How Do I Get My AHI Under 5

[Guest]

and not likely to trust sleep doctors since I was titrated at 6 and the ACTUAL pressure I need is 11-12 (it varies between the two depending on the night).

College Girl, I'm curious how you determined that the actual pressure you need is so much higher than your titrated pressure? Did you just do it by trial and error? Or did you let your APAP run up until it hit a pressure that gave you the best results? I ask because I'm using a straight CPAP machine, and was titrated at 8, but have never been able to get my AHI under 5. When I turn my pressure up, my AHI goes up. When I turn my pressure down, my AHI goes up. I'm wondering if I should try turning my pressure WAY up and see what happens.

Min

[CollegeGirl]

I started out on straight CPAP, but quickly found I couldn't breathe at my titrated pressure. I called my doc and he upped it to 8. I could breathe, but I wasn't feeling any better. Then I found this forum. People suggested that, since my sleep study wasn't very successful (I felt I hadn't really slept all night) that I'd do well to get an auto and see what the data said. I did, and, once the algorithms adjusted to my sleep patterns, I found that, every day, my 90% pressure was either 11 or 12 (usually 11). I've tried lowering my bottom pressure, raising my top pressure, and every combination of those, and it still stays right at these two pressures. I've tried straight CPAP at 11, 11.5 and 12 at various times - I always feel worse. So, yeah, that was a long answer, but that's how I figured out what I needed.

[ozij]

Ray,
Sometimes ear infections cause an a accumulation of fluid in your ear and that is what causes the hearing degradation. The absorption of that fluid may take much longer than a week, and much longer than it takes for the infection itself to clear. So don't worry too much about your hearing just now. If I remember correctly (this was many years ago) I had second hearing test about a month after the infection cleared, and things were back to normal.

By the way, sometime cpap therapy is not a good idea when you have a cold: the pressure may blow droplets into your eustachian tube, and start the infection.

O.

[OwlCreekObserver]

Ray,
Sometimes ear infections cause an a accumulation of fluid in your ear and that is what causes the hearing degradation. The absorption of that fluid may take much longer than a week, and much longer than it takes for the infection itself to clear. So don't worry too much about your hearing just now. If I remember correctly (this was many years ago) I had second hearing test about a month after the infection cleared, and things were back to normal.

By the way, sometime cpap therapy is not a good idea when you have a cold: the pressure may blow droplets into your eustachian tube, and start the infection.

O.

Actually I was the one who talked about the ear infection, getting this thread off-topic in the process. Sorry about that.

Anyway, ozij, I think you're probably right about the hearing. I noticed yesterday it was slightly improved and today it's slightly better than that. I'm hopeful that it all gets back to normal at some point.

Note to Ray: Last night my AHI was 5.3 -- the lowest in weeks. Now, I know that tonight could be nothing close to that, but hope springs eternal. Here's hoping that you and I both become full time members of the "sub-five" club really soon.

Regards,

OCO

[ozij]

Sorry, OCO and Ray, for some reason I thought OCO had signed his OCO letter as "Ray".....

I'm very glad your hearing is getting bette, OCO.

O.

[ozij]

I have been using my apap for about a month now and I have managed to get my AHI under 5 on only one occasion (and that seemed to be random luck). I typically run around 12.

Ray, is seems to me like you've been testing a lot pressure settings for someones whose been in treatment for only a month.

You should really try to stick to one for at least a week, or even two, unless the results (or how you feel) are clearly bad.

I was titrated at 7; re-titrated at 6.

What made you ask (?) get (?) a re-titration?

I initially set my apap for 6 to 10, and when it gets to higher pressures, my hypopneas and apneas increase.

Because of the way an APAP works and reports, you can't really tell if you're getting more apnea because of the higher pressure, if the pressure rises (as it should) because you're getting more apneas.

The only way you can tease out the causal relationship is for you to check yourself for a number of nights at each pressure, and then look at the correlation.

So, what else can I do to get my AHI down?

What do you have more of - apneas, or hypopneas? Some people with preponderance of hypopneas do better with a constant pressure. Here's how Derek, creator of MyEncore, went about his own titration and found out his sweet spot.

Good luck,
O.

[cybergt]

I hardly get my AHI under 5. It goes between 6-8. But, I read somewhere that RESMED machines overstates HI index. My AI is almost always lower than one. I think combined HI and AI gives you the AHI index.

All this time I thought it was normal to have an AHI around 5. After, reading this post I am having second thoughts. I do use the SWIFT nasal mask. I know that it leaks a bit during the night.

My leak index can range between .2 to .6. But, I have noticed that my AHI does not depend on the leak index. I also noticed that I have a dry mouth when I wake up in the morning.

Can anyone else in here with a RESMED elite and SWIFT mask shed some light on this issue. Are you able to get your AHI under 5?

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