Will I ever get a better AHI? Best is 2.2 or so?

[johnrrr]

Hi all,

I've been using a CPAP machine for about 6 weeks now and the best AHI I've got is around 2.2. My diagnosis was 30, so it's a massive improvement.

But I see a lot of people posting results here that are under 1 (ie 0.6 etc).

Should I be concerned that I can't seem to get lower than 2.2?

Thanks
John

[Gasper62]

Post your Sleepyhead results and you might get some insight from the veterans on here about what's going on during your sleep.

[Mudrock63]

+1

[johnrrr]

Thanks. What data shall I post? How?

I still have a problem too where some days are merged together when I import, so it isn't ideal but obviously I'll let the experts decide if it's useful or not!

Thanks

[library lady]

There is nothing wrong with that number. The standard for effective therapy is AHI of less than 4. I've been on CPAP for 2 years, and my AHI usually runs between 1 and 3, occasionally more, occasionally less. It is rare, I think, to experience a zero AHI on this therapy. Most nights the AHI will fluctuate, but at some point you will probably find that you have an AHI range, as I did.

If you want to find out more about what's going on each night, do as Gasper suggested and download Sleepyhead software. If you need help interpreting what you see, we are here to help you with that, and any other difficulties you might have.

[Julie]

Sleepyhead... or have you not yet DL'd it? See the 1st Announcement top of main pg ("Tutorial").

[BlackSpinner]

The more important question is "How do you feel?"

One can get obsessed chasing the elusive number that for some people changes nightly depending on various environmental factors. If you are feeling better and improving there is no point in chasing the numbers.

[palerider]

Thanks. What data shall I post? How?

read ALL the stuff on the "get sleepyhead" link below.

[Wulfman...]

Hi all,

I've been using a CPAP machine for about 6 weeks now and the best AHI I've got is around 2.2. My diagnosis was 30, so it's a massive improvement.

But I see a lot of people posting results here that are under 1 (ie 0.6 etc).

Should I be concerned that I can't seem to get lower than 2.2?

Thanks
John

It would also help significantly if you would add your equipment AND settings to your profile.


Den

.

[sleepwiggler]

The more important question is "How do you feel?"

One can get obsessed chasing the elusive number that for some people changes nightly depending on various environmental factors. If you are feeling better and improving there is no point in chasing the numbers.

I agree with this comment. How do you feel. For me I have only had a zero twice in 4 1/2 years, however my AHI stays in the .2 to .7 range sometimes it goes over 1. For me the number is just that a number, and the closer to one I am the worst I feel. I use to obsess over the numbers and now I do not but If I having a bad day I will check my numbers and I always notice that as I approach 1 AHI or go I feel worse. I do not look at my numbers before I go to work in the morning I review them in the evening or earlier if I fell sluggish, but never first thing in the morning. It's a mental thing for me.

[Mudrock63]

I've been at this for a little over four months. Have made many adjustments to the settings on my machine and have finally gotten my AHI consistently below 2.0. I feel MUCH better than when I was stuck in the teens. 2.2 is not terrible. And as people have pointed out, how you FEEL is really the most important thing. For me, I am going to try to get the lowest average number I possibly can. That probably means a change from APAP to BiPap in the near future. I think it is worth a shot for you to download Sleepyhead, if you have a machine that works with it, upload some images here, and see if the pros here can make any suggestions to get your number of events as low as possible. What do you have to lose?

[johnrrr]

Ok, I hope this is of some use. Thanks for helping.

The first one was APAP 9 to 16.



This one was APAP 7 to 8 (although it wrongly says CPAP 8 on the report)



No matter what settings I use, I always seem to max out at full pressure. I often seem to get leaks later in the night (from around 5am onwards).

If I should be posting something else, please let me know.

Thanks for your help.

[LSAT]

Your pressure is fixed at 8.....It will always be at 8 except at start up. Actually, you might get better results if you increase it to 9. OR...Change to Auto mode and set your pressure at 7 minimum and 10 maximum.

[johnrrr]

Your pressure is fixed at 8.....It will always be at 8 except at start up. Actually, you might get better results if you increase it to 9. OR...Change to Auto mode and set your pressure at 7 minimum and 10 maximum.

Thanks but I did say in my post that on the first one it was APAP 9 to 16, and on the second APAP 7 to 8 (7 is what the doctor thought I needed) - for some reason SleepyHead is saying it was CPAP 8 in this case but it wasn't. Regardless of what min or max I set, it always seems to spike to the top.

[palerider]

Your pressure is fixed at 8.....It will always be at 8 except at start up. Actually, you might get better results if you increase it to 9. OR...Change to Auto mode and set your pressure at 7 minimum and 10 maximum.

Thanks but I did say in my post that on the first one it was APAP 9 to 16, and on the second APAP 7 to 8 (7 is what the doctor thought I needed) - for some reason SleepyHead is saying it was CPAP 8 in this case but it wasn't. Regardless of what min or max I set, it always seems to spike to the top.

if it isn't set to cpap 8 (have you verified?) then it's constantly trying to go to a higher pressure all night long... or sleepyhead is misreading the data.