data 101

If my sleepyhead data says the following: AHI 1.91, Hypopena .48, Apena 0, Obstructive .48, Clear Airway .95, what does this exactly mean? And why do I still feel so bad? I've gone from auto to straight cpap as I have been told I am pressure sensitive, and feel somewhat better, but this has been going on way too long.
Thanks for any feedback given.

portiemom wrote:If my sleepyhead data says the following: AHI 1.91, Hypopena .48, Apena 0, Obstructive .48, Clear Airway .95, what does this exactly mean?

AHI = 1.91. Your machine detected an average of 1.91 apneas and hypopneas per hour the machine was running. In other words, for each hour the machine was on, it detected an average of 2 events.

Hypopnea = .48. Your machine detected an average of .48 hypopneas per hour the machine was running. In other words, the machine was on, it detected an average of one hypopnea for every two hours the machine was on.

Apena 0: I think you mean Unspecified Apnea here since you are using an S9. This means your machine didn't detect any apneas for which it could not determine the type. You only get an Unspecified Apnea when the S9 detects an apnea AND the results of the FOT algorithm are inconclusive---i.e. the machine can't determine whether the apnea was an OA or a CA.

Obstructive = .48. Your machine detected an average of .48 obstructive apneas per hour the machine was running. In other words, the machine was on, it detected an average of one OA for every two hours the machine was on. An obstructive apnea is one where your upper airway has collapsed. The S9 uses an algorithm called the FOT algorithm to determine whether your upper airway is open or collapsed. The FOT involves lots and lots of little changes in pressure. The FOT algorithm kicks in about 5 or 6 seconds after the S9 detects no air flow into or out of your lungs.

Clear Airway .95. Your machine detected an average of .98 clear airway apneas per hour the machine was running. In other words, the machine was on, it detected an average of one CA for every hour the machine was on. An clear apnea is one where your upper airway is still open---or clear. It's not uncommon to have a few CAs every now and then. But if you start to get significant clusters of them OR if your CA index starts to approach 5.0 and stays there night after night, then it's time to mention it to the sleep doc.

And why do I still feel so bad? I've gone from auto to straight cpap as I have been told I am pressure sensitive, and feel somewhat better, but this has been going on way too long.
Thanks for any feedback given.

I wish I could answer your question. God knows I asked the same question multiple times here during my first six to eight months on therapy.

I can only speculate: Since you say you've been told that you are pressure sensitive, your body may simply be taking a much longer time to learn that all the new sensory stuff it's dealing with night after night is all right. In other words, you may still be sleeping very lightly and "on guard" so to speak because of all the newness of the CPAP stuff and all the intense sensory stuff that your body never had to deal with before. And as long as you are still sleeping "on guard", it's difficult to actually get the deep restorative sleep your mind intellectually knows the CPAP can help provide. It took my body and mind at least six months of sleeping with the machine every night before it started to really relax when I went to bed and went to sleep. And before I managed to really learn (at some kind of very basic, physical level) that it was ok for my mind to completely relax with the hose on my nose, I would wake up feeling like I'd run a marathon in my sleep, but my AHI numbers were fantastic.

Now that my body has learned to accept all the sensory stimuli coming from BiPAP therapy as "nonthreatening" and "normal", the machine, the pressure, the hose, the mask, and all the rest of it bother me a lot less. I still find I can't stand to lie in bed for more than about 15 minutes while awake. But now if I go to bed when I'm sleepy, I fall asleep within 15 minutes. That was not happening during my first difficult six months of therapy.

Robysue, thank you for the explaination, I've been on cpap for 6 almost 7 years, but gave up on the data many years ago, as I was still feeling so drained and not really understanding what it all means. I stopped going to the sleep doctors who just kept saying, "well you should be feeling better!" I have been compliant 100 percent of the time except I really just found it more stressful to try and understand the data. How would I know if the CA's were in clusters or not, reading the graphs are so confusing to me.
Thanks for your help.

What is your pressure setting?

The numbers indicate your CPAP is working just fine, as far as can be told from the numbers. The numbers aren't everything, though. Usually the numbers err on the side of caution and, if anything they will report higher than your "actual" apenea rate.

Does it say anything about "flow limitation?"

Perhaps you have some problems other than apnea. Even if you have apnea, it doesn't mean you can't suffer from other medical problems. Patients and doctors tend to focus in on one particular medical problem and may not see other conditions with similar symptoms.

If you had a sleep study, do you remember what the results were, especially AHI?

What particular way do you feel bad? Do you have any particular problems while sleeping?

portiemom wrote: How would I know if the CA's were in clusters or not, reading the graphs are so confusing to me.
Thanks for your help.

In Sleepy Head, if you click on the events tab in the sidebar on the left of the graphs, you can find out exactly how many of each type of event the machine recorded. Then just look at the tick marks in the event table and count them. If they're not all distinct or if a bunch of them are all piled up on top of each other, you have a cluster.

Robysue, thank you for the explaination, I've been on cpap for 6 almost 7 years, but gave up on the data many years ago, as I was still feeling so drained and not really understanding what it all means.

I can't imagine using CPAP for 6 or 7 years and feeling no improvement AND having no data. Or did you finally feel a bit better, but then things got worse again when you switched to the new machine?

Do you have any other health issues that could lead to fatigue and or sleepiness?

And what's your sleep hygiene look like?

What meds are you now on? I know you stopped the Naproxen didn't you?

I forget which other meds you are taking but if I remember right some had the "fatigue" "sleepiness"
side effects.

Sometimes a perfect AHI doesn't lead to "perfect" feeling. I sure wish it did.
Body aches, pain? Bed comfort? There is a huge list of things that affect how we feel. Other health issues? Vitamin D level? I think you said your thyroid has been tested and is okay.