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Moved to new house....AHI has doubled! Why?
#1
Question 
Moved to new house....AHI has doubled! Why?
I am about 6 months into my CPAP therapy.  You guys have been a huge help through a couple of different troubling times.  Thanks for that.

I have been steadily making progress and moving my AHI down from initially around 10 down to a week or two of it being at 3-4.  I had about two weeks of it being that low and have been steadily improving.  Until recently my AHI has spiked.

I moved into a new home last Sunday.  I am now on day 8 of an AHI that has about doubled back up into 7-8 range.  What is worse is that I am starting to feel it.  
Last two nights of Sleepy Head Data

I did just purchase a new bed and got a good mattress topper. I have no problem getting to sleep, and I feel comfortable while on the bed.  I thought maybe it was a dust issue, so i also have purchased an air purifier and have been running it 24/7 for 4 days.  It doesn't seem to be the fix.

Any suggestions as to environmental factors that I may have overlooked?  Or do you see anything in my data that jumps out? 

the only correlation I can draw is that I was steadily in the 3,4,5 range before last Sunday.  Now I am in a new house (older bungalow house) and my AHI has jumped back up.

I would love any thoughts you guys might have. 

Zandor
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#2
RE: Moved to new house....AHI has doubled! Why?
Your obstructive apnea continued to be prevalent from your 9.5 minimum through the 16 maximum pressure. Grab an inexpensive soft cervical collar or change your sleeping position. You are having a fair amount of periodic breathing, so this could be stress related or something changed in the way you're sleeping. I might blame the mattress topper for allowing your shoulders to sink in farther. Have you considered trying a night without it?
Sleeprider
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INFORMATION ON APNEA BOARD FORUMS OR ON APNEABOARD.COM SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED AS MEDICAL ADVICE. ALWAYS SEEK THE ADVICE OF A PHYSICIAN BEFORE SEEKING TREATMENT FOR MEDICAL CONDITIONS, INCLUDING SLEEP APNEA. INFORMATION POSTED ON THE APNEA BOARD WEB SITE AND FORUMS ARE PERSONAL OPINION ONLY AND NOT NECESSARILY A STATEMENT OF FACT.
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#3
RE: Moved to new house....AHI has doubled! Why?
Yes, too many things were introduced at once to say "this is the cause".

If cleaning the air didn't help, then I agree with Sleeprider. Remove the mattress topper for a few nights and see if it changes.

Other than that, make sure the mask is on correctly. That the hose and machine are assembled correctly. Unplug the machine, wait a minute, and plug it back in. Basically narrowing down the variables.
PaulaO

Take a deep breath and count to zen.




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#4
RE: Moved to new house....AHI has doubled! Why?
Could low voltage in the new place cause the machine to "malfunction"?  I think the power supply would prevent that, but I am not sure.
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#5
RE: Moved to new house....AHI has doubled! Why?
The issue could well be positional, although in my experience changes in my sleeping position affected OA's and not CA's. Researchers have suggested it takes approximately three weeks to become acclimated to a new environment after experiencing the physical and mental hassle of a move. Since you do show some periodic breathing, check your ankles for signs of swelling which is indicative of fluid retention. If you do see some swelling, I suggest you consult with your doctor. Hope you feel better and sleep well.
"The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane." -- Marcus Aurelius
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#6
RE: Moved to new house....AHI has doubled! Why?
I purchased the mattress topper because the bed was too firm and hurt my shoulder if I slept on my side.  It is def soft.  Why is it a prob if my shoulder sinks in?

I am traveling later this week, so I am hoping the change of scenery will help me narrow down what's going on.  I anticipate my ahi to drop.  It was 10.1 last night. That's my highest in two months at least.

Thanks for the suggestions.  I'm just trying to narrow down what's going on.
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#7
RE: Moved to new house....AHI has doubled! Why?
My observation was that your events were predominately obstructive and unresponsive to higher pressure.  This suggests a positional issue.  A softer bed, change in pillows, and many other positional changes happened all at once and seems the most likely cause, rather than a sudden change in health or machine response.  Narrowing things down may mean undoing the changes one at a time. Alternatively, a soft cervical collar often resolves all this quickly and comfortably. 

For obstructive apnea, we would traditionally look to higher pressure to open the airway, however when a new bed, topper, pillow and a move are involved, it really seems likely that position is playing a role.  Sleep position may even be keeping your baseline AHI from before the move relatively high, so a soft cervical collar might be a surprising solution, but it will cost you $10-20 to find out.
Sleeprider
Apnea Board Moderator
www.ApneaBoard.com

____________________________________________
Download OSCAR Software
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Organize your OSCAR Charts
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INFORMATION ON APNEA BOARD FORUMS OR ON APNEABOARD.COM SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED AS MEDICAL ADVICE. ALWAYS SEEK THE ADVICE OF A PHYSICIAN BEFORE SEEKING TREATMENT FOR MEDICAL CONDITIONS, INCLUDING SLEEP APNEA. INFORMATION POSTED ON THE APNEA BOARD WEB SITE AND FORUMS ARE PERSONAL OPINION ONLY AND NOT NECESSARILY A STATEMENT OF FACT.
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#8
RE: Moved to new house....AHI has doubled! Why?
A mattress topper shouldn't make that sort of difference in AHI as long as your head and neck are aligned.  A good pillow is just as important as a mattress topper.
Are you tucking your chin?  That could cause an increase in AHI.

During your move, is it possible that the machine's settings somehow changed.  Unplug the machine, and plug back in, then check to see that all the settings are the same.

If it doesn't settle down after a few days, post us a screenshot of a day before the move and a recent one with the high AHI.
OpalRose
Apnea Board Administrator
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INFORMATION ON APNEA BOARD FORUMS OR ON APNEABOARD.COM SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED AS MEDICAL ADVICE.  ALWAYS SEEK THE ADVICE OF A PHYSICIAN BEFORE SEEKING TREATMENT FOR MEDICAL CONDITIONS, INCLUDING SLEEP APNEA.  INFORMATION POSTED ON THE APNEA BOARD WEB SITE AND FORUMS ARE PERSONAL OPINION ONLY AND NOT NECESSARILY A STATEMENT OF FACT.
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#9
RE: Moved to new house....AHI has doubled! Why?
Sleeprider, thanks for the suggestion.  I'll definitely do that.  I'll also try a different pillow. 

I'll have some more info in the next week
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#10
RE: Moved to new house....AHI has doubled! Why?
For me, progress has been in jumps. As sleep improved, leaks and AHI got worse. Slowly the numbers improved and again a big improvement in sleep happened and numbers went south. This happened 3 or 4 times over the last year and now my sleep has been great.   7 hrs max, no naps and a month AHI under one. 

Just had last 2 nights AHI over 2 but great sleep. The cycle continues. I have started my "success story" 3 times before. 

Hang in there, the change may have been a jump forward.
CPAP is a journey like “The Wizard of Oz”. It’s a long slow journey. You will face many problems and pick up many friends along the way. Just because you reach the poppies, it doesn’t mean you are in Kansas. 
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