When is sleep therapy no longer needed?

[kingstar]

Get a recording oximeter. Set a baseline by wearing it for several nights, downloading the data in the mornings. This establishes what your nighttime blood O2 is doing with the machine.

This is really the best answer. After all, it's the O2 that ultimately matters, not the AHI. If the AHI were high but it somehow didn't decrease O2 levels there would be no medical reason to try to bring the AHI down.

Wouldn't the high AHI still mean that you are being woken up even if the O2 levels are good? Or do our brains only wake us up in response to the low O2 levels?

[car54]

I agree with the O2 meter. Depending on your money situation you could also do a home study for about $300.00 and bypass a full sleep study.

car54

[chill]

Arousals make a big difference in the quality of your sleep, O2 desaturations or not.  O2 desaturations may be more dangerous, depending on how severe they are and how long they last.

[Walla Walla]

kingstar, You would still have events if you had sleep apnea. Being tired is a concern but a lack of Oxygen could cause permanent damage. Most people don't even realize they're waking up during the night.

[PaulaO2]

Get a recording oximeter. Set a baseline by wearing it for several nights, downloading the data in the mornings. This establishes what your nighttime blood O2 is doing with the machine.

This is really the best answer. After all, it's the O2 that ultimately matters, not the AHI. If the AHI were high but it somehow didn't decrease O2 levels there would be no medical reason to try to bring the AHI down.

Sadly, this is not true. There are many people with sleep apnea who's O2 levels drop slowly during events. And some for who it drops like a rock. O2 readings are but one piece of the picture. If a person is having high AHI, anything over 5, then their sleep is still being disrupted. Brain chemicals are over or under reacting because of the wake/sleep cycle. Their body tenses with each apnea event, trying to wake them up to breathe.

We need sleep almost as much as we need oxygen.

By combing the viewable data with the "how do I feel" quotient, we can make better choices.

[Melman]

Get a recording oximeter. Set a baseline by wearing it for several nights, downloading the data in the mornings. This establishes what your nighttime blood O2 is doing with the machine.

This is really the best answer. After all, it's the O2 that ultimately matters, not the AHI. If the AHI were high but it somehow didn't decrease O2 levels there would be no medical reason to try to bring the AHI down.

I question that O2 is all that matters. Apnea events may disrupt sleep and that alone can be a significant health issue. If I have acceptable O2 levels but sleep only 3 hours a night I suspect it will have a negative impact on my health.

[HalfAsleep]

I'm concerned that a stereotyped view of apnea sufferers is an unspoken assumption in this thread, the stereotype being that they have a high BMI and certain body characteristics. From there, it's easy to make a case for losing weight and "curing" apnea.

I figure apnea is a "perfect storm" condition: in any one person, many factors contribute to it, and high BMI is only one.

As a matter of fact, if losing weight could get rid of apnea, I wouldn't be here. Plus, going forward, I'd be showing up here on a yo-yo schedule: every time I go on a diet and then put the pounds back on. It'd be like yo-yo apnea to go along with a yo-yo diet.

[Sleepster]

If the AHI were high but it somehow didn't decrease O2 levels there would be no medical reason to try to bring the AHI down.

Yes, there would. You could be waking up to breathe repeatedly before the oxygen level falls very low. This will prevent you from getting the deeper levels of sleep you need to be healthy.

[Sleepster]

I understand that a sleep study retest would provide the definitive answer, but could I use the idea of reducing pressure settings as an indication of when to get a retest?

At the lowest possible pressure of 4 cm you could see if you have a significant number of obstructive apneas or hypopneas. If you do, you know you need CPAP therapy. If you don't then only a sleep study would be able to give you a definitive determination.

[tmoody]

If the AHI were high but it somehow didn't decrease O2 levels there would be no medical reason to try to bring the AHI down.

Yes, there would. You could be waking up to breathe repeatedly before the oxygen level falls very low. This will prevent you from getting the deeper levels of sleep you need to be healthy.

Yes, my comment was ill-considered, and I retract it. O2 desaturation is not the whole story. For that matter, neither is apnea. PLMs and spontaneous arousals can be real disruptors too.