Anyone with 15 ahi?

[Kotengu]

Does anyone have an AHI of about 15? I've been struggling with using the CPAP machine for a year now and I'm wondering if it's even worth bothering anymore. I have mood problems but they might be completely unrelated. Could my depression and anxiety come from my very mild sleep apnea?

[Julie]

Hi, your depression could easily be from OSA - happens to a lot of people here. Who can continue feeling good, letting alone working, etc. when you never get enough sleep? However, an AHI of 15 (vs 40 or 3) only means that your therapy is not being addressed, but by itself otherwise has no particular meaning. You have written before and been advised about getting your mask sorted out (if the mask is the problem, vs any mask) and I wonder if you've been able to do anything there. Are you seeing someone for your anxiety now? What have they said, or do they just hand out pills (which is not a bad thing as long as they don't impact your Cpap)? What has been happening otherwise?

[roster]

Does anyone have an AHI of about 15? I've been struggling with using the CPAP machine for a year now and I'm wondering if it's even worth bothering anymore. I have mood problems but they might be completely unrelated. Could my depression and anxiety come from my very mild sleep apnea?

1. You have posted before that you have bad congestion and breathe through your mouth. Your profile shows you are using a nasal mask. You need to be using a full face mask to get decent therapy. You also need to have a consultation with a good ENT/Allergist. I recommend Dr. Steven Park, http://doctorstevenpark.com/my-practice , just off Columbus Circle.

2. Depression and anxiety could very well be caused by your sleep-breathing disorder. Treat it well and the depression/anxiety may go away.

BTW, when you say AHI 15, are you talking about with CPAP or without?

[Guest]

I saw a different sleep doctor and he told me to continue using nasal spray and to see the nose doctor which I scheduled an appointment with. He also looked in my nose and said that I had a slightly deviated septum. This is a different guy then the one I saw the first time, and this guy said the same thing about the FFM. He said it should be a last resort. When I go back, I will be getting the FFM no matter what but I don't have a lot of faith in any of this anymore.
I have an AHI of 15 without the mask. I had posted earlier and said that I had about 40 but I was WAY off. I could have sworn the doctor told me I had 40, but I was new to the whole thing and I was probably just mixing all of his sleep apnea lingo up. He actually printed out a report and gave it to me. My oxygen didn't drop very low either. It was still in the 90s. That report is around here somwhere...In a way, I was really disappointed. I figured if my apnea was really bad, it would have a really profound impact on my depression. Once I realized this, I stopped caring and that's why I hadn't posted in a while. I haven't been eating or sleeping well either.
I have an appointment with my psychiatrist on the 18th. I'm desperate and would like to try medication again. I even went as far as to call an immediate care facility and see if they could give me some meds to hold me over. They said they don't accept my insurance. My pharmacy wouldn't forward any to me either(I know that was a long shot, but I was desperate) so I just have to deal with everything until then.

[KellyR]

My AHI w/o the machine is 15, and with it, with the pressure set @ 5, it is 0.3. I have some other health issues, and struggled w/crippling fatigue for a really long time, thinking that the cause was chronic pain/heart problems/med side effects. Whether or not your mood problems come from the sleep apnea, you'll only really know once you get your AHI down and begin to have good sleep. If your mood problems are rooted in other factors, the sleep apnea will almost certainly make it more difficult to deal with. I have been on a CPAP machine for just a little over 2 weeks, and while I still wake up tired, I am finding my energy levels slowly rising, and my ability to handle being in pain has improved. The depression, despair and irritation of being in pain has lessened, and I am able to function better, even while in pain.

I think sleep is such a necessary thing, esp. as far as physical, mental and emotional health goes, that anything that we struggle with will be helped by healthy sleep. I had an app't w/a health care provider concerning my CPAP machine today, and I told her that I felt really encouraged that the sleep apnea seems to be one thing that I can do something about, as opposed to my other health issues. I think that if I were you, I would really focus on solving the sleep apnea/CPAP issues that you have so that you can begin to get some restorative rest.

I hope that you find some solutions soon.

[Guest]

My AHI w/o the machine is 15, and with it, with the pressure set @ 5, it is 0.3. I have some other health issues, and struggled w/crippling fatigue for a really long time, thinking that the cause was chronic pain/heart problems/med side effects. Whether or not your mood problems come from the sleep apnea, you'll only really know once you get your AHI down and begin to have good sleep. If your mood problems are rooted in other factors, the sleep apnea will almost certainly make it more difficult to deal with. I have been on a CPAP machine for just a little over 2 weeks, and while I still wake up tired, I am finding my energy levels slowly rising, and my ability to handle being in pain has improved. The depression, despair and irritation of being in pain has lessened, and I am able to function better, even while in pain.

I think sleep is such a necessary thing, esp. as far as physical, mental and emotional health goes, that anything that we struggle with will be helped by healthy sleep. I had an app't w/a health care provider concerning my CPAP machine today, and I told her that I felt really encouraged that the sleep apnea seems to be one thing that I can do something about, as opposed to my other health issues. I think that if I were you, I would really focus on solving the sleep apnea/CPAP issues that you have so that you can begin to get some restorative rest.

I hope that you find some solutions soon.

It's stuff like this that make me want to continue. I haven't heard any success stories of people with the same level of AHI as me. Since you're saying it's improving over time like that, I'll have to just keep going. The full face mask is my greatest hope right now. Thanks for sharing.

[SleepyT]

Does anyone have an AHI of about 15? I've been struggling with using the CPAP machine for a year now and I'm wondering if it's even worth bothering anymore. I have mood problems but they might be completely unrelated. Could my depression and anxiety come from my very mild sleep apnea?

My AHI was 15 before CPAP (if memory serves)...now it is usually around 1.5. My pressure is 8. I don't use a full face mask...but do use a PapCap chinstrap to keep my mouth shut. Works for me. Good luck to you!

[roster]

It's stuff like this that make me want to continue. I haven't heard any success stories of people with the same level of AHI as me. Since you're saying it's improving over time like that, I'll have to just keep going. The full face mask is my greatest hope right now. Thanks for sharing.

That is a wonderful statement by KellyR. Thanks Kelly for sharing it.


Kotengu, Think of it a little differently. If your AHI in the sleep study was 15 and you sleep seven or eight hours, that is 105 to 120 times per night that you are awakened by breathing problems!!!

Imagine a healthy person having his sleep disturbed 100 times one night. How well would he be feeling the next day?? That's right he would feel pretty sorry.

Now take that same person and disturb his sleep 100 times per night, night after night, week after week, month after month, year after year. Then it would be hard to believe that he would not be anxious and depressed!

Get a good CPAP therapy going by doing whatever it takes. A psychiatrist may give you drugs, but no matter what they do for you, you will still have your sleep disturbed 100 times per night - a very serious problem remains.

I suggested a FFM because you said you mouthbreathe and you have congestion. Chinstraps work for some people but I would be concerned that you will not get good therapy through congested nasal passages.

What is your titrated CPAP pressure? What position(s) do you sleep in at home? What position(s) did you sleep in during the study and did the sleep study note any difference in AHI when your position changed?