Snoring with CPAP

[rgelston]

My wife has noticed me lightly snoring the last 2-3 weeks. I use a full face mask and my machine is set for 8cmI have been suffering a little from allergies and have been having a stuffy nose off and on. I have awakened with a headache on a few mornings.

Is snoring on CPAP a problem? Is this something I should go back to the sleep lab for?

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CPAPopedia Keywords Contained In This Post (Click For Definition): CPAP

[CollegeGirl]

You should not be snoring while on CPAP. It can be an indication that you are mouth-breathing, that your pressure needs to be raised, or both.

What kind of equipment do you have? What's your pressure?

[rgelston]

F&P HC220LE set on 8cm, and F&P Flexifit 421 full face mask. I started testing the new 432 mask last night (my sleep doc loans gear for tryouts).

I agree I'm mouth breathing - when your nose is stopped up, there isn't any alternative, short of tracheotomy! I'd really hate to have to have the pressure increased !

[CollegeGirl]

Did you snore with CPAP *before* you started having a stuffy nose? If not, your pressure is probably fine. Can you perhaps get some sort of nasal spray from your doctor to help out when this happens? I use Nasonex each night before I put on my mask. It helps a lot.

[Snoredog]

It all depends on what your PSG showed. During a titration study they would have tried to eliminate any snores seen UNLESS trying to eliminate those caused pressure induced central apnea in which case they would back off pressure to the pressure found that offered the best sleep, even if that left you with a few snores.

So the real answer is refer to your PSG report, any sign of CA or MA events listed means you should not exceed your PSG found titration snoring or not.

Increasing pressure doesn't always stop palatal snores anyway, can actually cause them to become worse.

[svh]

I've talked about this before: I still snore even on CPAP, pressure 8.5, and my AHI is consistently under 1.0. I wouldn't really want to raise my pressure, since my AHI is low enough already. I've just resigned myself to snoring (lightly). My husband says it's much quieter and more regular than pre-cpap. FYI, my snore index is routinely in the 20s, with 100-200 snores/night. Oh--my leak rate is always very close to the one intended for the mask, so I don't think I'm mouth breathing.....

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CPAPopedia Keywords Contained In This Post (Click For Definition): CPAP, AHI

[curtcurt46]

Like svh says light snoring is ok. Even after a UPPP, I on occasion snore lightly. With a clogged sinus your more likely to snore. Work on getting the AHI to the lowest possible.

Good luck!

[dsm]

Actually,

Snoring is really only a problem if your AHI shows up as higher than normal.

Mild snoring (that isn't severe) is merely air vibrating as far as the machine is concerned & it is not uncommon for you to score say an average Snore Index of 1.5 but have an AHI of 0.5 because the snores only sin was to make a noise but not cause any obstructions or flow limitations.

If the snores are not precursors to obstructions or flow limitations, your machine may tolerate them rather than keep bumping up the cms. Also if your machine is already at max cms and you are snoring, then it won't do anything about it. That may require increasing the high cms setting, but, only if your AHI is at a higher than normal leve.

Good luck

DSM

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CPAPopedia Keywords Contained In This Post (Click For Definition): AHI

[rgelston]

Thanks for the replies. However, I don't know many of the acronyms you all used. What are:

CA event
MA event
UPPP

What is a desirable AHI number? In my sleep test, mine was 1.8 at 7cm

My sleep test doc doesn't give a snore count as such - could be called something else?

My sleep test RDI was 1 per hour. What's an RDI?

How do you work on getting a lower ADI number when this is beyond your conscious control?

[bdp522]

CA=central apnea, where the brain doesn't start or maintain the breathing process properly.
MA= mixed apnea, a mixture of central and obstructive apnea
UPPP=uvulopalatopharyngoplasty, where tissue at the back of the throat and soft palate are removed.

Brenda

[rgelston]

Bump for RDI definition and ways to get a better ADI

[bdp522]

RDI=

RDI Acronym: Respiratory Disturbance Index

Includes apneas and hypopneas, and may also include other respiratory disturbances such as snoring arousals, hypoventilation episodes, desaturation events, etc. They are often identical, but depending upon what is scored, the RDI may be larger than the AHI.

Brenda