New Sleep Apnea Treatment

[Yppej]

I saw an ad for this product on TV:

https://www.inspiresleep.com/?utm_ca...RoCSNsQAvD_BwE

Do you think it was a waste of research resources to develop this alternative to the CPAP machine? It's advertised benefit is no mask, no hose, but several of you here have opined that wearing a mask is no big deal if it's medically necessary.

[JaneV2.0]

I have never worn a CPAP contraption, but from what I've seen, they're cumbersome. Much more so than the KN95 mask that virtually no one wears to bed. Get a grip.

[Yppej]

I have never worn a CPAP contraption, but from what I've seen, they're cumbersome. Much more so than the KN95 mask that virtually no one wears to bed. Get a grip.

Parents were being told recently by NIH Director Francis Collins to wear masks inside their own homes around their unvaccinated children, who could get scared by a nightmare and crawl into the parents' bed at night. Should parents therefore wear masks to bed?

[jp1]

that looks interesting. SO has been using a cpap for 20 years without a problem. He was actually upset when he broke his mask once when we were moving because he knew he would sleep like crap. The next day he went to the store to get a new mask. Now he uses the nose pillow mask that just has two small things that go against his nose, which he finds to be very comfortable.

[Teacher Terry]

I used to have severe sleep apnea and then I lost 50lbs. Now it’s mild. I have to wear a full mask that straps around my head because I sleep with my mouth open. I will never get off it because I have a tiny airway and my oxygen level drops too low without it. At this age I don’t want to have unnecessary surgery but would have loved that 10 years ago when first diagnosed.

[bae]

Do you think it was a waste of research resources to develop this alternative to the CPAP machine?

What an odd question. It appears that the resources spent on this were from the R&D budget of Inspire Medical Systems, a publicly-traded company. Portraying that as "waste" is a question that points at the entire structure of our capitalist economy, so I'm not sure what you are asking...

Whether it is a "waste" will be determined when we see how profitable it is. It is no more, or less, of a waste than Marvel cranking out another super-hero movie.

It's advertised benefit is no mask, no hose, but several of you here have opined that wearing a mask is no big deal if it's medically necessary.

Well, now you are being quite silly. And you well know it. An N95 or cloth mask, such as we use for COVID, isn't analogous to a CPAP headpiece/mask combination.

I've been using a CPAP for 8+ years now. Even the quite minimal solution I use, a very expensive, very small, very low-power-consuming CPAP unit and headgear, is still a pain to deal with. And I am lucky to be able to use the mini-headgear effectively - many people cannot, and are condemned to using far more uncomfortable and bulky facepieces.

The CPAP and mask limit my life in some ways - it is difficult to sleep on airplanes, trains, autos, while overnighting in the woods, and that sort of thing. I have to carry about a pound of equipment, plus more weight in expensive LiFepo4 batteries to be able to operate outside the reach of the power grid, which I have to do often.

I wouldn't mind a lighter, more convenient solution, and cost is no object to me. I'm not sure this is the solution for me though, as I detest surgery.