Hovering around 3.5-4.5 AHI

[Rcol]

I posted a thread a while back, then abandoned it. Apologies for that. 

Quick backstory: 

• I got diagnosed with mild apnea back in May. Tested AHI a mere 5.9
  
• Started CPAP mid June. At low pressures (and with flex on) the machine was reporting anything from 9-19 AHI 
  
• Followed advice on here. Turned off flex, switched from a range to constant pressure, got a cervical collar, and kept bumping of the pressure
  

For the last couple of months, my AHI has hovered around 3.4-4.5. I've been adjusting the (constant) pressure between 12 and 15, trying to chip away at that number. I find that I can't tolerate 15cm or above, and my AHI doesn't seem to change much between pressures of 12 and 14.5 cm. 

I've definitely noticed an improvement in the last 2 months. I don't feel great, but I do feel more well rested, and I'm having crazy dreams. But when I looking at my chart, it seems that despite the progress, I'm still getting VERY REGULAR (mostly obstructive apneas / hypopneas) events every 20 minutes or so. 

The response to the first thread was of two kinds
1) Don't obsess over the numbers, focus on how you feel (I don't feel great). 
2) Post more detailed charts 

I'm posting my most recent (and slightly better than usual) night, and some zoom-ins of an assortment of events. I guess I'm just wondering whether I should force myself to tolerate higher pressures, or what.

---

And a couple more...

[Madcat207]

So, I don't know exactly if you are the same, but I have noticed a similar pattern in my sleep - a sharp intake of breath followed by an apnea (though, my machine marked them as CA and not OA), followed by normal breathing (rather than a gasp for breath after the pause like in a real apnea). I was told, and I believe it true from paying attention to how I act while falling asleep, that it happens when I move and/or roll over. I take a breath and hold it, move, then breath again.

So yeah, I may be wrong, but that's what at least some of those look like to me. You are right, that how you feel is important, and the numbers can lie in certain instances (like where you hold your breath and aren't actually choking).