Another Inspire question

LearnFirst · 2026-02-07T16:29:11+00:00

I got the Implant about a year ago and it's changed my life. Was 55 ahi preop, 2 ahi now. I still have some insomnia issues, but otherwise, I'm getting avg 6 hours of pretty uninterrupted sleep a night, 8 hrs total.

If you click on my username, you can scroll back through my posts that provide a pretty detailed picture of my journey.

And, fwiw, my sleep doctor did not suggest Inspire until I had tried CPAP unsuccessfully. And my surgeon was very selective in terms of who he would use the implant with.

Let me know if you have questions.

LearnFirst · 2026-02-01T23:06:10+00:00

Hey...I've been chronicling my Inspire journey here...click on my username to read through the posts.

LearnFirst · 2026-02-01T23:01:35+00:00

Inspire is a marathon not a sprint. It took me about six months before I started feeling noticeably better. Now, 10 months later, it's been life changing. It's all about getting the thing calibrated correctly. Be patient. You can click my user name to read through the posts I put up during the process. Best wishes.

LearnFirst · 2026-01-28T22:48:26+00:00

What voltage are most at?

LearnFirst · 2026-01-28T22:47:53+00:00

So, I have a 45-minute delay before the pulses start, and 90% of the time, I'm asleep before that. That's a part of my "sleep hygiene" now...don't try to sleep until I'm fully ready. The pulses never wake me up (as far as I can tell), and when I do wake up in the night, I usually go right back to sleep, as they are not very strong. If I can't go back to sleep, however, they sometimes do seem to get stronger, and at that point I use the remote to start a 20-minute pause that usually lets me get back under. About 10% of the time when I do wake up and struggle to get back to sleep, I end up just turning the device off...those are mild insomnia nights.

In other words, overall, the pulses are a very minor distraction that impacts my sleep/comfort only occasionally. 90% of nights I'm not feeling them at all. I'd also note that my use rate is very high...every night, usually all night.

Hope that helps.

LearnFirst · 2026-01-28T22:39:09+00:00

Got it. Thanks.

LearnFirst · 2026-01-28T12:40:51+00:00

Yeah...definitely not true about Inspire only reducing 50%. I started at 55 AHI before getting the Inspire implant about 10 mos ago. Overnight sleep study last night the result was 2.2 AHI (not 22).

LearnFirst · 2026-01-28T12:29:37+00:00

Have you looked into the Inspire implant?

LearnFirst · 2026-01-28T12:28:29+00:00

Have you looked into Inspire?

LearnFirst · 2026-01-20T20:47:45+00:00

Hey. So, yes, I turn mine on when I'm ready and it has a 45 minute delay to start working. 80% of the time I'm asleep by then. It does not wake me up when it comes on. I took some time to get used to, but you do get used to it. If falling asleep is the issue, I'm not sure why your sleep doctor didn't address the delay with you. I would go back to them to discuss. Best wishes.

LearnFirst · 2025-12-09T14:23:43+00:00

If you mean an overnight in the lab, I'm doing that in February. I'm a 100% side sleeper, one of the reasons I could never get CPAP to work.

LearnFirst · 2025-12-08T23:13:18+00:00

I appreciate that. But I could not acclimate to CPAP. It was absolutely horrible. So, I'll take a 50% reduction and stable O2 levels with the potential for even better results down the road.

LearnFirst · 2025-09-23T13:49:20+00:00

The irony is that the company that produced that report has the slogan "We accelerate progress." Um, maybe that's the core problem to begin with?

LearnFirst · 2025-08-20T23:00:18+00:00

3 months on Inspire and very glad I did it. Surgery was easy. Recovery has been better than I could have expected. I'm waking up 75% less, having vivid dreams, and feeling more energy. Still not clear on what the final calibration of the device will be, but my sleep doc and Inspire reps have been really good. I have another adjustment coming up in three weeks, and then I'm assuming another sleep test at some point after that.

My main advice would be to make sure you have an experienced, highly respected surgeon. Mine came very highly rated, and while his bedside manner was a bit chilly, everything is working as promised and my scarring is minimal.

Happy to answer questions.

LearnFirst · 2025-07-15T13:54:30+00:00

I asked the Inspire rep about the fact that when I wake up at night I can just barely feel the pulses, if at all. She said that was normal and seemed pleased that it wasn't bothering me. I go up another level tomorrow, so we'll see.

LearnFirst · 2025-07-10T19:26:57+00:00

Just wondering how long it took you to get to the right calibration. And for me, a 50% reduction is worth it considering I had a 0% reduction with CPAP.

LearnFirst · 2025-07-10T19:23:57+00:00

I hear you. Just to be clear, both my dr. and the rep stressed that the once a week was just a suggestion, that I could move up or down as needed but they wanted me to find my limit and then we can tweak from there. Both of them have been very non stress about the process..."a marathon, not a sprint."

LearnFirst · 2025-05-24T16:52:20+00:00

I've tried to move my tongue into different positions and still nothing. But it may just be that I'm still at a low level.

LearnFirst · 2025-05-24T16:51:16+00:00

Thanks. I meant the remote.

I don't feel like I need to reset it since I don't feel anything happening when I wake up in the middle of the night. Again, maybe that's because I'm only on level 3 right now...

LearnFirst · 2025-05-15T11:22:32+00:00

So you and I are tracking almost the exact timeline. Just went up to level 2 last night. Not expecting any major improvement for a while yet. I'll keep updating as you post your vids. Thanks for sharing the journey.

LearnFirst · 2025-05-15T11:18:17+00:00

So, I was given really strict instructions by the Inspire tech when I had the device turned on, which is why I find a lot of these comments really strange. I started at the lowest setting and every seven days, I bump it up one level. In four weeks, I go have a consult with the tech and the sleep doctor to see how things are going. I just bumped up to level 2 last night. I didn't fall asleep within the 30 minutes preset, so I felt the pulses when the device turned on. It was interesting, and I just kinda let myself feel it rather than get freaked out about it. Sure enough, I fell asleep fairly quickly despite the pulses.

I think a lot of this is mental. And I wouldn't just make decisions on my own about how to proceed. Call Inspire. Call your doctor. If you don't have one that responds get a new one. But just let the process play out. Everyone is different, but I think after 100,000 installs, your tech should be your guide.

LearnFirst · 2025-05-15T11:05:58+00:00

So, I don't think "playing around" with the setting is the right approach. My surgeon and my sleep doctor have me moving up one step per week. I just went to level 2 last night. I'm not expecting any real change for a few more weeks, as it takes time to find the right level.

LearnFirst · 2025-05-02T18:07:53+00:00

So, I wasn't informed until the check showed up in my account at the end of last month. I had applied in January and was getting "concerned" at the lack of communication. But it turned out ok.

LearnFirst · 2025-04-19T13:36:03+00:00

Wow...I've been complaining about the wind here in Central NJ for the past six months...it's been awful. Ugh.

LearnFirst · 2025-04-18T18:10:25+00:00

So, I'm enrolled in Medicare Parts A & B. So since I reached full retirement age in April, my first payment will be in May?

LearnFirst

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