AHI = 0.0

[bart.willems]

I've been on therapy for almost a month now. I don't have a cardreader and software - yet - I don't want to look at numbers before I know what they mean and before I can gauge things a little bit better.

Last night, however, was the first night that the machine reported an AHI of 0.0 - and I could tell as it was the alarm that woke me up

My suspicion is that I toss and turn a bit early in the morning, the mask starts leaking (or my mouth?) resulting in an apnea that wakes me up. I'm seeing my doctor next week so I'm sure he can tell me more about it.

[dave21]

Hi Bart, an AHI of 0.0 actually is good and the opposite to what I think you're thinking. If you have a high AHI e.g. AHI=50 then that would be bad. I don't know about your machine but I don't think your machine would wake you up for an AHI of 0.0. It might wake you up and sound an alarm if there's a heavy leak rate or perhaps the flow (pressure) is hitting 0.0 e.g. it thinks there's a massive leak somewhere.

If you did see an AHI of 0.0 on your machine then it should have been a perfect night.

Last night again my AHI was 0.0 and I do remember when I awoke this morning that I had been tossing and turning a bit in my sleep but that's only natural and isn't necessarily linked to OSA or sleep apnea in general. It could be that you're just going through one of the sleep cycles e.g. hitting REM / dreaming, not feeling comfortable and you're rolling yourself over. You can also awake because of bladder discomfort, e.g. you might not be dying to go to the toilet but if you got up and went into the bathroom you could probably go.

[bart.willems]

Hi Dave, thank you for your reply.

I do realize that an AHI of zero is what we're going for. What I meant was that sofar I would wake up around 4, 5, or 6AM by what I suspect is the mask being displaced. It's hard to tell what exactly as I'm extremely groggy at that point (I have to get used to this "having real sleep" thing - I'm used to being "alert" right after being awake - just very, very tired. Now it's the reverse). This was the first morning I woke up by the sound of my alarm clock instead!

Those early awakenings are usually accompanied (caused?) by dry mouth and air blowing over my eyes. But the display on the Sandman says "leaks: OK" so I suspect it's all in a very short time that this happens between leakage and me waking up (if it is indeed leakage)

The funny thing is that I'm actually more comfortable now to going to sleep on my side (which I prefer) where in the beginning I'd go to sleep on my back, which is not my usual/accustomed sleeping position. My suspicion is that when sleeping on my back I turn over when I sleep, rubbing the mask off my face. When I fall asleep on my side it doesn't happen because I don't turn over. It's all new to me, so I'm just observing as much as I can and figuring out what works and what doesn't work for me.

Now I have to get rid of the urge to say "Luke! I'm your father!". But that's a different story

[dave21]

I do realize that an AHI of zero is what we're going for. What I meant was that sofar I would wake up around 4, 5, or 6AM by what I suspect is the mask being displaced. It's hard to tell what exactly as I'm extremely groggy at that point (I have to get used to this "having real sleep" thing - I'm used to being "alert" right after being awake - just very, very tired. Now it's the reverse). This was the first morning I woke up by the sound of my alarm clock instead!

I know the feeling. I think a lot of time for me that the waking up is down to mask leaks as some nights I can actually remember myself being so awake that I've adjusted the mask several times (like moving it left to right) to like displace or get a better fit.

Those early awakenings are usually accompanied (caused?) by dry mouth and air blowing over my eyes. But the display on the Sandman says "leaks: OK" so I suspect it's all in a very short time that this happens between leakage and me waking up (if it is indeed leakage)

Just a small leak with a bit of air coming into your eye could wake you up. The other thing is if you're a light sleeper. Dry mouth usually if you're not on a full face mask is because you've been snoring or have been mouth breathing but that should show up as leaks on your stats.

The funny thing is that I'm actually more comfortable now to going to sleep on my side (which I prefer) where in the beginning I'd go to sleep on my back, which is not my usual/accustomed sleeping position. My suspicion is that when sleeping on my back I turn over when I sleep, rubbing the mask off my face. When I fall asleep on my side it doesn't happen because I don't turn over. It's all new to me, so I'm just observing as much as I can and figuring out what works and what doesn't work for me.

That's quite possible. Some nights I'm really comfortable at sleeping on my right side, some nights I find it uncomfortable and feel I want to sleep on my left, and some nights I prefer it on my back. Some nights I do all two or three . One thing I notice which is what the doctors say and in the research is that if you sleep on your back you will have slightly elevated AHI's. Some might be AI's or some might be HI's. You're more susceptible to having your upper airway close when sleeping on your back as opposed to your side.

I always find I have better AHI's if I can sleep on my side and keep to one side to stop myself rolling back onto my back or onto my other side.

Now I have to get rid of the urge to say "Luke! I'm your father!". But that's a different story [/quote]