Newby question re mild sleep apnea

[HBH]

Hi everyone,
just been diagnosed with sleep apnea, & just found this forum - looks like lots of awesome info here!

I have a question re mild sleep apnea. As I look around the posts there are lots of folks here with very severe SA, & obviously CPAP/APAP therapy is the way to go.

But are there folks out there with mild SA who have also found CPAP/APAP to be useful? From my sleep study I have 12 AHI per hour, putting me in the mild category. Have been on a trial on the ResMed S9 auto, & my AHI is now <1 on average. I'm still struggling with trying to get used to it (only been 2 weeks) etc, but my OH has certainly had much better sleep since I've been on the machine LOL. But with such mild apnea, is it worth me perservering with it all?

Sorry if this is a silly query, but just wondering if there are other folks out there in the mild category who have found CPAP has made a significant difference to their quality of life?

[PaulaO2]

Not a silly query at all! I really dislike the way they grade sleep apnea. My AHI was 68 with the initial sleep study. So I looked at the numbers and saw I was TWICE the limit for severe. I absolutely freaked out.

Yes, it is worth it. With an AHI of 12, that meant you stopped breathing for at least 10 seconds 12 times an hour average. That means every five minutes you stopped breathing. Using the CPAP is going to help you tremendously.

You've got a great machine, capable of data collection which is essential. You can use either ResScan or Sleepyhead to view this data. An AHI of 5 or less is the goal so your AHI of 1 is excellent! Congrats!

You've 'only' been using it for two weeks. It's going to take a while for things to settle down.

[trish6hundred]

Hi HBH, WELCOME! to the forum.!
It sounds like you are doing very well with the CPAP machine. Just give yourself some time to get used to it.
I encourage you to stick with it and best of luck.

[zonk]

But with such mild apnea, is it worth me perservering with it all?

if overweight shedding few kilos might help but one need a new sleep study to find out for sure
apnea doesn't goes away and get worse without treatment
whats was your titration pressure
do you know the machine settings
its not uncommon to to try several masks to find the right one
mask have to feel right and be comfortable to keep all night every night
S9 AutoSet is full data capable machine ..... S9 Escape Auto is Not

[dcgrafix]

Hi everyone,
just been diagnosed with sleep apnea, & just found this forum - looks like lots of awesome info here!

I have a question re mild sleep apnea. As I look around the posts there are lots of folks here with very severe SA, & obviously CPAP/APAP therapy is the way to go.

But are there folks out there with mild SA who have also found CPAP/APAP to be useful? From my sleep study I have 12 AHI per hour, putting me in the mild category. Have been on a trial on the ResMed S9 auto, & my AHI is now <1 on average. I'm still struggling with trying to get used to it (only been 2 weeks) etc, but my OH has certainly had much better sleep since I've been on the machine LOL. But with such mild apnea, is it worth me perservering with it all?

Sorry if this is a silly query, but just wondering if there are other folks out there in the mild category who have found CPAP has made a significant difference to their quality of life?

Hi

As PaulaO2 said "With an AHI of 12, that meant you stopped breathing for at least 10 seconds 12 times an hour average. That means every five minutes you stopped breathing"

Posibly this may mean that your Apnea may have been diagnosed earlyer than most & this could mean less damage to your body (Brain memory loss & cardio vascular desease)

For some of us we may have had Sleep Apnea for many years but with out the correct diagnosis we just get passed by from Dr.s.

I now wonder how much damage I have been doing to my body because I have had mager sleep problems for many years.

I was trying to get in to a sleep study ever since I heard we had one in my City about 2 years but my Dr. just ignored me untill I did a basic sleep study from my Pharmicy wich was waering a box for a week & that gave me a print out report & recomendation for a full over night sleep study.

Even so you have mild sleep apnea it is still robing you of Oxigen wich efects all your orgins & vascular system contributing to Heart Atack, Stroke High Hypertention (High Blood Presure) & may lead to Diabetes.
Not to mention that you will not get a proper sleep not going into all the sleep stages & then wake up feeling like you have not slept.

You will find may posts here talking of memory problems & haveing trouble comming up with simple words when try to make a sentance.

So I too think it is in your best intrest to continue with your CPAP Theripy.
Why wait till you get worse readings & more serius deseise when you can start now.

I wish my Dr.s had noticed or listened to me along time ago & then maybe I could have avoided having Diabetes & not being able to remember importnt a conversations.

I know it is not what you look foreword to when going to bed but if you get the software & start looking at your data it helps.

Not to mention that you will be able to liik back & feel a diference but it can take weeks to feel it.

[jdireton]

HBH,

I know my spouse was about to move into the guest room. Not only the snoring (bad enough) but she's told me that she would hear me stop breathing and wait for me to breath again. Sometimes she'd poke me if stopped too long. I didn't know it, but I was scaring her! Her sleep and I'm sure her health suffered right along with me. Typical for several of us, I only got a sleep study after she told me she'd had enough. Not that she hadn't told me for years about this. This alone is more than sufficient reason to keep me on xPAP.

Another recommendation is to get a pulse oximeter and check your blood oxygen saturation over the night. Regardless of how few events you may have, if your blood oxygen is going very low you're causing some damage. There's lots of posts about oximeters on this board, search if you're interested.

You've already gotten some great recommendations from others on the board. Hope we've been able to help!

[HBH]

Wow, thanks so much to everyone for your info & support. I will definitely persevere with the APAP & see how I go. :grin:

[Denial Dave]

in 1995, I was diagnosed with mild sleep apnea... 8AHI... doctors told me that it wasn't severe enough to warrant prescribing me a CPAP machine

Earlier this year, my wife requested at our 25th anniversary that I go for another sleep study and went in August

3 weeks ago, it got my results... My AHI is now 36

I've been using my S9 for 2 weeks now.... struggled with getting zero help from my doc or DME, major mask leaks due to my higher pressures, claustrophobia and a head cold.

Aside from the 1st 3 nights, I've used the machine and worn the mask for at least 6-7 hours on weeknights and 7-8 on weekends.

Late afternoon & early evening naps are gone & I feel better.

Sleephead shows my AHI to be 2-3 these days..... most of my higher rates are still due to troubles with falling asleep with the mask on.

I am proof that Sleep Apnea does not get better by ignoring it.

[zimlich]

Yes, it's worth continuing. OSA is a strain on the heart, can predispose you to diabetes, and many other health problems. I started out with mild sleep apnea- AHI of 5, barely qualified for a machine, but my excessive daytime sleepiness was so severe I jumped at the chance to get a machine. I'm sure they gave you a pamphlet, or your doc talked about the health risks. If not google OSA.
By the way my AHI ended up at 28 6 month average after four years and I now have an ASV machine.
Good Luck. Safe Guard your health!

[archangle]

I've often said that apnea is the death of a thousand cuts. It does a little damage every night. Mild apnea means you get the cuts a little less often.

Even if you don't feel better with CPAP, in theory, your health will degrade faster without. Think of untreated apnea as accelerated aging.