Changed my EPAP number

I've been using a pressure of 10/22 and just changed it to 11/22. The first time I changed a number myself. Not sure how the DME is going to like that because she really has been working with me, but she's been out sick this week and I felt I needed to do something. I used new numbers last night and the results this morning were:
AHIApnea / Hypopnea Index 5.58
Hypopnea 2.16
Obstructive Apnea 1.44
Clear Airway Apnea 1.98
RERAResp. Effort Related Arousal 0.18
Flow Limitation 1.98
Vibratory Snore 0.90
PB/CSRPeriodic Breathing 1.71%

I'm very pleased with the OA, but everything else is higher. Not sure what that means.

Tomorrow I go to the neurologist about that white spot on my brain. I just discovered I'm not seeing the doctor I thought I was seeing and this doctor -- I can't find him listed anywhere. Oh well. I am doing my best to think positivie thoughts. Maybe I will be surprised - but I've already been told he isn't really good.

I'm anxious to see what my numbers are tomorrow

Discovered that my ENT doesn't want to really manage my OSA, but will schedule my sleep study for May. So, I guess I don't really have a doctor. But then, it seems many of you don't have a doctor that overseess things that much. Thank God, you all are here!

macewa wrote:I'm very pleased with the OA, but everything else is higher. Not sure what that means.

Those other numbers aren't high enough to worry about right now. They will vary almost every night anyway...change or no change.

Give the new change a few nights to see what happens. Look like this is the right direction to go.
If you remove the Central Index... 3.6 obstructive index is left which is acceptable....maybe like to see it a tiny bit lower but you know me...always wanting a teeny tiny change...to make things perfect. You are very close to finding your "sweet spot".

I'm only getting there because of you and this board. I figure I will give the new numbers until Monday and see. I was at 17/22 on straight or regular BiPap and it was miserable. But I can see that the auto is a bit easier to deal with. I don't think I'll have to go up to the 17 and that thought is exciting! What I came to realize today is that I'm pretty much on my own with all of this. I'm just lucky that my DME person is wonderful and works with me and seems to have a grasp on things.

By the way, when I was in my ENTs office today I was told that an AHI of 5 was what they aimed for in children but that in adults an AHI of 10 was considered good. ????

Pugsy wrote:

macewa wrote:I'm very pleased with the OA, but everything else is higher. Not sure what that means.

Those other numbers aren't high enough to worry about right now. They will vary almost every night anyway...change or no change.

Give the new change a few nights to see what happens. Look like this is the right direction to go.
If you remove the Central Index... 3.6 obstructive index is left which is acceptable....maybe like to see it a tiny bit lower but you know me...always wanting a teeny tiny change...to make things perfect. You are very close to finding your "sweet spot".

macewa wrote:By the way, when I was in my ENTs office today I was told that an AHI of 5 was what they aimed for in children but that in adults an AHI of 10 was considered good.

Hi,

That doesn't match what several doctors have told me. 5 is considered to be "good". In reality, everyone is different. I aim for an AHI in the 1.0 to 1.2 range, and if I am above 2.0, I feel like a zombie the next day. The real test is how you feel. If you feel good, then it really doesn't matter too much what your numbers are. If you don't feel good, then it is time to make a change, possibly starting with a change in your doctor.

-john-

macewa wrote: was told that an AHI of 5 was what they aimed for in children but that in adults an AHI of 10 was considered good. ????

I suppose that is "okay" on paper for someone who is just looking at the numbers and better than 60 AHI pre cpap...but back when I was starting on the machine and my pressure was too low I had AHI 8 to 10 and absolutely felt horrible and if I hadn't figured out how to get that AHI reduced, I sure wouldn't have put up with all this stuff every night only to feel that bad every day.
The machine would have ended up in the closet for sure.
I would bet money that if a doctor was actually using cpap...that he/she wouldn't be happy with an AHI of 10 and still feeling like crap.

Just another example of someone with zero practical knowledge and pretty much zero common sense having a half an idea how something on paper relates to real life.

Happy to tell both of you that I told her it was my understanding that even an adult needed an AHI of 5 or less.

Pugsy wrote:

macewa wrote: was told that an AHI of 5 was what they aimed for in children but that in adults an AHI of 10 was considered good. ????

I suppose that is "okay" on paper for someone who is just looking at the numbers and better than 60 AHI pre cpap...but back when I was starting on the machine and my pressure was too low I had AHI 8 to 10 and absolutely felt horrible and if I hadn't figured out how to get that AHI reduced, I sure wouldn't have put up with all this stuff every night only to feel that bad every day.
The machine would have ended up in the closet for sure.
I would bet money that if a doctor was actually using cpap...that he/she wouldn't be happy with an AHI of 10 and still feeling like crap.

Just another example of someone with zero practical knowledge and pretty much zero common sense having a half an idea how something on paper relates to real life.

AHI = 5 is fairly arbitrary, and AHI by itself doesn't really tell you that much. What really matters is that your blood stays well saturated with oxygen and that you get enough restful sleep with the right amounts of REM and deep sleep. AHI is good for analyzing trends in your apnea, and it can tell you that you need to look more closely at your sleep architecture. But the idea that AHI below a certain number is good and above that number is bad is mostly for the insurance companies.