Notice a difference with mild sleep apnea? (15 AHI)

I have very mild sleep apnea. About 15 episodes an hour. If anyone has a similar level of sleep apnea, would you please share your experiences with it? How long did it take to feel better with Cpap? How much pressure did you need? How much better did you actually feel? Any changes in bodyweight after starting Cpap?
I appreciate any answers. Thanks in advance.

Kotengu wrote:I have very mild sleep apnea. About 15 episodes an hour. If anyone has a similar level of sleep apnea, would you please share your experiences with it? How long did it take to feel better with Cpap? How much pressure did you need? How much better did you actually feel? Any changes in bodyweight after starting Cpap?
I appreciate any answers. Thanks in advance.

I wouldn't say you had 'very' mild sleep apnea. Mild is 5-15 Moderate is 15-30. You are at high mild and low moderate. Mine was also rates at 15. I adapted to CPAP within a week. I started at a pressure of 8 but shortly realized that that pressure was too low and was re tirated at a pressure of 11.5. I have been at 11.5 for almost 2 years. The key is finding a mask that is comfortable for you.

My AHI was 15 as well....pressure is 8. Took a couple of months to get used to wearing the mask....several more months to accept I have sleep apnea. My blood pressure is way better now that I am on CPAP...don't have to urinate 3 or 4 times a night anymore (that changed within the first week of CPAP). Can't say my energy level is back to the good old days...but overall...things are way better...cognitively and otherwise.

Hang in there.

Technically, I had no incidents of apnea during my sleep study. Of course, out of the 8 hour sleep study, I slept a total of slightly over 2 hours, in 5-10 minute increments, with no REM.
Sadly that was a very typical night for me.

My sleep doctor said clearly I had disturbed sleep and wrote me a script for a one month trial of CPAP (pressure of 6). I saw him two weeks later and begged him to not take my CPAP away from me. From the first night, I slept all night, every night, without waking up. I really slept. I could feel the difference. Clearly I had some sort of respiratory problems going on, and CPAP is now my best friend - and it will be with me where ever I go.

Kotegu,
My AHI was 13.5. What was more problematic: 127 hypopneas, and my Saturated O2 dropped to 83% many times. Prior to diagnosis and treatment, I had intense brain fog and was relieved of critical work duties because of frequent mistakes and forgetfulness. Other physical problems were on the increase. This sent me to the Dr and Sleep Lab.
Took three months to begin getting back energy to do extra things and for brain fog to go away. 1st month had three days of mental clarity which shocked the heck out of me. Didn't realize until I had the contrast how bad things were!
Started out on a range of 5 to 15cm. Dr changed that to 5 to 12cm. I began tweaking the settings after three months and now sit at 7 to 12 cm. the 95% ranges from 8 to 10cm.
Best wishes and deep healing rest to you,
Cindy

Thank you so much everyone. Very inspiring indeed.
I have been using the machine set to about 9. I haven't noticed any difference at all. I've also been struggling with my weight. My profile picture is pretty old and I've gained about 35 pounds since then. Once I starting gaining weight, I went nuts with correct nutrition and tons of exercise and my weight won't budge! I also can't go a day without a really long nap.
The reason I said that I have very mild sleep apnea is because my oxygen only dropped slightly when I went to sleep. I'm talking a couple of digits so they said that I had "very mild" sleep apnea. Then again, I only slept for about an hour at the study ):

My sleep study tech said they need at least 2 hours of sleep to get accurate readings. I slept 5 hours at my study and had an AHI of 17, but my O2 went down to 76%. I use an Auto set 7-10, and while I don't have tons of energy, I can tell you that within 2 days I felt as if someone had swept away all the cobwebs inside my head and I could think again! I am not sleepy during the day like I was, and I hardly ever take a nap (although I probably could benefit from doing so). My blood pressure has also come down quite a bit and I've been able to put the concentrated energy into dieting and have lost 18 lbs. so far. You are very young, from your picture, and you are fortunate to be diagnosed now rather than decades later as so many of us oldsters were. Better to catch this now and live a full and healthy life ahead of you!! Best of luck to you!

If you gather a sample of people with an AHI/RDI of 15, you will those who had 15 full obstructive apneas an hour, those who had 15 hypopneas scored conservatively, 15 hypopneas scored liberally, 15 RERAs, etc etc, or people like me who had a NREM RDI of 4 and a REM RDI of 58, yielding an average RDI of 15. You'll find people who desaturate significantly, and those who don't desaturate at all. In short, even among those with an "average" AHI of 15, it's a heterogeneous group.

I don't think there's a strong correlation between severity of apnea, as measured by AHI, and pressure needs. My obese FIL who has severe apnea and snores like crazy without CPAP, was titrated to the same pressure I, a thin, non-desaturating, "mild" AHI woman. (Kind of annoying, yes.)

That said, I don't think an hour is necessarily a representative sample of your sleep. I don't know if you have a data-capable APAP (too tired to look up your machine), but if you don't, can you get another titration study? Even the weight gain, if since your titration, could make a difference in your pressure needs.

I did have an auto titration done but I couldn't sleep with the damn thing. I had some real issues over the past year sleeping with my CPAP but I just had surgery on my nose two weeks ago and now I have no blockage(Polyp and deviated septum)! Tonight will be my second night using the CPAP with my new and improved nose so I'm optimistic about tolerating the CPAP from now on. I will most likely order the Titration again.

I notice I feel crummy with an AHI of only 5. Granted during my study, it was 22, however, I now know that I need a really low AHI to feel good. So, I would not assume that you would feel ok with an AHI of 15. This seems way too high in my unexpert opinion and I would think that it would definitely affect a lot of folks. Best wishes to you. Lisa.