Importance of low AHI...

How important is it too have a low AHI with CPAP therapy? It seems like people on this board report they "feel terrible" when their AHI is above like 1 or 2 but I find that hard to believe and think they feel crappy for other reasons. I would jump for joy if my AHI was that low.

My AHI is almost always around 9-10 and I do not feel terrible or crappy most days, I pretty much feel fine. Is this really different for every person? My doctor has said before that the AHI isn't that important if I am feeling okay.

Thanks,
Joel

All other things being equal (which they're not in the real world) the lower the number the better. If it is zero, that's considered "perfect." This is different from other things in medicine (such as blood pressure, bloody sugar, or weight) which can go too low.

I think some of it has to do with the concentration of AHI's. If mine are scattered throughout the night I am OK. Some nights my AHI's will be 16-25 for the last couple of hours and I do not feel good.

To be truthful with you, I can't see much difference in how I feel if my AHI is less than 1 or more than 4. I get the same amount of sleep almost every night (7 to 8 hours and feel the same no matter .what my AHI is for the night. Some people can tell the difference if their AHI goes above a certain point, but I can't. As long as your AHI value is reasonable and you feel good, your doing fine.

9-10 is too high. Below 5 is the arbitrary # doctors supposedly want you to be at, but in practice below 3 seems to be the cut-off for good therapy vs so-so, and the majority seem to feel better at those levels as well. Aiming for zero every night is unrealistic and pointless, but your numbers are outside of the 'maybe' range and you should look into what's what either with Sleepyhead or some other way as you're obviously not getting full treatment, though maybe so used to it by now that you don't realize it.

joeljjk11 wrote: ↑

Wed Apr 11, 2018 1:21 pm

How important is it too have a low AHI with CPAP therapy? It seems like people on this board report they "feel terrible" when their AHI is above like 1 or 2 but I find that hard to believe and think they feel crappy for other reasons.

You'd be wrong in your assumption. My AHI is typically under 0.5 if it's as high as 2, then I feel worse the next day.

your 9 or 10 is completely unacceptable. that's worse than many people's untreated apnea.

Let me say it one more time...........how you feel is not the only consideration. Your ahi is high enough that you are still at higher risk for heart attack and stroke among other things. When you starve your brain of oxygen bad things happen.
Stop judging your therapy on how you think you feel. Sometimes you dont know how bad you felt until you ACTUALLY feel better.
I honestly dont feel less tired on cpap. I haven't for a long time. But I have other issues. I am not currently using cpap to feel better, I am using it to live longer. Otherwise, why even bother?

My friend had a treated AHI of 9 after a year and the doctor told him he was doing great.
I helped him get his AHI to 2 and is feeling much better.

I have no data to back it up, but I think age makes a big difference. Being young can mask many issues.
My AHI of 60 was measured when I was 45 when it was starting to disable me. Meanwhile I know I had OSA since my teens but I was able to ignore it.

Hi Joel,
I think that if your goal is to feel okay then your doctor is right. An AHI of 9-10 should be okay.
In my opinion, if your goal is to feel good or great you should try to improve your untreated AHI as well as your treated AHI.
If you haven't gone through the process of trying to 'optimize' your treatment with Pugsy and friends, you might find you can improve your treated AHI and how you feel, even though it is only a bit.
I agree with you that I don't think it is possible to determine a couple of points on your treated AHI by how you feel.

Mogy wrote: ↑

Wed Apr 11, 2018 9:01 pm

Hi Joel,
I think that if your goal is to feel okay then your doctor is right. An AHI of 9-10 should be okay.

You think a lot of controversial things... like "you're ok to have a night where someone pokes you with a stick every 6 minutes... all night long".

That's what an AHI of 10 is like.

joeljjk11 wrote: ↑

Wed Apr 11, 2018 1:21 pm

How important is it too have a low AHI with CPAP therapy? It seems like people on this board report they "feel terrible" when their AHI is above like 1 or 2 but I find that hard to believe and think they feel crappy for other reasons. I would jump for joy if my AHI was that low.

My AHI is almost always around 9-10 and I do not feel terrible or crappy most days, I pretty much feel fine. Is this really different for every person? My doctor has said before that the AHI isn't that important if I am feeling okay.

Thanks,
Joel

mine is usually in the 20-30/hour range AHI....disgusting really. I am tired lately and having trouble staying asleep. Woke at 3 am this morning. ugh.

appointment Friday to get results of my recent sleep study...

palerider wrote: ↑

Wed Apr 11, 2018 10:11 pm

Mogy wrote: ↑

Wed Apr 11, 2018 9:01 pm

Hi Joel,
I think that if your goal is to feel okay then your doctor is right. An AHI of 9-10 should be okay.

You think a lot of controversial things... like "you're ok to have a night where someone pokes you with a stick every 6 minutes... all night long".

That's what an AHI of 10 is like.

oh great. I've been being poked with a stick........I am terrible at math but I know that 20 -30 ahi is a LOT OF POKES sigh

every 3 minutes.

and, that's at the 20 AHI....30? even worse.
Now I'm REAALLLY tired

Barb (Seattle) wrote: ↑

Thu Apr 12, 2018 6:46 am

every 3 minutes.

and, that's at the 20 AHI....30? even worse.
Now I'm REAALLLY tired

You joined this board 13 years ago...if you have been on CPAP for 13 years and can't get your AHI below 20..something is wrong with you, your machine, your supplier or your doctor.

I've been on machine 6 weeks and went from 54.8 to 5.2 to 5.8. I see my sleep doctor in two weeks to discuss my treatment.
Still feel extreme fatigue. Has anyone seen large improvement going from ahi 5 to ahi 1? I'm starting to think I have other health issues causing fatigue. I find it hard to fall asleep and no naps during day. Will continue using cpap because it can't hurt and makes sense....thinking of asking primary Doctor to check my thyroid .