What is your AHI?

General Discussion on any topic relating to CPAP and/or Sleep Apnea.
joeljjk11
Posts: 365
Joined: Wed Apr 22, 2015 6:40 am

What is your AHI?

Post by joeljjk11 » Wed May 20, 2015 1:47 pm

Hi - I just had an appointment with my sleep doctor and she said my AHI was far too high, along with me also having central apnea. She adjusted some settings on my machine and I am hoping it helps. Last night my AHI was 13.3, she said it should be 5 or lower.

What is your AHI usually? I am new to CPAP treatment so I did not know that it should be much lower.

Joel

User avatar
palerider
Posts: 32300
Joined: Wed Dec 16, 2009 5:43 pm
Location: Dallas(ish).

Re: What is your AHI?

Post by palerider » Wed May 20, 2015 1:51 pm

joeljjk11 wrote:What is your AHI usually? I am new to CPAP treatment so I did not know that it should be much lower.
13.3 is horrible, 5 is pretty crap. I'm not happy unless mine is < 2, preferably < 1.5. last nights was .54

_________________
Mask: Bleep DreamPort CPAP Mask Solution
Additional Comments: S9 VPAP Auto
Get OSCAR

Accounts to put on the foe list: dataq1, clownbell, gearchange, lynninnj, mper!?, DreamDiver, Geer1, almostadoctor, sleepgeek, ajack, stom, mogy, D.H., They often post misleading, timewasting stuff.

User avatar
kteague
Posts: 7768
Joined: Tue May 16, 2006 8:30 pm
Location: West and Midwest

Re: What is your AHI?

Post by kteague » Wed May 20, 2015 1:54 pm

In general, <5 is considered acceptable. I personally want to see mine closer to 1. The idea is to achieve the best results with the least problems. Some settle for a little higher AHI if higher pressure cause problems. Ideally you can watch your machine data and adjustments can be made to optimize treatment. Do you know if your doctor looked at detailed machine data or just the AHI breakdown?

_________________
Mask: TAP PAP Nasal Pillow CPAP Mask with Improved Stability Mouthpiece
Humidifier: S9™ Series H5i™ Heated Humidifier with Climate Control
Additional Comments: Bleep/DreamPort for full nights, Tap Pap for shorter sessions

User avatar
kaiasgram
Posts: 3568
Joined: Sat Jun 02, 2012 2:08 pm
Location: Northern California

Re: What is your AHI?

Post by kaiasgram » Wed May 20, 2015 2:05 pm

joeljjk11 wrote:Hi - I just had an appointment with my sleep doctor and she said my AHI was far too high, along with me also having central apnea. She adjusted some settings on my machine and I am hoping it helps. Last night my AHI was 13.3, she said it should be 5 or lower.

What is your AHI usually? I am new to CPAP treatment so I did not know that it should be much lower.

Joel
Joel, what is your actual diagnosis? You mention central apnea above -- there is a difference between having some central apnea events (a certain number are not necessarily a big concern), and a diagnosis of central sleep apnea (CSA).

What were your pressure settings before the adjustment, and what are they now?

When central apneas do become a significant problem the issue becomes not just what the pressure settings are, but what machine should the patient be using. If you post your AHI event breakdown -- A (obstructive apneas), H (hypopneas), and CA (central or clear-airway apneas) we can give you more and better feedback. Your machine has all this information available. Let us know if you need help accessing the data on your machine.

_________________
Machine: AirSense 10 AutoSet with Heated Humidifer + Aifit N30i Nasal Mask Bundle
Mask: Aloha Nasal Pillow CPAP Mask with Headgear
Additional Comments: SleepyHead-now-OSCAR software on Mac OSX Ventura

User avatar
palerider
Posts: 32300
Joined: Wed Dec 16, 2009 5:43 pm
Location: Dallas(ish).

Re: What is your AHI?

Post by palerider » Wed May 20, 2015 2:09 pm

kteague wrote:In general, <5 is considered acceptable.
for what it's worth, I'd say that <5 is *medically* acceptable, but, that still means you're getting roused from sleep on average every 12 minutes,... and that's pretty crap.

as with most things, we strive to do better than what's 'good enough' for the doctors

_________________
Mask: Bleep DreamPort CPAP Mask Solution
Additional Comments: S9 VPAP Auto
Get OSCAR

Accounts to put on the foe list: dataq1, clownbell, gearchange, lynninnj, mper!?, DreamDiver, Geer1, almostadoctor, sleepgeek, ajack, stom, mogy, D.H., They often post misleading, timewasting stuff.

User avatar
Bill44133
Posts: 1087
Joined: Tue Jul 09, 2013 8:34 pm
Location: North Royalton, OH

Re: What is your AHI?

Post by Bill44133 » Wed May 20, 2015 2:53 pm

Last night my AHI was 0.84. AHI of 13 is terrible.. You need to address this.. What kind of events are you having?

_________________
Machine: DreamStation BiPAP® Auto Machine
Mask: Zzz-Mask Full Face CPAP Mask with Headgear
Humidifier: DreamStation Heated Humidifier
Additional Comments: Settings are IPap 23 EPap 19

Cardsfan
Posts: 1509
Joined: Wed Apr 29, 2015 3:02 pm
Location: Close to St. Louis, MO

Re: What is your AHI?

Post by Cardsfan » Wed May 20, 2015 3:22 pm

I average most nights less than 1. I have gone up to 2.5 as my highest one time when trying a diferent mask (pillow type).
My DME therapist said I am doing really well.

_________________
Machine: ResMed AirSense™ 10 AutoSet™ CPAP Machine with HumidAir™ Heated Humidifier
Mask: AirFit™ P10 For Her Nasal Pillow CPAP Mask with Headgear
Additional Comments:  CPAP 10 cmH20., User since 1/1/15.

User avatar
hobbs
Posts: 872
Joined: Thu Jan 31, 2008 9:00 pm

Re: What is your AHI?

Post by hobbs » Wed May 20, 2015 3:33 pm

Average between .1 & .3

User avatar
Sir NoddinOff
Posts: 4190
Joined: Mon May 14, 2012 5:30 pm
Location: California

Re: What is your AHI?

Post by Sir NoddinOff » Wed May 20, 2015 4:14 pm

hobbs wrote:Average between .1 & .3
Ditto, but I can go all the way up to 0.8

_________________
Mask: AirFit™ F10 Full Face Mask with Headgear
Additional Comments: Sleepyhead software v.0.9.8.1 Open GL and Encore Pro v2.2.
I like my ResMed AirFit F10 FFM - reasonably low leaks for my ASV therapy. I'm currently using a PR S1 AutoSV 960P Advanced. I also keep a ResMed S9 Adapt as backup. I use a heated Hibernite hose. Still rockin' with Win 7 by using GWX to stop Win 10.

joeljjk11
Posts: 365
Joined: Wed Apr 22, 2015 6:40 am

Re: What is your AHI?

Post by joeljjk11 » Wed May 20, 2015 5:10 pm

kteague wrote:In general, <5 is considered acceptable. I personally want to see mine closer to 1. The idea is to achieve the best results with the least problems. Some settle for a little higher AHI if higher pressure cause problems. Ideally you can watch your machine data and adjustments can be made to optimize treatment. Do you know if your doctor looked at detailed machine data or just the AHI breakdown?
Joel, what is your actual diagnosis? You mention central apnea above -- there is a difference between having some central apnea events (a certain number are not necessarily a big concern), and a diagnosis of central sleep apnea (CSA).

What were your pressure settings before the adjustment, and what are they now?

When central apneas do become a significant problem the issue becomes not just what the pressure settings are, but what machine should the patient be using. If you post your AHI event breakdown -- A (obstructive apneas), H (hypopneas), and CA (central or clear-airway apneas) we can give you more and better feedback. Your machine has all this information available. Let us know if you need help accessing the data on your machine.
Hi - my doctor plugged my SD Card into their computer and I would assume she looked at detailed data. I could not see the monitor. She said I had some central apnea (I believe she said 5 as a number). My machine shows 1 for Central and 9 or so for Obstructive apnea. My doctor also turned off the ramp feature and adjusted my pressure settings so that I start out at a higher pressure.

She changed my pressure from 10-19 so since this is a range won't it still 'ramp' up from 10? I am honestly not sure how it works really. She also said that I may have to switch to a different machine and she is thinking I have more complex apnea than just obstructive.

Do you think her changing the settings will lower my AHI?

User avatar
Uncle Flapp
Posts: 247
Joined: Thu Nov 14, 2013 2:24 pm
Location: Arizona

Re: What is your AHI?

Post by Uncle Flapp » Wed May 20, 2015 5:30 pm

It's probably apples and oranges since I have CompSA and am on ASV but my AHI averages between 1 and 2 with 99% being HYP.

- Flappy

_________________
Mask: AirFit™ P10 Nasal Pillow CPAP Mask with Headgear
Additional Comments: Dreamstation ASV. UPPP in 2007; Untreated AHI 84

User avatar
Wulfman...
Posts: 6688
Joined: Mon Sep 01, 2014 6:41 pm
Location: Nearest fishing spot

Re: What is your AHI?

Post by Wulfman... » Wed May 20, 2015 6:29 pm

joeljjk11 wrote:Hi - I just had an appointment with my sleep doctor and she said my AHI was far too high, along with me also having central apnea. She adjusted some settings on my machine and I am hoping it helps. Last night my AHI was 13.3, she said it should be 5 or lower.

What is your AHI usually? I am new to CPAP treatment so I did not know that it should be much lower.

Joel
How long have you been using this therapy?
What are your settings? (ALL of them)
Are you using software to monitor your own therapy? (doesn't sound like it)

And, if you're Central Apnea was known by them when they prescribed your machine and settings, it sounds like you may have the wrong machine (if your Centrals are significant).


Den

.
(5) REMstar Autos w/C-Flex & (6) REMstar Pro 2 CPAPs w/C-Flex - Pressure Setting = 14 cm.
"Passover" Humidification - ResMed Ultra Mirage FF - Encore Pro w/Card Reader & MyEncore software - Chiroflow pillow
User since 05/14/05

User avatar
kaiasgram
Posts: 3568
Joined: Sat Jun 02, 2012 2:08 pm
Location: Northern California

Re: What is your AHI?

Post by kaiasgram » Wed May 20, 2015 10:11 pm

joeljjk11 wrote:
kaiasgram wrote:Joel, what is your actual diagnosis? You mention central apnea above -- there is a difference between having some central apnea events (a certain number are not necessarily a big concern), and a diagnosis of central sleep apnea (CSA).

What were your pressure settings before the adjustment, and what are they now?

When central apneas do become a significant problem the issue becomes not just what the pressure settings are, but what machine should the patient be using. If you post your AHI event breakdown -- A (obstructive apneas), H (hypopneas), and CA (central or clear-airway apneas) we can give you more and better feedback. Your machine has all this information available. Let us know if you need help accessing the data on your machine.
Hi - my doctor plugged my SD Card into their computer and I would assume she looked at detailed data. I could not see the monitor. She said I had some central apnea (I believe she said 5 as a number). My machine shows 1 for Central and 9 or so for Obstructive apnea. My doctor also turned off the ramp feature and adjusted my pressure settings so that I start out at a higher pressure.

She changed my pressure from 10-19 so since this is a range won't it still 'ramp' up from 10? I am honestly not sure how it works really. She also said that I may have to switch to a different machine and she is thinking I have more complex apnea than just obstructive.

Do you think her changing the settings will lower my AHI?
There seems to be some confusion here -- Are you saying that your pressure was 10 and your doctor increased it to 19? Or is 10-19 the new pressure range (10 Minimum, 19 Maximum)? If it's the new range, what were your pressure settings before the doc adjusted them?

Complex apnea (CompSA) can develop when positive airway pressure (PAP) starts causing central apnea events. If your doctor suspects this is what's happening for you, then I'm not sure why she would start you out at a higher pressure and raise the maximum pressure to 19. Higher pressure can worsen centrals.

I'm going to assume that your doctor meant that 5 is your Central apnea Index (hourly average), not the total number of centrals. That is not insignificant. Neither is the 13.3 AHI that your doctor mentioned. And the numbers you're seeing on your machine are not low numbers -- the machine is displaying your hourly index, not the total number of events for the night. An obstructive apnea index of 9 is not low. If the central apnea index of 1 was a typical night for you we would not be overly concerned, but your doc was looking at higher central index numbers and mentioned 5 to you, and she is wondering if yours is a case of CompSA.

The best thing to do at this time would be to get SleepyHead set up: https://sleep.tnet.com/resources/sleepyhead Post a screenshot like the example you'll see on the website I linked to. Also post the Statistics page which will show us your pressure settings and the changes to those settings, as well as leak and AHI information since you started using your machine, like below. It's worth doing especially since you may have a more complicated case -- you will appreciate feeling more on top of what's going on with your apnea and your therapy.

Image

_________________
Machine: AirSense 10 AutoSet with Heated Humidifer + Aifit N30i Nasal Mask Bundle
Mask: Aloha Nasal Pillow CPAP Mask with Headgear
Additional Comments: SleepyHead-now-OSCAR software on Mac OSX Ventura

User avatar
photonic
Posts: 261
Joined: Fri Jun 27, 2014 7:42 pm

Re: What is your AHI?

Post by photonic » Thu May 21, 2015 7:17 am

Uncle Flapp wrote:It's probably apples and oranges since I have CompSA and am on ASV but my AHI averages between 1 and 2 with 99% being HYP.

- Flappy
My situation as well. Though sometimes I will have a string below 1.0.
ResMed AirCurve 10 ASV
8 years with F&P Oracle mouth mask now changing to
F&P Evora Full with S-M size
Hozer hose management device (a miracle!)
OSCAR software

User avatar
LSAT
Posts: 13229
Joined: Sun Nov 16, 2008 10:11 am
Location: SE Wisconsin

Re: What is your AHI?

Post by LSAT » Thu May 21, 2015 8:37 am

My AHI varies between 1.0 and 2.5. In my 6+ years on CPAP I have been below 1.0 only about 10 times. It doesn't bother me a bit. Most of my events are HI and CAs.

_________________
Machine: ResMed AirSense™ 10 AutoSet™ CPAP Machine with HumidAir™ Heated Humidifier
Mask: Fisher & Paykel Vitera Full Face Mask with Headgear (S, M, or L Cushion)
Additional Comments: Back up is S9 Autoset...... Buckwheat hull pillow