AHI Numbers at beginning ?

[LakeH1042]

I just started APAP therapy 2 weeks ago (13 nights over 4 hours usually 7 to 8 hours) and have been monitoring my AHI using EncoreBasic software. (RI System 1 Auto with A-FLEX 60 series and heated humidifier with heated tube).
In my initial sleep study without CPAP, I was diagnosed with moderate sleep apnea and an AHI of 14.28.

Using APAP, my AHI for the last 2 weeks is 12.4. My daily AHI has varied (so far) from 8.4 to 17.1. Of the 13 nights, 4 nights exceeded or equalled my sleep study with no cpap. (double ) (*17.1, 14.6, 16.3, and 15.7)


First point, while machine will display daily AHI, DME has turned that off and was not thrilled that I was reviewing my daily firgures ("You'll just drive yourself crazy...It takes awhile for the numbers to come down..." and " an AHI of < 10 is considered normal" = )

I guess my questions are "Am I driving myself crazy? How long did you have to be on CPAP therapy before your numbers came down?"

Because of the whole Medicare Insurance 30 consecutive day compliance issue, my first scheduled appointment with my doctor isn't until June 15. A follow-up question, is this "normal"? And should I call my doctor at this point to get a reading?

I worry that I'm going to spend over a month on supposed CPAP therapy when I would be better off not plugging in the machine.

Any information would be appreciated.

Thanks

[pap4life]

I my opinion, your DME is blowing more then your CPAP machine. A reading of <5 AHI is a standard for acceptable CPAP therapy. You didn;t say what your pressure is, but it definitely needs tweaking upward if you are still getting the same as your study. What benefit is that?
Your compliance requirements is generally based on 4> hours usage per night.
I think I would put a call in to my Physician (not DME)

[Drowsy Dancer]

My experience isn't directly relevant to yours because I started out with a horrible, just horrible AHI at the PSG (note that, though horrible, this is far from the highest AHI I have seen posted on these boards).

So my numbers came down some at first, but there's a definite learning curve to breathing with a CPAP machine, trying out the different comfort features like ramp and C-Flex+, etc. As I was adjusting I had a lot of centrals at first, more than I did during my PSG, but that went away in about six weeks. "CPAP-emergent centrals" are pretty common, I'm told. If they persist it can be a sign your pressure is too high for you.

My untreated AHI in February 2011 was 71. In the first week or so, my AHI ranged between 5 and 14. After the first week things got a little better, and my AHI started hovering around 5. then after about six weeks things were quite a bit better, and I started seeing AHIs of 2 and 3. Then after three months there was a pretty dramatic change to where the average was 2. My average for the last six months is 1.44, of which about .5 is centrals.

I disagree with pap4life that you necessarily need to tweak upward immediately if your trendline is for lower AHI (you didn't specify the distribution of your "bad" numbers). Are you just looking at the AHI number displayed on your machine or do you have software to read your data yet? EDIT: sorry, I missed the point where you said you had Encore Basic. You might consider getting SleepyHead and really looking at your data--I don't know how much you can see in Encore Basic. For example, if you're seeing a lot of centrals now, this is something that might pass.

I completely agree with pap4life that a claim that an AHI of < 10 is "normal" is total BS. The statement that it takes a while for things to get better is true in my experience.