Getting a good night's sleep can be just about impossible for people who suffer from sleep apnea.
A McKinney man said for 35 years, he got only four hours of sleep a night and now he's the first man in Collin County to undergo a new sleep saving procedure, that he said, changed his life.
"I would come home from work and struggle to sit down," said Christopher Diemont.
Obstructive sleep apnea kept him awake almost every night for three decades.
Nothing, not even a CPAP machine, worked.
"You would see me and you couldn't see my eyes because of the bags under them," said Diemont.
When he heard about a new device with a reported 85 percent success rate of alleviating snoring, he said he was in.
Dr. Richard Thrasher, an otolaryngologist at Baylor Scott & White McKinney, surgically implanted the Inspire Sleep System in Diemont.
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"The problem with sleep apnea is that all the tissue in the back of your throat is muscle. Like all muscles in your body, they get limb and get relaxed when you go to bed at night," said Dr. Thrasher.
The Inspire sleep system is surgically implanted under the skin of the neck and chest and while you're sleeping, it sends mild stimulation to your airway muscles, to keep the the airway open.
"It's just using your anatomy, not removing anything, not changing anything. It's just enhancing how it functions at night while you're asleep," said Dr. Thrasher.
Diemont uses a small remote to turn the system on and off.
Since using it, he said he gets seven hours of sleep a night.
The device has been FDA-approved since 2016.
It's recommended for people who haven't seen any relieve from a CPAP machine. It may or may not be covered by your individual health insurance.
