I don't think I need to add much to this as most has been said, the first explanation is as good as it gets.
I had a CPAP with a pressure of 18 and now have a APAP and it gets up to almost 12.
I did have on CPAP
Ahi of 2 sometimes 3 at worst.
However I felt as if I had a good sleep and felt as bright as a button in the morning.
Now with the APAP:
Ahi 0.07
I don't feel quite so bright in the mornings.
May be not so well ventilated, I don't know as I have not got round to setting up Sleepyhead yet.
How can I have 0,07 of an AHI?
So low numbers are not always what is required.
What my partner noticed is that I used to breathe deeply with the CPAP machine and with the APAP I take a lot shallower breaths, but more of them.
So it is not quite as simple as low numbers, though you would think it was listening to sleep doctors.
I am told people have apneas during the night naturally, it is just when it increases it becomes a problem.
Some people can have a few every night, but with a sleep apnea patient, they last longer and there are many more of them, this is what causes up a problem.
There may be people out there that have CPAP/APAP machines that would be better with a more complicated machine.
Depends how good the sleep doctor was or how much importance the doctor placed on events during the study.
When done at home there is even less chance of something being picked up.
Don't worry about low numbers, if you get somewhere below 5, I wouldn't worry to much, as long as the tiredness and fatigue has gone.
It can sometimes be worth getting an oximeter, my next purchase, just to see if the oxygen levels are still fine.
But that is just my choice.
Just checked the readings on my machine:
145.3 hrs
Ahi 0.4
Central 0.1
Total 0.1
Pressure 11.5
Leak 37ltr per minute, this was due to me getting the hose caught in my arms and pulling of the mask a few times the first two nights
Anyway, it is improved readings on what it used to be. The only thing is I feel tired a bit earlier at night, I have to go to bed at 12am instead of 2am
Not quite as sharp in the mornings, but then I have other problems that might be influencing things.
However I love my new machine, they are NOT getting it back!!!
So as you can see, low numbers are not always what you need, I think some get obsessed with it.
A lot of people are carrying extra weight as well and have other medical problems as well, so a low number might still leave them feeling like crap in the morning, even though they may have got their Ahi down.
Clear as mud is it?