Question about Hypopneas
I have been trying to research hypopneas and understand if CPAP therapy can improve those events just like obstructive apnea events. I just started therapy 2 weeks ago and have much to learn. In my sleep study, the total number of events in 474 minutes of sleep was 101. . .90 were hypopneas and 11 were OA. So my bigger problem seems to be HY events. So far with my therapy stats, I am keeping the OA below 5 but not so much improvement with the HY.
Are there other avenues that I should explore to see improvement in the hypopneas?
Thanks and be blessed.
RE: Question about Hypopneas
(06-28-2016, 05:27 PM)TheLionSleeps Wrote: I have been trying to research hypopneas and understand if CPAP therapy can improve those events just like obstructive apnea events. I just started therapy 2 weeks ago and have much to learn. In my sleep study, the total number of events in 474 minutes of sleep was 101. . .90 were hypopneas and 11 were OA. So my bigger problem seems to be HY events. So far with my therapy stats, I am keeping the OA below 5 but not so much improvement with the HY.
Are there other avenues that I should explore to see improvement in the hypopneas?
Thanks and be blessed.
Hi TheLionSleeps,
Welcome to the Apnea Board. Your first step should be to download and install the Sleepyhead software. You can then post some of your results including images of your nightly waveforms. Hypopneas can be both Obstructive and Central in nature. There are strategies for dealing with both. Eventually you should highlight about a 5 minute segment of breathing including those Hypopneas. We can give you a good idea as to how we handled similar situations. The important thing is that you will become better educated and be able to take charge of your own therapy. You will especially be able to communicate better with your Sleep Doctor. Stay in touch.
Rich
RE: Question about Hypopneas
I recommend first downloading Sleepyhead from the link at the top of the page, uploading your data, and posting the data from a particular night so we have a frame of reference. If you have addressed OA's but not H's, it's possible that you have just enough pressure to treat the worse of the 2 events, but not enough to avoid shallow breathing and/or a partially obstructed airway. A snapshot of your data will give us more information, such as your P90 Pressure, which is a great midpoint for your pressure range.
RE: Question about Hypopneas
Yes. It seems as though from the Forum that Sleepyhead is the best method of looking at details and what's going on with the therapy. There is a learning curve on downloading and using that, and I am working on that. I have had several nights of the 2 weeks with the 90% at my maximum pressure of 10 and I am thinking, if I can stand the hurricane winds then that might be too low a pressure to open everything up. You are right the Sleep Drs. are busy on their way to the next patient and you have to work out your own comfort and therapy for success. This is my second time around as the first time I was not able to be satisfy the compliance for the insurance company, but I am more determined this time.
Thanks for your time.
RE: Question about Hypopneas
(06-28-2016, 05:27 PM)TheLionSleeps Wrote: I have been trying to research hypopneas and understand if CPAP therapy can improve those events just like obstructive apnea events.
The answer is yes. An obstructive apnea can be defined as 10 seconds or more of time spent with the air flow rate reduced by 80% to 100%. A so-called cessation of breathing. A hypopnea might be defined as 10 seconds or more with a 50% reduction in air flow. A so-called reduction in breathing.
The remedy for both is the same, CPAP.
(06-28-2016, 07:26 PM)TheLionSleeps Wrote: This is my second time around as the first time I was not able to be satisfy the compliance for the insurance company, but I am more determined this time.
I hope you make it this time. I always tell people that compliance is the most important measure of the effectiveness of your therapy. Leaks is second, and AHI is third.
Once you conquer compliance, meaning you are always using your machine every time you sleep for the entire time you are sleeping, you can then concern yourself with leaks. Not only should the machine report low leak rates, you need to look at the leak rate graph on your computer and make sure that you are not leaking for extended periods of time. Then you can be concerned about your AHI.
By the way, after the few nights of 100% compliance, many of us see a significant drop in our AHI.
Sleepster
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.
RE: Question about Hypopneas
Thank you Sleepster. Best info specifics that I have seen so far- without my sleephead data!!.
RE: Question about Hypopneas
Hi TheLionSleeps,
Good luck to you on your second round of CPAP therapy, It's great to hear that you are determined to make it this time.
trish6hundred
RE: Question about Hypopneas
The things i hate most about this this therapy is the word "compliance". It sounds too much like Obey! to me.
TheLionSleeps, after a couple of weeks the hurricane will become "is this machine really on?" The actual airflow is only a lot if you have a lot of leaks, once you fix that it is a light breeze.
RE: Question about Hypopneas
I say that breeze is starting to feel nicer. Although I don't reach 15 pressure yet, then back to a hurricane.
"In the jungle the quiet jungle, the Lion Sleeps tonight. In the jungle the quiet jungle, the Lion Sleeps tonight."
