High HI Low AI - Bad Sinuses

General Discussion on any topic relating to CPAP and/or Sleep Apnea.
NewtoThis
Posts: 19
Joined: Tue Jan 02, 2018 11:37 pm

High HI Low AI - Bad Sinuses

Post by NewtoThis » Wed Jan 03, 2018 12:11 am

New to CPAP. 25 year old male around 220 pounds. I workout and eat healthy but since the age of about 18 I have felt EXHAUSTED all of the time. Went to several Dr's had blood drawn everything came back normal.

Started getting insomnia on top of it all and finally had a sleep study done. Only slept about 3 hours but the Dr. said I was having about 8 apneas an hour which isn't too bad but may cause symptoms. Eventually the Dr's office stopped working with me so I went out of pocket and bought a machine.

Since I started using the CPAP I've been much less tired throughout the day. I'm still having issues with falling asleep late and staying asleep but I do feel much better. I feel like I'm breathing better throughout the day. I'm not all slurry with my words. Don't have to lay down in my car three times throughout the day. Overall I think it's working.

I'm having some issues though. I have a deviated septum and bad sinuses on top of it. It's very hard for me to breath against the air pressure. Even the low pressures with EPR. It feels like I can't completely breath out and start taking smaller breaths. The nights I used afrin were MUUUCH better but my ENT told me to stop because of how addictive AFRIN is. Now I'm just using FLONASE but it doesn't help as much. ENT recommends I have surgery to open up my sinuses.

Also, it seems like my result numbers are good except for the HI. Could my sinuses be causing the higher number?

So, these are my numbers from the machine.

Machine: ResMed S8 Series Elite ii with humidifier - ResMed Mirage Micro Mask

12/30/17

Leak - .18L/s
AHI - 5.8
AI - .5
HI - 5.3
Usage - 3:36 hrs
Pressure - 10.00
EPR: Off
Humidity: 2

Note: Woke up with mask off and tucked away

12/31/17

Lost the data

1/1/18

Leak - .26L/s
AHI - 7.6
AI - .1
HI - 7.5
Usage - 5:06 hrs
CPAP - 9.00
EPP - Off
Humidity - 3

Note: Only slept about 5 hours

Monthly Averages

Leak - .12/s
AHI - 11.2
AI - 1.00
HI - 9.8
Usage - Varied - Some night would pull it off other nights made it through the whole night
CPAP - Varied - tried 9-12 on different nights
EPP - Varied - Tried 1-3 on different nights
Humidity - Varied

Why is my HI so high? Is this because I am having a hard time breathing against the pressure? Or something else? Would a face or oral mask be better suited for me?

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Pugsy
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Re: High HI Low AI - Bad Sinuses

Post by Pugsy » Wed Jan 03, 2018 4:46 am

How come your are using the S8 Elite model machine? It's been a discontinued machine since 2010.
How long have you been using it?
S8 model machines were notorious for reporting elevated hyponea numbers. You say you tried 9 to 12 cm settings...have you tried higher than 12?

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NewtoThis
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Joined: Tue Jan 02, 2018 11:37 pm

Re: High HI Low AI - Bad Sinuses

Post by NewtoThis » Wed Jan 03, 2018 5:11 am

Pugsy wrote:How come your are using the S8 Elite model machine? It's been a discontinued machine since 2010.
How long have you been using it?
S8 model machines were notorious for reporting elevated hyponea numbers. You say you tried 9 to 12 cm settings...have you tried higher than 12?
I bought a used one with less than 50 hours on it, with humidifier for 200 dollars.

I've been using it for almost a month.

No, it becomes VERY difficult for me to breath against the pressure. If my sinuses were open it wouldn't be a problem. What kinda of mask would you recommend?

Wouldn't more pressure make my breathing more shallow, if the cause of the shallow breathing is not being able to breath out against the mask?

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Pugsy
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Re: High HI Low AI - Bad Sinuses

Post by Pugsy » Wed Jan 03, 2018 5:58 am

Which mask are you using right now?

_________________
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Additional Comments: Mask Bleep Eclipse https://bleepsleep.com/the-eclipse/
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Julie
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Re: High HI Low AI - Bad Sinuses

Post by Julie » Wed Jan 03, 2018 6:04 am

And have you slept mostly on your sides or back? Back sleeping provokes many more events so doing whatever possible to avoid it happening (while you're asleep) is important.

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Pugsy
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Re: High HI Low AI - Bad Sinuses

Post by Pugsy » Wed Jan 03, 2018 6:05 am

The nasal congestion could maybe be affecting the hyponea count but it might also simply be the S8 machine.
I wish you had opted for a S9 instead.

More pressure could very well mean more difficulty exhaling against the pressure but that is usually what it takes to reduce the AHI.

_________________
Machine: AirCurve™ 10 VAuto BiLevel Machine with HumidAir™ Heated Humidifier
Additional Comments: Mask Bleep Eclipse https://bleepsleep.com/the-eclipse/
I may have to RISE but I refuse to SHINE.

If you want to try the Eclipse mask and want a special promo code to get a little off the price...send me a private message.

NewtoThis
Posts: 19
Joined: Tue Jan 02, 2018 11:37 pm

Re: High HI Low AI - Bad Sinuses

Post by NewtoThis » Wed Jan 03, 2018 12:42 pm

Pugsy wrote:Which mask are you using right now?

The nasal congestion could maybe be affecting the hyponea count but it might also simply be the S8 machine.
I wish you had opted for a S9 instead.

More pressure could very well mean more difficulty exhaling against the pressure but that is usually what it takes to reduce the AHI.

I'm using the mirage mirco nasal mask with headgear. What kind of mask is recommended if you have blocked sinuses? Since long term Afrin use isn't recommended.

I've heard the S8's overstate hypopnea and people recommend dividing the hypopnea count by 2. This would still seem to be an excessive amount in my case.

Numbers last night:

1/2/17 - Turned the pressure up to 12 and EPR 3. Tolerated it very well last night. Didn't feel too hard breathing against mask but HI went up....

Usage -- 6.57 hours
Leak -- .18L's
AHI -- 11.5
AI -- .5
HI -- 11.0
CPAP -- 12
EPR -- 3
Humidity -- 3-4

I'm trying to get a prescription. The sleep lab I was working with stopped working with me. I had two studies done but wasn't able to sleep to much both nights. Trying to find an online prescription.

Any recommendations on what to do? Is this anything to worry about?

NewtoThis
Posts: 19
Joined: Tue Jan 02, 2018 11:37 pm

Re: High HI Low AI - Bad Sinuses

Post by NewtoThis » Wed Jan 03, 2018 12:43 pm

Julie wrote:And have you slept mostly on your sides or back? Back sleeping provokes many more events so doing whatever possible to avoid it happening (while you're asleep) is important.
It's a mix of both. Side and back.

NewtoThis
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Joined: Tue Jan 02, 2018 11:37 pm

Re: High HI Low AI - Bad Sinuses

Post by NewtoThis » Wed Jan 03, 2018 11:23 pm

Bump.

Really confused about a few things if anybody can help out.

Elevated HI means there are times throughout the night where I am not breathing as deeply?

So what causes elevated HI? Assuming it's not the machine overestimating. What else causes this besides maybe sinus problems? And how does more pressure fix the problem if it might be cause me to breath more shallow?

Are these numbers even anything to worry about?

And does anybody have recommendations on a mask to buy?

I appreciate any replies.

Thank you.

NewtoThis
Posts: 19
Joined: Tue Jan 02, 2018 11:37 pm

Re: High HI Low AI - Bad Sinuses

Post by NewtoThis » Sat Jan 06, 2018 7:43 pm

Bump.

TedVPAP
Posts: 974
Joined: Sat Jun 12, 2010 10:29 am

Re: High HI Low AI - Bad Sinuses

Post by TedVPAP » Sat Jan 06, 2018 8:31 pm

NewtoThis wrote:New to CPAP. 25 year old male around 220 pounds. I workout and eat healthy but since the age of about 18 I have felt EXHAUSTED all of the time. Went to several Dr's had blood drawn everything came back normal.

Started getting insomnia on top of it all and finally had a sleep study done. Only slept about 3 hours but the Dr. said I was having about 8 apneas an hour which isn't too bad but may cause symptoms. Eventually the Dr's office stopped working with me so I went out of pocket and bought a machine.

Since I started using the CPAP I've been much less tired throughout the day. I'm still having issues with falling asleep late and staying asleep but I do feel much better. I feel like I'm breathing better throughout the day. I'm not all slurry with my words. Don't have to lay down in my car three times throughout the day. Overall I think it's working.

I'm having some issues though. I have a deviated septum and bad sinuses on top of it. It's very hard for me to breath against the air pressure. Even the low pressures with EPR. It feels like I can't completely breath out and start taking smaller breaths. The nights I used afrin were MUUUCH better but my ENT told me to stop because of how addictive AFRIN is. Now I'm just using FLONASE but it doesn't help as much. ENT recommends I have surgery to open up my sinuses.

Also, it seems like my result numbers are good except for the HI. Could my sinuses be causing the higher number?

So, these are my numbers from the machine.

Machine: ResMed S8 Series Elite ii with humidifier - ResMed Mirage Micro Mask

12/30/17

Leak - .18L/s
AHI - 5.8
AI - .5
HI - 5.3
Usage - 3:36 hrs
Pressure - 10.00
EPR: Off
Humidity: 2

Note: Woke up with mask off and tucked away

12/31/17

Lost the data

1/1/18

Leak - .26L/s
AHI - 7.6
AI - .1
HI - 7.5
Usage - 5:06 hrs
CPAP - 9.00
EPP - Off
Humidity - 3

Note: Only slept about 5 hours

Monthly Averages

Leak - .12/s
AHI - 11.2
AI - 1.00
HI - 9.8
Usage - Varied - Some night would pull it off other nights made it through the whole night
CPAP - Varied - tried 9-12 on different nights
EPP - Varied - Tried 1-3 on different nights
Humidity - Varied

Why is my HI so high? Is this because I am having a hard time breathing against the pressure? Or something else? Would a face or oral mask be better suited for me?
If you have a deviated septum and your ENT recommends surgery, I would do it. I did when I was 17. Nasal breathing is preferred.

_________________
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nawchem
Posts: 82
Joined: Fri Jan 05, 2018 10:22 pm

Re: High HI Low AI - Bad Sinuses

Post by nawchem » Sat Jan 06, 2018 9:20 pm

I'm just talking about sinuses. I have a very old C-Flex machine. It lowers the pressure when you inhale and I liked it much more than regular cpap. They don't even make that machine so I won't go into details. I thought newer machines would be improved with that.

I had sinus surgery for deviated septum, turbinates. It really helped my sinuses, I breath better and the surgery was pretty minor. I took tylenol a few times. The only risk is that they don't stitch up nose so you have to be careful not to bend down and put pressure on your nose or it can start a bleed.
Machine: Dream Station APAP by Resporonics
Mask: Resmed Airfit P10

NewtoThis
Posts: 19
Joined: Tue Jan 02, 2018 11:37 pm

Re: High HI Low AI - Bad Sinuses

Post by NewtoThis » Sun Jan 07, 2018 2:52 am

TedVPAP wrote:
If you have a deviated septum and your ENT recommends surgery, I would do it. I did when I was 17. Nasal breathing is preferred.
[/quote]

It just doesn't bother me all that much other than the CPAP mask. Im considering it though while I have the insurance.

NewtoThis
Posts: 19
Joined: Tue Jan 02, 2018 11:37 pm

Re: High HI Low AI - Bad Sinuses

Post by NewtoThis » Sun Jan 07, 2018 2:55 am

nawchem wrote:I'm just talking about sinuses. I have a very old C-Flex machine. It lowers the pressure when you inhale and I liked it much more than regular cpap. They don't even make that machine so I won't go into details. I thought newer machines would be improved with that.

I had sinus surgery for deviated septum, turbinates. It really helped my sinuses, I breath better and the surgery was pretty minor. I took tylenol a few times. The only risk is that they don't stitch up nose so you have to be careful not to bend down and put pressure on your nose or it can start a bleed.
Oohh that sounds uncomfortable. No working out for a while sounds like. Did ever have issues with higher HI?

NewtoThis
Posts: 19
Joined: Tue Jan 02, 2018 11:37 pm

Re: High HI Low AI - Bad Sinuses

Post by NewtoThis » Sun Jan 07, 2018 2:57 am

Anyone else have a solution for the hi HI? I've increases the pressure as high as 15 and turned off EPR but the HI is still averaging 7.00-8.00

Is this anything to worry about?

Edit -

I'm trying to use the search function as well but I can't find too much information on high HI levels.