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Getting My AHI Down
#1
Getting My AHI Down
So I've been using an Auto CPAP for four days now.  I got a FlashAir card set up with FlashPAP and SleepyHead.  It's all going great, I'm ready to analyze my data.  So, here's my first screenshot, taken from last night's data.  My pressure is a constant 10, but I decided to play with Auto.  Another post suggested setting the min/max two away from the constant, so my Auto is currently 8-12.  90% for all days so far is 9.  My AHI is consistently below 3, with very few if any OA/CA,  but several Hypopneas.  What can I do to bring my AHI down?

[Image: Xbg6XIb.png]

Thanks in advance for anyones' help!

Andrew
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#2
RE: Getting My AHI Down
Four days.  Chill, Andrew, chill.  This is not like channel surfing.  There is a squidgy meatbag strapped to your mask at night.   Grin  Relax.  Give it time.  You need to allow time for your brain to get used to the mask and the pressure and the pressure changes and the sounds and being able to sleep without your body trying to strangle itself.  I am 18 months in and still getting gradual changes.  An AHI of 2.7 in the first four days is remarkable.  Rejoice in that.  Give it a week and see what happens.
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#3
RE: Getting My AHI Down
Anything under 5.0 is considered good so not sure why after 4 days you're not happy with below 3...what are your reasons for wanting it lower? Under 3 every day is awesome!
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#4
RE: Getting My AHI Down
But if you want to try something, new toys are for that. You could turn on the a-flex and see how the different levels feel or try min 9 for a few days, to see if it help the H . The dreamstation can be slow to respond
mask fit http://www.apneaboard.com/wiki/index.php...ask_Primer
For auto-cpap, from machine data or software. You can set the min pressure 1 or 2cm below 95%. Or clinicians commonly use the maximum or 95% pressure for fixed pressure CPAP, this can also be used for min pressure.
https://aasm.org/resources/practiceparam...rating.pdf
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#5
RE: Getting My AHI Down
Sorry--I neglected to clarify I've been using *this* machine for four days--I've been using another machine (a brick) for 12 years.
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#6
RE: Getting My AHI Down
ateeluck,

I upgraded to a Dreamstation auto 6 months ago and I was using same pressure settings as you.  8-12.  My charts looked very similar to yours with a majority of hypopneas.  I increased my lower pressure to 8.5 to see what would happen and that was my solution.  I now consistently have an AHI below 1 every night.  (And more importantly, I feel much better.)  If your charts were mine, I would slowly increase lower pressure and hold there for several days before increasing again.  Worked for me but YMMV.
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#7
RE: Getting My AHI Down
Welcome to the forum.

Under 5 is considered "treated".    Most here will tweak, but SLOWLY and with small changes.

More importantly at this stage is that all important question asked of Spock,  "How do you feel?"

Feeling good is very important to your treatment, and there is much that can be done here.

So, How do you feel?


Fred
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#8
RE: Getting My AHI Down
Great, I'll try that. I was planning on giving it three more days (so a week at 8-12), and then try 9-12.  But I'll increase to 8.5 instead of 9 and see if I need to increase it further. 

I appreciate the other responders saying that 3 or under is great, and it's likely they're saying that because I gave the impression I was only on therapy for four days (rather than 12 years), but I wonder what it will take to get it as close to zero as possible.

Cheers, 
Andrew
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#9
RE: Getting My AHI Down
(07-27-2017, 09:32 AM)bonjour Wrote: So, How do you feel?

That's a good question, and the answer is "not great, wanna nap".  But I have to admit that my own habits could be the cause.  I'm somewhat of a night owl, staying up late even on weeknights.  For years I attributed my tiredness to going to bed late, and getting up early for work.  Sometimes I would end up with less than four hours sleep.  I would then "catch up" on weekends, sleeping until noon.  I never thought my apnea treatment could be imperfect and exacerbating my fatigue.

Now that I have a machine that shows me what's happening while I sleep, I'm seeing that my AHI is above zero and I wonder what I can do to get it as close to zero as possible.

Along with SleepyHead, I'm also using Respironics' app DreamMapper, which include goal tracking.  So, now that it has number of nights >4 hrs goals, I'm more motivated to get more sleep.  Since getting the brick version of my DreamStation three weeks ago (my self-bought DS Auto arrived in the mail Friday), I've been on a perfect 20-day record of 4+ hours.  But still, I'm typically around 5 hours, if not less.  Weekends are still the best times.

So I feel tired.  The cause may partly be due to my present AHI, but it's probably mostly due to my bad habit of inadequate number of hours.

Andrew
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#10
RE: Getting My AHI Down
Close to zero is probably not a realistic goal.  Many of us have gotten a 0.0 once in a while, but not regularly.   I doubt that even people without sleep apnea would regularly get close to zero.  Some breathing irregularity while sleeping is normal.  That said, I feel better if I can keep it under 1.0 most nights.  Anything under 1 and I am happy.

I agree that your lack of an adequate time in bed, asleep, on a daily basis is like the cause of your ongoing tiredness.  However, I'd keep my mind open to other possibilities.  A year in with an AHI < 1 on most nights, I was still dragging.  Lately I have been supplementing Vitamin D and Testosterone (yes, from a doctor) and the last week I have getting out of bed at an unreasonably early hour well rested and full of energy.  CPAP and adequate sleep are important, but they might not be the only issue in play.
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