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AHI higher upon first falling asleep - Printable Version

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RE: AHI higher upon first falling asleep - PsychoMike - 03-10-2015

rdavis, when you say first getting to sleep, do you mean right at the start, or just a little time in? If it is right at the start, it could be that the machine it mistaking your slow breaths trying to relax and fall asleep for events. I used to do a few nice, long clearing breaths to help settle in...but they'd flag as either centrals or hyponeas.

RE: AHI higher upon first falling asleep - TiredToo - 03-10-2015

(03-09-2015, 09:46 AM)rdavis Wrote: I can post a screen shot of my sleepyhead results for a particularly rough night; however, I'm not exactly sure how to do that. When I try to insert an image, it asks for a URL. Is there a way to directly upload an image into a post?

I didn't see a reply to this part so I figured I'd do so as this threw me off a bit at first too. The 'Insert image' button is for inserting a URL to an image as you have found. The way to do it directly is this:

  1. Scroll down to below the edit section and look for the Attachments section.
  2. Click 'Choose File' to choose the screenshot you have already saved to your computer.
  3. Click 'Add Attachment'.
  4. Scroll back down to attachments and you can then click 'Insert Into Post' to insert a thumbnail into your post.

Hope this helps! Dancing

RE: AHI higher upon first falling asleep - rdavis - 03-12-2015

(03-09-2015, 11:17 AM)quiescence at last Wrote: non-event arousals (ones not scored as apneas) are often associated with first several minutes of sleep. Tidal volume at this time is higher than in "sleep" and can be the cause for resistance while getting ready to breathe in more monotonous rhythm. You are also more easily aroused when you are in light sleep, which is your first stage. I have issues for a few minutes when I am getting used to lying down, but that would only be for my going to bed, not during the night upon waking [unless I sit up for a bit].

You can lie down with mask on and hose disconnected for a few minutes before you actually hook up. But, beware you are apt to fall asleep in that mode. So, better to just put up with those sleep-onset events.

QAL

Good to know. But, is it normal for these events to wake me up every few minutes for, say, an hour or two? I'm talking about a period of time much longer than a few minutes.



RE: AHI higher upon first falling asleep - rdavis - 03-12-2015

(03-10-2015, 01:00 PM)PsychoMike Wrote: rdavis, when you say first getting to sleep, do you mean right at the start, or just a little time in? If it is right at the start, it could be that the machine it mistaking your slow breaths trying to relax and fall asleep for events. I used to do a few nice, long clearing breaths to help settle in...but they'd flag as either centrals or hyponeas.

Oh, good catch, PsychoMike. I thought of that too! But there are definitely some "real" events happening because they will wake me up intermittently, so I know it's not just the machine "mistaking" waking breaths for events.

RE: AHI higher upon first falling asleep - rdavis - 03-12-2015

I should also add that these events upon falling asleep were not happening as much in the first couple months of my therapy (according to Sleepyhead) and on the rare occasion when they did happen, they weren't waking me up. I was SO frustrated to be freed of the "jumping awake" sensation for two months only to mysteriously return to it.

During the first 2 months of therapy, I had AHIs as low as .2 and .5 on a somewhat regular basis. My AHIs have crept up to around an average of 2 now, with the vast majority happening in the first hour or two of sleep and leading to plenty of waking. It's really starting to bother me because I can't figure out what changed.

Also (not to be a bother) but if anyone has advice on how to talk to your doctor about what you see on Sleepyhead...I've found that doctors tend to look at your overall AHI, just glance at the rest, and not be interested when you say that you've looked at your nightly readings IN DEPTH and have questions/want to discuss.

RE: AHI higher upon first falling asleep - Sleeprider - 03-12-2015

Here is another way to post your images. This method will also work on other forums that don't host images, and it doesn't limit the size of the images. http://www.apneaboard.com/wiki/index.php?title=Attaching_Images_and_Files_on_Apnea_Board

Sleep onset apnea is pretty common, and it can be a consequence of using too low of a minimum pressure in APAP or the use of ramp that delays providing theraputic pressure.

RE: AHI higher upon first falling asleep - rdavis - 03-12-2015

Update: My doctor ordered my minimum pressure on the auto machine bumped up a bit, so now it's going to be basically the pressure that I spend 90% of the night at. I'm really hoping this will cut down on the problem (and I notice that several of you have mentioned that as a possible culprit). I'll let you all know. Thanks for the support!

RE: AHI higher upon first falling asleep - rdavis - 03-12-2015

[attachment=1353]Here is a screenshot of my SleepyHead results for one of the nights where this was bothering me.