Help! Question about AHI

lusciousg77 · Post by **lusciousg77** » Wed Jul 16, 2008 12:26 am

hello hello hello! i have been on my apap therapy for about 3 weeks.. when i had my sleep study my AHI was over 70 (i know, scary)... and now i just checked my machine and it's still around 15.. my leaks are at 0, does this mean i need a higher pressure? or maybe to have a straight cpap or a bipap? man, i'm gonna have trouble sleeping tonight.. i know 15 is way better than 70 but it still should be around 5 right? thanks!!!

Snoredog · Post by **Snoredog** » Wed Jul 16, 2008 1:23 am

it should be <5. But you should look at the individual numbers for AI and HI. AHI is the avg. SUM of those two, but AI is the one you want to address first,

increase your pressure by 1 cm and observe the new AI, continue increasing by 1 cm each night until AI gets down to .8 and HI should fall.

Note: Do NOT be concerned with HI increasing as you are bringing AI down, it will drop when AI no longer drops.

lusciousg77 · Post by **lusciousg77** » Wed Jul 16, 2008 2:47 pm

i'm using an apap and the pressure's from 7-20.. and my average pressure is around 10

i take the data card to the machine provider in a week, and see the doc in 2 weeks for a recheck. i'm hoping he can figure it out then. this morning my AHI was down to 10, so it's better but not great. the phone rang a couple of times this morning, where i took the mask off to check the caller id, and put it back on and went back to bed. i was wondering if maybe that messed up my stats. but it was only twice, and the stats are an average of all the hours i slept, right? i'm so confused@!@!!!

Goofproof · Post by **Goofproof** » Wed Jul 16, 2008 3:14 pm

lusciousg77 wrote:i'm using an apap and the pressure's from 7-20.. and my average pressure is around 10

i take the data card to the machine provider in a week, and see the doc in 2 weeks for a recheck. i'm hoping he can figure it out then. this morning my AHI was down to 10, so it's better but not great. the phone rang a couple of times this morning, where i took the mask off to check the caller id, and put it back on and went back to bed. i was wondering if maybe that messed up my stats. but it was only twice, and the stats are an average of all the hours i slept, right? i'm so confused@!@!!!

You need to turn the ringer off on your phone, nothing is going to come over the phone more important than your sleep. A answering machine can do that without disturbing you. Anything that wakes you up before time should be turned off, except for the smoke alarm. Jim

danw61 · Post by **danw61** » Wed Jul 16, 2008 3:35 pm

I'm not a doctor or anything... But if it were me, I'd want my minimum pressure to be closer to the average pressure. I would raise the miniumum up to 9 or 10. And possibly lower the maximum a little bit. But since you're seeing the doctor in 2 weeks I'd wait & see what he says first. Give him a chance to help you.

pjwalman · Post by **pjwalman** » Wed Jul 16, 2008 4:32 pm

I don't know if this will make you feel any better, but I also had an AHI in the 70s at my sleep study and also had relatively high AHIs in the first few weeks of my CPAP therapy. Eventually the number did come down after a few weeks. I think it just takes some time to adjust to the newness of everything to allow everything to work as it should. So don't give up hope. It'll all come together one way or another. I couldn't understand how I could be feeling even MORE tired in the first couple months. Some people say they see results instantly, which is of course wonderful for them, but I think it almost does a disservice to not mention that, for a lot of us, it's a slower process, much more of a sleep debt to catch up on, and sometimes it's more of an adjustment for some than others. You WILL reap the benefits, I promise, but it may take longer for you to notice them than for some.

Peggy

jnk · Post by **jnk** » Wed Jul 16, 2008 4:44 pm

I couldn't understand how I could be feeling even MORE tired in the first couple months. Some people say they see results instantly, which is of course wonderful for them, but I think it almost does a disservice to not mention that, for a lot of us, it's a slower process,

Thanks for that post, pjwalman. I needed to hear that. Was feeling a little newbie-discouragement. Everyone around me who knows I'm on PAP therapy keeps asking me how I slept the night before and asking if I'm feeling better yet. My answer has been: "Let's just say I'm feeling different."

pjwalman · Post by **pjwalman** » Wed Jul 16, 2008 4:59 pm

I'm glad I could help a little, and please know that you're not alone.

Take care!

Peggy

lusciousg77 · Post by **lusciousg77** » Wed Jul 16, 2008 7:24 pm

thanks peggy! i have been feeling pretty discouraged.. everyone thinks i should feel great by now but i'm still soooooo tired. but it does make sense that it might take awhile to get down to normal range since my ahi was super high. i'm just impatient and excited and 50 other emotions all balled up inside me!!!!