Testimonial from Inspire therapy user Jeremy H

Get to know Inspire user Jeremy

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  • Name: Jeremy
  • Where he lives: North-West of England
  • Occupation: Portable Appliance Tester
  • Marital status: In a relationship
  • Hobbies: gardening, DIY, classic cars, being outside in the countryside
  • Date of surgery: November 2024
  • Treatment centre: Trafford Hospital

“I found CPAP uncomfortable”

Jeremy, who lives in the Northwest of England and works as a portable appliance tester (PAT) engineer, was diagnosed with OSA about four years ago.

“I was waking up and feeling like I’d not actually been asleep. This and a bit of blood pressure led my GP to refer me to the local sleep clinic at Trafford General. They did a sleep test and sleep survey and provided me with a CPAP machine.”

While it works for many people, Jeremy struggled with the CPAP machine.

“My experience was negative. I can see how it works, but for me it felt undignified for a start off. I found it was quite uncomfortable as its basic function is to force air down your throat. If I moved in my sleep and nudged the mask, I got a wash of air coming out of the seal at the side and that woke me up.”

The sleep clinic at Trafford was very helpful and responsive in trying to help Jeremy get on with the CPAP machine, since it works for many people, but to no success for Jeremy.

“I tried three different types of masks, each one came up with the same sort of outcome that once I moved a little bit in my sleep, it was waking me up. I even had the machine tucked under the bed and put an extended pipe on it because of the sound. But when it disturbed me, I’d throw it down the side of the bed and snore. It was so frustrating for me.”

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Sleep with Inspire

With CPAP not working for him, Jeremy discovered how Guys and St Thomas’s hospital in London had done the first Inspire therapy implant in the UK. This seemed to Jeremy like a potential alternative course of treatment and when Trafford referred him to the sleep consultants at Manchester Royal Infirmary, there was some good news from the consultant.

Following a sleep study and a drug-induced sleep endoscopy (DISE) to check the airway anatomy was suitable, it was confirmed that Jeremy was an eligible candidate for the procedure.

“The operation went very well for me. After the operation I did have a swollen neck for a short while, which is normal. When the implant was activated, my first night with it on was fabulous. After a night of good sleep, I felt elated and so positive.”

All patient experiences do vary, however. Sometimes the familiarisation period can be a bit longer than that experienced by Jeremy.

“No longer feeling exhausted and tired, because I have found a treatment that I now use, has massively changed my life”, says Jeremy.

“I get a little emotional over it. I improved my issues with snoring and stopping breathing for up to 30 seconds, both issues that quite unsettled my partner too. I no longer wake up with a headache every morning. What Inspire’s given me is better sleep, and due to the better sleep, I feel I have more energy to do things and make things happen.

Waking up more rested is also having a positive effect on my work. I drive 25,000 miles in a year for work. Waking up early for work I’d need to know the postcode for my first job, I would search it on maps and by the time I had got to my van I had forgotten it. I was finding that some mornings I would leave at say 7:00am and I was stopping off at the services at 8 for a bit more sleep. And then on the way home at 2:00pm, stopping off again to get some more sleep. Since I sleep better, this isn’t an issue anymore.”

As one of the first people in the UK to have Inspire, Jeremy feels very privileged and wants to help others finding a treatment that works for them.

“I tell people it’s a life changer and I am a changed man because I sleep better. There’s a surgical procedure, yes. But look at what I can do now thanks to better sleep. Thank you, Inspire!”

To talk to Jeremy 1-1, contact our Inspire specialist to discuss
www.inspiresleep.co.uk/contact​​​​​​​

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The above patient testimonials regarding sleep apnoea treatment refer to individual treatment results. The statements are genuine, representative and documented. Responses to therapy may vary and is not always the same. Patients received reimbursement for travel expenses and an allowance for time spent in connection with their testimonials.

Inspire therapy is suitable for patients with moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnoea. For patients with a confirmed medical problem with CPAP, such as a CPAP mask intolerance, Inspire therapy may be an effective treatment. For this reason, patient testimonials are only given from those patients for whom treatment with continuous positive airway pressure (e.g. with a CPAP mask) has failed. The product category (C)PAP mask is not called into question. Individual treatment outcomes may vary. For important information about Inspire therapy and its implementation, risks and safety, visit www.inspiresleep.co.uk/important-safety-information.

Our telephone advice does not replace a medical consultation.