Curious about AlaxoStent for palatal prolapse

[katbrat]

Hello! I've been reading about AlaxoStent on the forum and I'm wondering if you can get a prescription for it? If so, does Medicare cover it? I believe I have PP and am doing everything I can to prevent it. I sleep on my sides, never on my back, I use a cervical collar to keep my chin from falling forward which also solved my problem of having big clusters of apneas, I tape my mouth to keep the air from leaking out of it, I've used some pressure changes and it doesn't change anything in regard to PP, and I always try to position my head on the pillow in a way that stabilizes it for as long as possible during the night. That works for awhile but then inevitably it looks like the prolapse happens. I've worked at trying to solve it but there seems to be nothing more I can do. When first reading about AlaxoStent I wasn't inclined to even want to try it but I can't see sleeping like this for the rest of my life and I do not want any surgeries. So, I'm considering it. I started out in a sleep test with an AHI of 58.6 so I'm doing way better than that! But even though my AHI is usually pretty low I have a lot of unhealthy looking sleep. There is also a lot of what I suspect might be a partial prolapse. Would a full face mask make a difference? I haven't tried that. Here are some examples of what a lot of my sleep looks like a lot of the time every night:


   

   

   

[G. Szabo]

Indeed, you had a few PP periods during the night, providing that you are absolutely sure that your mouth was shut and you did not have mouth leaks.
I am unfamiliar with US health insurance, but it is not covered in Canada. There are a few threads on the site in which members from the US participated. You can try to send them a personal message so your request will not be missed.

[katbrat]

Yes, I'm certain there were no mouth leaks. Taped shut. Doesn't leak.

[G. Szabo]

I have also had some experience. Taping my mouth fully shut with a nasal mask results in a textbook flow rate pattern of palatal prolapse (pp). It blocks most of the respiratory period, and the air cannot entirely escape from my lungs. 

If I switch to a full-face mask with no taping, the textbook pattern is altered with a new one, which is more like an initial stage of snoring in the expiration period. It is better than the PP because I can exhale more air; nevertheless, it is still an expiratory anomaly that the instrument cannot address or measure. If it were in the inhalation period, all the flow limit alarms would be turned on. Nevertheless, a full face mask is a partial solution for Palatal Prolapse because you can exhale the stuck air through your mouth but under increased resistance.   

I have the same experience as you with the sleeping position being so critical, and I am also fed up with this strict routine, which fails often. 

There is no alternative to the stent unless you opt for surgery, which I want to avoid as long as possible.

[THEVGE]

You may also want to check this forum on the "Velumount". Unfortunately only available in Europe as far as I know, but maybe there is something comparable in the US. It seems to be good for PP as well and is much easier to deal with.