Excite OSA

[JustinFL]

Anyone using or have tried this device that stimulates your tongue for 20 minutes per day before you go to bed? I bought it and just started my therapy. It is approved for mild OSA. I'm curious if anyone else is using it or have recommendations.

[factor]

Never heard of it.

Are you on CPAP as well?

[Ratchick]

Considering the only published study they reference specifically about nerve stimulation of the oral tissues that is published used a grand total of 16 people and some of those dropped out, and it quite clearly states it's a pilot study with no control group, I'd say "clinically proven" is somewhat of a stretch!

In any case, the only tests seem to have been Two watch pat tests done of people who are of a normal BMI and who have an AHI <10 (and an average of just over 5). They brag that two patients in that study got a "50% reduction* in AHI - which when you only get 4 or 5 events an hour isn't quite the same kind of impressive as if you were referring to someone who gets 20, 30, 40 events an hour or more. However, it doesn't say what those patients starting AHIs were, and as some of them technically didn't even count as meeting the criteria for mild OSA on the first sleep study (i.e. a watchpat one, not a full study in a sleep lab under controlled conditions).

What I find interesting is that the company allegedly did a study of 113 people... but for some reason chose NOT to publish it. They're STILL happy to use that as evidence of efficacy - but as with anything that is not peer-reviewed, there's no way to see how solid that study was, or even what the results were, as those weren't given. Not only that, the results aren't permanent. You don't just use it for 6 weeks and you're "cured". The results wear off within 2 weeks, so you'd have to continue to do it to see any lasting benefits - that's assuming they DO last over time, but as that hasn't been studied, it may very well be just a temporary minor improvement over that first initial few weeks.

So I guess if you're otherwise healthy, of normal BMI and have very mild OSA, and you feel like spending the money then I guess you can try? But there's no real scientific evidence that is solid to say it works other than a couple of non-published reports and one pilot study of a dozen people, using just two watchpat sleep reports, no full data analysis, etc - just based on AHI overall.

Then again, it costs the same amount as a Resmed Airsense 10 Autoset (or more, in the UK). If I were given the choice, I think I'd probably choose the A10.

[SleepFoo]

Anyone using or have tried this device that stimulates your tongue for 20 minutes per day before you go to bed? I bought it and just started my therapy. It is approved for mild OSA. I'm curious if anyone else is using it or have recommendations.

I was just asking about this in another thread and then found yours. 

Could you update us on how this is working for you?