Recently chanced upon this forum, would love some help to lower AHI

General Discussion on any topic relating to CPAP and/or Sleep Apnea.
User avatar
Pugsy
Posts: 65136
Joined: Thu May 14, 2009 9:31 am
Location: Missouri, USA

Re: Recently chanced upon this forum, would love some help to lower AHI

Post by Pugsy » Sat Jun 20, 2020 10:21 am

captainmud wrote:
Sat Jun 20, 2020 10:04 am
If i'm below pressure 10 most of the time, wouldn't setting min 10 be detrimental?
Detrimental to what?
I am not saying that you need or don't need 10 cm minimum but want to know why you think it would hurt to use 10cm minimum?

There are a lot of people who find that they sleep better and feel better when they use more pressure than they might technically need if one were to just go by the graphs or numbers.

If it were me though....I would do the 0.5 cm increases in incremental steps and monitor how I feel.
A long time ago I was in a similar situation except I had decided that 10 cm minimum was my optimal minimum but in the back of my mind was always the "what if" question. What if I used more minimum? Would I sleep better or reduce my AHI any more?
So I decided to take on a prolonged experiment. I increased the minimum 0.5 cm for a week at a time up to a 13 cm minimum. So it took me 6 weeks. At the end of the 6 weeks I reviewed all my results in terms of numbers and how well I slept and felt in general.
Nothing really changed. AHI didn't change and neither did how I felt or slept. I had answered the "what if" question.

_________________
Machine: AirCurve™ 10 VAuto BiLevel Machine with HumidAir™ Heated Humidifier
Additional Comments: Mask Bleep Eclipse https://bleepsleep.com/the-eclipse/
I may have to RISE but I refuse to SHINE.

User avatar
Miss Emerita
Posts: 3765
Joined: Sun Nov 04, 2018 8:07 pm

Re: Recently chanced upon this forum, would love some help to lower AHI

Post by Miss Emerita » Sat Jun 20, 2020 11:22 am

Captainmud, you asked, "So CA here means central apnea right? How should I look out for it based on the graphs?"

Yes, CA means "clear airway" or "central apnea" -- either way, a cessation of breathing with no obstruction of the airway. On the Events graph at the top of the Daily View, you will see a line that says "CA." That's how to see what's going on with CAs. In the left side-panel, you will also see a breakdown that includes the average number of CA events per hour, so that's another way to keep track of increases or decreases.
Oscar software is available at https://www.sleepfiles.com/OSCAR/

User avatar
captainmud
Posts: 7
Joined: Mon Jun 08, 2020 1:52 am
Location: Singapore, Asia

Re: Recently chanced upon this forum, would love some help to lower AHI

Post by captainmud » Thu Jun 25, 2020 1:52 am

Pugsy wrote:
Sat Jun 20, 2020 10:21 am
Detrimental to what?
I am not saying that you need or don't need 10 cm minimum but want to know why you think it would hurt to use 10cm minimum?
My understanding was that the pressure i'm on is the correct pressure i need at that moment to breathe properly, so let's say the machine gives 8.0, i only needed 8.0 and going to 10.0 might possibly cause more harm(apneas) instead.
Pugsy wrote:
Sat Jun 20, 2020 10:21 am
There are a lot of people who find that they sleep better and feel better when they use more pressure than they might technically need if one were to just go by the graphs or numbers.
This was the part I didn't realise! But yes, as per the advice given here, i'll bump it up bit by bit over the next month and see the numbers + how I feel!
Miss Emerita wrote:
Sat Jun 20, 2020 11:22 am
Yes, CA means "clear airway" or "central apnea" -- either way, a cessation of breathing with no obstruction of the airway. On the Events graph at the top of the Daily View, you will see a line that says "CA." That's how to see what's going on with CAs. In the left side-panel, you will also see a breakdown that includes the average number of CA events per hour, so that's another way to keep track of increases or decreases.
Much appreciated! Will keep an eye out on that too!


Thank you to everyone for the advice and recommendations so far! I really appreciate the help!!! WIll increase min pressure bit by bit and report back here in the future!