I've been using a CPAP for about 10 years, and it works fine...most of the time. However, traveling is a pain and not the sexiest thing to wear. I have been reading about the Inspire surgery, any thoughts on this?

There are very few side effects with the CPAP machine except for one large recall with Resmed. Inspire does not have a long track record.

They lost me at "surgically implanted".

I did a little reading on Inspire after becoming intrigued. The surgery, the scars, and the lack of success for many patients was a no go. There are people it works very well for. There are people who wish they'd never done it due to nerve issues etc. I don't see the upside when CPAP works.

I looked into this too. Didn't want something implanted, that WILL have to be done again every 10 years.

I couldn't use the CPAP, or the BiPAP. just couldn't. So, I ended up with an oral appliance ( looks like a month guard ). It was about a $1000.00, but my insurance paid for most of it. Yes, it has to be replaced every 3 to 5 years. But it was just a simple fitting, and a couple of adjustments.

You can get them from a Dentist, or an allergy/sleep doctor. Big hint, don't go with the dentist, as most health insurance won't cover any of it, and even more dental insurance don't cover it. But if you get it at an allergy doctor and/or sleep doctor then most health insurance covers it.

For me, it was the way to go. I can wear this oral appliance most nights all night and most every day ( night ). There are sometimes it still bugs me, but it's rare now.

Fits in a little container like a retainer, and fits in your pocket. Just a quick brushing with some toothpaste and fresh as new.

Look into it. It might work for you too!


ARman

There are some dental things being developed that may help those who struggle with the cpap deal.

I briefly looked into Inspire. From what I remember there are two types of sleep apnea and Inspire only works for one of them, which so happens to be the least common of the two.

It also seems Inspire would work very hard to get you approved for the surgery, which didn't seem to have great results. It almost seemed they needed to get their numbers up.


https://www.reddit.com/r/Sleep...t_recommend_inspire/

https://www.reddit.com/r/Sleep...ded_against_inspire/

quote:

traveling is a pain

I can't speak to the inspire surgery. Concerning only the size issue (still not sexy:-) I learned that they do make travel CPAPS that are not much larger than the palm of your hand. About a grand, work great. The size of my home unit made traveling with a single bag, my prefered way to go, very difficult as the CPAP took up @half the suitcase/pack.

Get the travel CPAP. I will say Inspire has effecive commercials. Putting up with the hassle of traveling with a CPAP is preferable to the side effects of Inspire.

We mostly travel by vehicle these days, but we did fly through San Francisco last year with my full size Resmed 10 as carry on. We got distilled water at our destination. The Inspire is interesting, don’t know whether my form of apnea would be treatable. I do need to follow up about a battery backup source as discussed in another recent thread here.

As far as the “aesthetics”, my previous GP, when I got my first unit described a BiPAP/CPAP as the world’s most effective birth control device…..

quote:

Originally posted by gpbst3:
It also seems Inspire would work very hard to get you approved for the surgery, which didn't seem to have great results. It almost seemed they needed to get their numbers up.

You got it…if a med device company has a rep or team working to get your insurance to cover their system, you know it is about the bennies. Your outcome and improvement is secondary…having a revision or removal means more time in the OR. Device companies are taking a page out of the Pharma playbook…

ResMed AirMini has made travel a breeze for me, even camping with 2-3 nights per charge on my relatively small battery pack for it


https://www.cpap.com/products/...NTI4NzMkajUzJGwwJGgw


https://www.cpap.com/products/...NTI5NzIkajU1JGwwJGgw