Interpreting Nightly Results

[drewherndon]

Happy New Year, everyone! I am a newbie here. Just finished my fisrt night on CPAP. I need to know if there is a sticky post (or just a post) on interpreting the nightly results that are available on my machine. Can someone refer me to a guide for this?

Here are my results from the first night:
Pressure: 17.6
Leak: 0.10 L/s
AHI: 14.6
AI: 3.2
HI: 11.4

Due to finance, I did not purchase the software. Should I bite the bullet and get it?

Thanks, in advance, for any help.

[rjjayrt]

Not a good idea to base decisions on one night. Your AHI is high, should be less than 5. A fully data capable machine is much better if your going to follow your therapy and make changes to it. Can't rule out complex sleep apnea based on those numbers either. Questions to answer are you feeling better rested, more energy ect.. Again more data is needed to make a reasoned guess as to what is going on....

[BleepingBeauty]

Happy New Year, everyone! I am a newbie here. Just finished my fisrt night on CPAP. I need to know if there is a sticky post (or just a post) on interpreting the nightly results that are available on my machine. Can someone refer me to a guide for this?

Here are my results from the first night:
Pressure: 17.6
Leak: 0.10 L/s
AHI: 14.6
AI: 3.2
HI: 11.4

Due to finance, I did not purchase the software. Should I bite the bullet and get it?

Thanks, in advance, for any help.

Welcome to the forum, drew.

As rjj said, you can't come to any conclusions based on just one night's data. Re: software, it's a big help, since it allows you to see what's actually happening (and when) while you're sleeping. But I understand the ResMed machines offer a lot of info on-screen, so you can make do without the software and card reader for now. Simply make note of each night's data (I use an Excel spreadsheet, but a plain piece of paper and a pencil will work ) for at least a week, to see if any trends appear. With a week's worth of data, you can make a more educated guess as to what, if anything, needs tweaking. There are plenty of experienced users here who can help guide you on that if/when the time comes.

Your leak rate is fine (assuming you programmed your machine with the correct mask setting), so your other data can be relied upon. Your AHI numbers are high, but that's not surprising for a first night. (It's the rare xPAP user who's an "overnight success" story; most of us take some time to get used to the therapy.) If you were able to wear your mask all night, you're already ahead of the game.

FYI, ResMed machines tend to score more hypopneas than other manufacturers' machines do. As a result, many ResMed users mentally cut the HI number in half before adding it to the reported AI, to arrive at a more comparable AHI. That calculation would give you an AHI of 8.9 last night. The goal is AHI of less than 5, so you're not far off.

What are your pressure settings?

If you haven't done so already, start reading the CPAP Wiki (yellow lightbulb at the top of the page). There's tons of info on this site, and lots of helpful people. Welcome aboard.

[PST]

I agree with everyone else that the first task is just getting used to xPAP and early results don't mean much. It's a victory to wake up with your mask on. Leaks (which you don't appear to have a problem with) and sore spots from our masks occupy many of us in the first weeks.

I do really believe that I get a lot out of the software, however. More than I would just recording the morning results. I think that would be especially true with AI >1. One reason that I feel that way is that I discovered a high proportion of my apnea events were bunched up at the very beginning and end of the night. In fact, I felt pretty sure they were from before I fell asleep and after I woke up. I don't know what it was I was doing that the fine ResMed machine thought were apnea events, holding my breath maybe while I rolled around and got comfortable. Whatever it was, seeing the graphed results let me stop worrying about it, and eventually I stopped doing it. It is also interesting to know if most of your apnea events are clumped together. That can suggest that your therapy is working well most of the time, but isn't working well in some position or sleep phase or combination of the two. Also, if you are using APAP mode, it helps to see what's happening at different pressures.

So I wouldn't necessarily be in a rush, but a card reader and software can be a big help getting everything dialed in.

[Patrick A]

Happy New Year, everyone! I am a newbie here. Just finished my fisrt night on CPAP. I need to know if there is a sticky post (or just a post) on interpreting the nightly results that are available on my machine. Can someone refer me to a guide for this?

Here are my results from the first night:
Pressure: 17.6
Leak: 0.10 L/s
AHI: 14.6
AI: 3.2
HI: 11.4

Due to finance, I did not purchase the software. Should I bite the bullet and get it?

Thanks, in advance, for any help.

Welcome to the world of hose worship.
I would say get used to the therapy then worry what the results are. I would say after you go back to the Sleep Doctor (if you have a follow up appointment) ask them to explain your results. If the doctor just got you the machine and said go and get well so to speak. Find a Good Sleep Lab to deal with.
Good luck.

[DoriC]

I agree with everyone else that the first task is just getting used to xPAP and early results don't mean much. It's a victory to wake up with your mask on. Leaks (which you don't appear to have a problem with) and sore spots from our masks occupy many of us in the first weeks.

I do really believe that I get a lot out of the software, however. More than I would just recording the morning results. I think that would be especially true with AI >1. One reason that I feel that way is that I discovered a high proportion of my apnea events were bunched up at the very beginning and end of the night. In fact, I felt pretty sure they were from before I fell asleep and after I woke up. I don't know what it was I was doing that the fine ResMed machine thought were apnea events, holding my breath maybe while I rolled around and got comfortable. Whatever it was, seeing the graphed results let me stop worrying about it, and eventually I stopped doing it. It is also interesting to know if most of your apnea events are clumped together. That can suggest that your therapy is working well most of the time, but isn't working well in some position or sleep phase or combination of the two. Also, if you are using APAP mode, it helps to see what's happening at different pressures.

So I wouldn't necessarily be in a rush, but a card reader and software can be a big help getting everything dialed in.

Thanks for that great explanation,PST. It should be put on the Wiki. I've been asked by some newbies what these reports tell us but haven't been able to really put it together so it all makes sense. Now it does,for them and for me!