It’s been over a year since the Inspire Implant was surgically implanted in my chest and neck.
CLICK HERE to access Part 1 of Inspire Implant. In Part 2 I’ll share how it has gone before and after the Inspire Sleep Study I finally had in February. Getting the Sleep Study scheduled took a long time, as it requires specialty training that most sleep study lab staff do not have. With the large number of people having the Inspire implanted and all of them needing a follow-up sleep study, there are just not enough places and trained technicians to keep up with the need. I learned that this is changing since more people are being trained and sleep labs are changing to handle this different type of sleep study.
I’ve gotten used to having the implant manipulate my tongue while sleeping so that I can breathe all night without having to use the CPAP I previously wore for many, many years. I’ve gone from the bottom initial level, up several levels since the surgery.
One time I mistakenly set the level way too high, and when it would send the pulse to raise my tongue, I felt like a jackhammer instead of my tongue hitting my teeth. Not realizing I increased the level in error, I finally figured it out and returned the level to where it was supposed to be. I strongly recommend never making that mistake as it loosened one of my teeth turning it sideways and needs to be pulled.
My appointment with Dr. Lauren Davis to review the sleep study results was on April 29th at the Ponchartrain Sleep Clinic in Covington. I first met with the Inspire company representative, Robert, who reviewed my usage of the implant online. He could see that I used it a lot and for a long time each night. The Inspire implant uses Bluetooth to send data to an app on my phone. He placed a transfer device over the implant to obtain additional data for Dr. Davis to review.
Next, Kendal and I met with Dr. Davis to discuss the sleep study results. She was great, very honest and clear about the results. The implant and I did not do very well with the sleep study. I didn’t sleep well, so there was not as much information as there could have been. I’ve had two previous sleep studies years ago using a CPAP . Both studies went really well and my sleep was much better. Since I didn’t sleep well, for the Inspire Sleep Study, I only went into REM sleep for an hour all night. Also, there were 28 apneas in one hour. Apneas are pauses in breathing that last at least ten seconds. The level of impulse strength I was on may not be high enough to really help me. I was at level 9 but will go higher. She asked me if I had to go back to a CPAP, would I be okay with that. I would, if I had to.
The plan she wants me to follow is 1) to increase the level of impulse strength each week until it is as strong as I can handle it and 2) have a repeat sleep study but this time it will be an at home sleep study since I will probably sleep better at night which will produce more information.
While meeting with Dr Davis, she asked if I take sleeping medicine, which I do. I’m trying to cut back the cost of my medicine, so I told her that what I’ve been taking for a long time has become too expensive, so I will need to stop taking it. She offered to prescribe a new medicine that would cost me nothing under my health care plan. She explained the difference between the two prescriptions and called in the new one. This new one works even better than the old one did!
I scheduled the at-home sleep study for June 17th. They have the at home sleep study equipment at her office, so that is where we pick it up and return it the next day. I go back to see her in late June to get those results.
There will be a part 3 to this Inspire Implant series of posts. We’ll find out if increasing the strength of the tongue pulses helped and how the at-home sleep test goes. After I meet with Dr Davis to get the results I will share whether my future holds a new CPAP or I stay with the Inspire Implant!
I hope these two posts have helped someone become knowledgeable about the Inspire implant so that you can make an informed decision about your sleep apnea treatment.
Ya’ll come back now, ya’ hear!
Philippians 4:6: “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done”.
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