LOTS of 0.00s!

[DanceDiva26]

In my 3.75 years of using CPAP with very few problems (thanks to this Board!)...I have achieved a 0.00 AHI several times. Not chasing it, but happy when it happened. My average, according to SleepyHead Statistics tab, for the last year was .36. I hope that means that I've optimized my therapy.

However, in the last 19 days, a 0.00 has happened 11 times, one time 4 in a row. While initially pleased, it seemed a little weird, happening more often than not. I'm not trying to look a gift horse in the mouth, but what factors could be effecting this result?

Is my SD card/machine having a hiccough/getting older and malfunctioning? (Have changed cards a few times).... Have I really optimized my therapy that well?/really sleeping that MUCH better?

A little background: My husband of 35 years passed away June 2. I do believe it was apnea-related but there were also other factors, which I can't discuss now. Was I sleeping so deeply out of exhaustion/grief to constantly get 0.00 consistently? Recently I have been waking up several times during the night, (didn't used to) keeping mask on, then falling back asleep after 20 minutes or so, so there is no break in my daily stats. Mask leak has been normal, sometimes worse, sometimes better depending on which mask I used...but always Green smiley face.

Except for the expected sad feelings I'm experiencing upon waking...physically I feel "normal" during the day. However, tho' I am a late night owl, I now often feel the sleepiness urge much earlier in the evening, which of course may have nothing to do with my therapy.

Any thoughts?

[Pugsy]

Sometimes the machine gets stuck reporting the same thing. A reboot of the system will usually fix it. Unplug machine from electric source and plug back in. This forces the internal software to restart totally fresh...if the machine is stuck it will unstick it.
S9 machines seemed to have this happen occasionally ...I know it happened to me but it got stuck on 1.2...I had 5 nights in a row of the exact same thing and I know that isn't possible.

Then of course you may just be getting into a nice pattern of no events happening.. Hurts nothing to do the reboot thing just in case though.

Sending you a big cyber hug. I know its not much but it's all I can do beyond the usual words offered when someone loses a loved one.

[Julie]

Very sorry for your loss - I doubt if anyone could make much sense of things yet under the circumstances, but unless you feel much different using the machine than usual, I wouldn't look too closely at numbers, etc. now, rather just concentrate on trying to keep a good sleep schedule if possible and worry about details another time. Your system cannot be 'normal' now, and may be reacting more to that than it would under other circumstances.

[DanceDiva26]

Thanks Julie...and Pugsy for the cyber hug. I unplugged then re-plugged the S9. I assume it worked. The last 3 readings since then have been .31, .15, and .15 (uh-oh) One was a CA and one was a Hypopnea.. NO 0.00's though! What an upside down, inside out, non-normal world I/we occupy now...imagine being glad for NOT getting a 0.00 reading...

Hubby had severe apnea. Absolutely refused to get a sleep study. I have an extra Resmed Autoset and repeatedly tried to get him to use it. I posted here of my attempts way back when...where we looked liked fighters in hand to hand combat. Even on his last night I attempted to hold the pillows to his nose till he fell asleep and I could slip the strap on. He pushed me away repeatedly. Cause of death was Respiratory Arrest. OF COURSE that last ditch effort might have been futile as there were other factors. BUT, it MIGHT have staved off that last gasp so we could have fought another day with more options.. Stubborn, stubborn man, my hubby.

While he didn't have COVID, I feel that he, like many others, was collateral damage from Covid. Could have had in-person doctor visits, CAT scans, MRI's, X-rays, etc. etc. etc. My son also has severe apnea. Tested at 115 and has a 4 year old never used Bi-Level.He's in his 30's, thinks he's still young and still standing, so CPAP not applicable to him. Damn..I have stubborn men in my family. I am doing my hardest and best to help him.

[Dog Slobber]

Take your great numbers when they come.

It took me almost a year before my first 0.0, and since then they've slowly been increasing in frequency.

Here is my AHI graph since the beginning of the year. A casual glance and it looks like I now get them about 40% of the time. I guess you could say I'm a bit of a numbers chaser, as I make a point of looking at my data daily. And I do feel a little disappointment if I get a non-zero. But not to the point where I fiddle with my settings.

I haven't made any setting changes in 229 days and my AHI is 0.15 since then.

Condolences for your loss and wishing you the best with your son.

AHI_graph.png (60.31 KiB) Viewed 616 times

[Okie bipap]

First of all, let me say how sorry I am for your loss. I understand the stubbornness when it comes to using a CPAP machine. I had my first sleep study in 1995 or 1996. I did not want to have to carry a machine around me when I was on business travel. My job required a lot of travel. I opted for surgery instead of using a machine. Since some of my symptoms went away (no more snoring, no daytime sleepiness, etc.), I never had a follow up study to see if it worked, or not. I had a total knee replacement in 1994, and while in the hospital the nurses noticed my blood oxygen level would drop quite a bit when I fell asleep. The doctor that did the morning rounds (pulminologist) scheduled me for a sleep study without telling me. I did two sleep studies, including a bi-level titration study. Since he had not documented a face to face meeting, Medicare refused to purchase the machine. I ended up having two more sleep studies before finally getting a machine. About a year and a half later, I noticed my wife would quit breathing in her sleep. I told her she needed to have a sleep study, but she refused to do it. I simply waited until our next physical, and told our doctor about her night time breathing and snorring. Our doctor scheduled her for a sleep study. She now has the same model machine as I do.