How many events per night is acceptable?

[msradar65]

I am curious as to how many events per night is acceptable. I seem to average about 4 apneas and 2 hypopneas and 1 central a night.

Is this acceptable or should I be looking at tweaking my therapy a little?

Here are my readings for the last month
AHI- 0.6
Hypopnea index- 0.2
Leaks- median is 0.0
95% percentile is 10.2
Max is 21.0

[Janknitz]

It looks great, but the real question is how do you feel?

Ideally, the total AHI should be below 5. Most people feel best under 2, but under 5 is considered "acceptable". At 0.6 you are doing very well!!!

It's important to understand, though, that the numbers are a guideline, nothing more. How you feel is the most important.

Some people get REALLY hung up in the numbers and try to get a 0 AHI for the night. It happens to some of us occasionally, but there's no reason to work to get 0 all the time.

[msradar65]

I actually feel good. Though since starting CPAP I have gained 20 lbs...not the direction I want to go in...which in turn is causing me more joint pain......So I am seeing a Chirpractor tomorrow to see if some Eastern medicine can help be get this weight back off and feel even better.

[roster]

I actually feel good. Though since starting CPAP I have gained 20 lbs...not the direction I want to go in...which in turn is causing me more joint pain......So I am seeing a Chirpractor tomorrow to see if some Eastern medicine can help be get this weight back off and feel even better.

Go read the low-carb thread that is currently being discussed. -> viewtopic/t63813/low-carb-diet.html

[rested gal]

I am curious as to how many events per night is acceptable. I seem to average about 4 apneas and 2 hypopneas and 1 central a night.

Is this acceptable or should I be looking at tweaking my therapy a little?

Here are my readings for the last month
AHI- 0.6
Hypopnea index- 0.2
Leaks- median is 0.0
95% percentile is 10.2
Max is 21.0

That's better than "acceptable" ... that's great!! Doesn't look to me as if your therapy needs any tweaking at all.

Bear in mind that it's possible for "CPAP" to be doing its part of the job like a champ -- keeping the airway open for easy breathing during sleep -- but a person can STILL feel tired, wornout, fatigued, sleepy. There can be many other health issues or sleep hygiene issues that can keep a person from feeling good even if CPAP is doing its job great.

If that's the case, we have to be our own detectives, and enlist the help of doctors to find out what other health issues might still make us feel sleepy or tired when our CPAP treatment is going wonderfully well.

Glad to see you're getting such good numbers, msradar. That's one piece of the puzzle toward "feeling good" in place. And a really important one for future health reasons.

[msradar65]

I did learn one thing along the way. My night terrors are caused by my apnea!!! Now I never had them before going on CPAP. I was always a very vivid dreamer and would remember all my dreams. My dreams became my best friend...they guide me...if you know what I mean.

Then about a month after I started on CPAP I started having night terrors. The whole screaming, thrashing, out the bed standing, sweating, soaking wet, out of breath, wild eyed, scared to death type of night terrors. After the second one where I nearly choked my poor partner. I made a trip to the doctor. He increased my dose of elavil and said give it some time and see you in a few months. I see him again in June.

I had one more night terror since then on Elavil, but not nearly has bad as the two previous ones. Then while visiting my partner, he asked that I not mask up until he is asleep. Well, I fell asleep and had another night terror and kicked crap out of him. He said it was very scary!!

So I have learned that apnea is no longer my friend...and neither are night terrors. I do think my partner has figured out that for his safety my mask needs to be on every night.

Who knows maybe somewhere along this journey I might actually be able to to talk him into treating his severe sleep apnea.