Hello Guest, Welcome to Apnea Board !
As a guest, you are limited to certain areas of the board and there are some features you can't use.
To post a message, you must create a free account using a valid email address.

or Create an Account


New Posts   Today's Posts

How common is it to take months to get AHI under 5.0?
#11
RE: How common is it to take months to get AHI under 5.0?
Thanks Opal, Swazi, Tyrone, Mr.Van W, Sleepy, Very encouraging.

My overnight study was a home study with the ability to detect centrals. At that time I had no centrals.
It was a rushed study because I had to have it back by noon and only went to sleep at that time, at 5 am.
So I never got into my deep sleep period.

AHI 26.6
Apneas avg 22. longest 44.
Desats in Oxygen to 76 %
Positional was that I had the highest no of episodes on my left side. Least on my stomach (how I prefer to sleep) Second least on right side, and third least on my back. Interestingly I spent almost no time on my left side, I swear the body seems to "know."
I will ask Dr if he has a theory about the left being an issue.

My avg AHI that ResScan caluculates for all 45 days together, ahi is 5.5 /2.7 of that OSA and 2.1 Central. So I'm not totally out there.

My settings- I was set up with an Autopap set to 4-20. I started tinkering after 20 days. First move being up from 4 cause it was too stuffy.
Then I moved the range narrower and have been inching my way toward 8-14. I didn't have a titration study so i don't know what therapeutic magic number is.

Tyrone, I will try to keep the recording time to still and settled for sleep to eliminate any hangers on from movement.

Sleepy, I shall take a look at those studies. I spend a lot of time reading the literature and appreciate it.

Keeping at it!
The Manse Hen



Post Reply Post Reply
#12
RE: How common is it to take months to get AHI under 5.0?
I set my range by monitoring the detailed flow diagram on ResScan when it was set at 4-20. Over time I was able to raise the lower number until it was just under my low point during the night. I don't think the upper number matters too much. Now I find my nightly flow is fluctuating between my range quite well, getting close but never touching.
Something unknown is doing we don't know what.
(Professor Sir Arthur Eddington, astrophysicist)
Post Reply Post Reply
#13
RE: How common is it to take months to get AHI under 5.0?
Swazi, that is excellent. I am very pleased for you that you've been able to do that! That is my theory too and I am aiming for it.
Happy Snoozing.

The Hen.
Post Reply Post Reply
#14
RE: How common is it to take months to get AHI under 5.0?
My first sleep test showed my having an AHI of 25.6 I started on 02/05 this year, and it was not until 02/09 that I got the Resmed My Air set up so I can quickly check basic stats in the morning. Looking back to my first "my air" recorded night being 02/09 through last night gives me 13 sleep nights to average out and that shows an average AHI of 1.2 for the period, with a high AHI of 4.2 and a low of .3 I know I felt way better the first morning after starting with no afternoon "out of control" napping. I am looking forward to see what the moderate and long term effects are going to be. I am thankful to have this forum to communicate with others in the same apnea "pool" for support, ideas, product ratings, etc.
Post Reply Post Reply
#15
RE: How common is it to take months to get AHI under 5.0?
welcome Montreat! you got great numbers and great feeling all at once. that is really really nice. let us know when you first feel like dancing or skipping. don't believe me it is in your future? BELIEVE!

QAL
Dedicated to QALity sleep.
Post Reply Post Reply
#16
RE: How common is it to take months to get AHI under 5.0?
I started CPAPing in December and went about it the worst possible way. Four days after I got my machine I went on holiday to stay with friends for a month. I thought that a relaxed environment and plenty of sleep time would do it all. How wrong I was. I just couldn't get to sleep for any period of time and after a weeks I gave up until I returned home. The issue was using nasal pillows and mouth breathing waking me up (that sudden rush of air at the roof of the mouth).

At this point I discovered the Apnea Board - a very important step in my progress!

I went back to my DME and got a Dreamwear nasal mask and bought a chinstrap but results were variable and nowhere near that magic 5.0. However, the chin strap did manage to bring my AHIs down considerably. I had an APAP machine set to CPAP 13 and decided to go into auto mode and experimented with different ranges of pressure. The AHIs came down a bit further

My next move was to buy a soft cervical collar and get rid of the chinstrap. This was a big move and my numbers came down even more but were still too variable. Once again I read through all sorts of threads on this board, posted screenshots of my nights sleep via the Sleepyhead app and received heaps of great advice.

A lot of the advice made me wonder if a machine that used a different algorithm to the F&P Icon might be a good move. I felt that I needed some pressure relief when I exhaled and the Icon couldn't provide this feature.

So six days ago I picked up the Resmed S9 Autoset from the DME and the improvement has been dramatic to say the least. I've had 5 consecutive days under 5.0 with a record 1.14 recorded last night. I'm looking forward to my first <1.0 and I think it will be soon.

So the message is hang in there, experiment, use the advice you get from these very knowledgable people and you will get there. It's taken me three months but I know I am on the way to great sleeping.
Post Reply Post Reply
#17
RE: How common is it to take months to get AHI under 5.0?
Hi Manse Hen. Thanks for this thread. It seems to be bringing comments from several people who are still relatively new to xPAP and are still working to get to a good place, therapy-wise.

I had my sleep study last fall and had untreated AHI in the 30s and RDI in the 50s. I was prescribed CPAP. My average AHI is hovering around 5 but my graphs are showing around 75% of the events in my last 2-3 hours of sleep, so I'm not happy with that.

I'm looking at taking some graphs to my doctor and seeing if I need to switch to APAP. My titration study wasn't very thorough, so it's not really a surprise.

From what you said, you still have some changes to make as you adjust to the pressure. I was amazed that such a small amount of pressure did initially give me sore muscles around my ribcage, like another poster mentioned.

I am so thankful for this board. When I found it in late January, I was having problems using my machine more than 2-3 hours a night due to waking up with nasal congestion.

gw
Post Reply Post Reply
#18
Necrothread
Mansehen posted this over a year ago.
Get the free OSCAR CPAP software here.
Useful links.
Click here for information on the main alternative to CPAP.
If it's midnight and a DME tells you it's dark outside, go and check it yourself.
Post Reply Post Reply
#19
RE: Necrothread
So she did. Still a helpful thread.

(03-22-2016, 11:18 AM)archangle Wrote: Mansehen posted this over a year ago.

Post Reply Post Reply
#20
RE: How common is it to take months to get AHI under 5.0?
Hello TheManseHen,

It took me 3 years to get my average to be under 5 -
It took me a year to find a mask that I liked. In the past half year my average AHI increased . . .

But, finally, I am averaging 3.5 since I have been put on a different device - an auto ASV bipap, because they discovered I had central apneas that needed to be treated, and the auto bipap that I was using was not treating those. I have had my new device just a couple of weeks now . . .

Also, last month, my respiratory therapist suggested I try a new mask, which is my all time favorite- the DreamWear Mask - it's the most comfortable mask of the several masks that I have tried Smile

It is a journey, for some it seems to go well from the start, some of us others take time . . .
Post Reply Post Reply


Possibly Related Threads...
Thread Author Replies Views Last Post
Sad [Treatment] 10 Months In and Still Waking Up After 4 to 5 Hours Burnsy 3 289 03-14-2024, 11:37 AM
Last Post: Burnsy
  4 months in - Do I have to live with aerophagia? RedNailz 18 1,654 03-09-2024, 02:14 PM
Last Post: RedNailz
  Going nowhere with ASV after 3 months CaliforniaDreamer 20 485 03-08-2024, 08:56 AM
Last Post: Sleeprider
  Only CAs on Oscar but diagnosed with OSA - 2 months CPAP and no improvement 444zane3 4 292 03-07-2024, 02:06 AM
Last Post: Deborah K.
  Slept fully twice in 3 months since starting CPAP for CSA redking2436 13 674 02-18-2024, 08:30 AM
Last Post: Sleeprider
  Has anyone ever received a refund on cpap after 3 months. Mwilson123 0 200 02-10-2024, 07:43 PM
Last Post: Mwilson123
  [CPAP] Still tired after 4 months of CPAP mohtorhead 11 1,029 02-03-2024, 09:41 PM
Last Post: Phaleronic


New Posts   Today's Posts


About Apnea Board

Apnea Board is an educational web site designed to empower Sleep Apnea patients.