. The problem is that the skull is not properly shaped and/or sized to hold a normal tongue.

This could be caused by many reasons including that our brains have evolved larger requiring more skull space and thereby leaving cramped quarter for the tongue (see your scallops and mine also).

There are also problems with development caused by breastfeeding habits (lack of) and poor diet. Then there is mouthbreathing which somehow causes the airway passages to underdevelop.

Yep, anchoring that tongue sounds like a great experiment. Good luck if you make a move on it and congratulations again for all your hard work!

BTW, If that is your current pic you are a young kid and can get many years of good health for all your trouble! Long live Sockster!

Ha! I'm 40. Thanks. But that is a good point and it's precisely why I am working so hard to understand what my personal anomaly is that is causing the apnea. Weight has been ruled out. I'm certain I've had this my entire life. I sleep better now than I did at 8 or 12 or 18 years of age.

My orthodontist, and other experts, have remarked repeatedly on how small my mouth is. It never fully developed as it should. The braces I have--I should mention--are not mainstream. I did a ton of research and got a cutting edge orthodontist with tons of continuing education from AROUND THE WORLD.

His thing is making the mouth bigger--always bigger and wider--whereas most orthodontists will extract teeth and pull everything in smaller. That's clearly a MISTAKE. Right? Given what we know now. But it will take time for the industry to change.

I tried the TAP appliance--paid good money for it. It was too big for my mouth. It was ginormous and so uncomfortable for me. Two years of ortho (the hardware of braces is minuscule by comparison) have corrected permanently what the TAP would painfully do temporarily to me every night. I think I got the better end of it with the braces. It was well-worth the time and expense for someone my age. I'd do it again in a heartbeat. Did I mention it improved the way I look?

I don't proclaim to know why the modern mouth is smaller, but it's been documented to be true. Our faces are shaped differently too. I think this is a primary reason for apnea. Smaller mouth, smaller airway. My ENT is good--he told me my other palatal features are not lax--he will not do any more surgery in those areas because they won't change anything. We've talked about radiofrequency destruction of the base of my tongue, to shrink my tongue tissue--THAT would be a painful and ongoing procedure. He says most people can't tolerate it and won't step up for the needed repeat treatments. Another surgeon mentioned resecting my tongue surgically. YOW! Hello! No thank you! A tongue tether that is reversible and minimally invasive? Well, that sure sounds like a great alternative to me. And a potential cure for my unique sitch.

Jen

Thank you Jen!

I hope to hang around and hear more great updates about your journey!

socknitser: A tongue tether that is reversible and minimally invasive? Well, that sure sounds like a great alternative to me.

Yes, I have to agree.

In my own case, if it were not a cure, I bet it would allow me to lower my terribly high CPAP pressure.

If this becomes commercially available locally I am definitely going for a consultation.

Best of luck to you,