why does my AHI increase at 2am?

[Denial Dave]

I've finally solved my leak issues with the Mirage quattro mask & my leak levels are well below 24.

Last night they were below 16 for 95% of the time with a max of 21.

But now I'm having trouble figuring out is why my AHI goes up every night around 2AM for about 30-45 minutes...

I go to bed at 10PM every night.... my alarm goes off at 4:30AM on weekdays and I tend to stay in bed until 6:30 on weekends.

Sleepyhead charts clearly indicate that around 2AM; obstructives happen, snores increase, tidal volume increases and my AHI goes up to around 12. The events last for about 30-45 minutes and suddenly everything returns to normal.

before and after 2AM, my AHI seems to stay around 2-3.

is it aliens?

[Bonnie]

If it is aliens, they're here too. I have the same thing but it's around 3am Looking forward to hearing what answers might be shared.

[Pugsy]

Probably the aliens again..they are little pranksters.

Couple of other ideas if it wasn't the aliens.
Most common culprits...REM stage sleep or supine sleeping or maybe a combination of both.
Check out the normal stages of sleep and eyeball your time frame and see if you happen to be in maybe REM stage sleep at that 2 AM witching hour. When I see any events on my reports it is almost always first seen at the 90 minute mark after sleep onset..and then even more so in the wee hours of the morning when we have more REM and it comes faster and lasts longer. I know for a fact that I am much worse in REM stage sleep. Supine sleeping never seemed to make much of a difference for me but with 53 AHI in REM during my diagnostic sleep study and 12 AHI in non REM...pretty much tells the story for me. When I first started therapy the clusters of events during probable REM sleep were pretty dramatic. A little increase in my minimum pressure took care of the clusters for the most part. Every now and then some stubborn events will materialize despite the pressure increases but clusters are very rare now. Though I do sometimes see max pressures pushing 19 and 20 cm.

[pbb]

Pugsy -- thanks for the explanation; same thing happens to me!

And, may I say, your posts been a god-send--I can't thank you enough for the informations you have provided on this forum! I, too, am a newbie (3 mos on therapy, and your advise and discussions have helped me more than all the RTs and PAs combined. For example: Lansinoh -- I can't imagine doing without it as I live in a very dry climate (although the PA strongly advised against usage, claiming it would cause the nasal pillows to deteriorate more rapidly. At this writing, I see no evidence of that). Also, on your advice, I purchased a CMS pulse ox which has provided more information than my ResMed Escape.

[Pugsy]

For example: Lansinoh -- I can't imagine doing without it as I live in a very dry climate (although the PA strongly advised against usage, claiming it would cause the nasal pillows to deteriorate more rapidly. At this writing, I see no evidence of that)

The PA doesn't know the ingredients of Lansinoh..that's pretty sad isn't it? Lanolin and it is safe for babies to ingest.

Now petroleum based products can degrade silicone but pure lanolin hasn't been known to cause any problems and we have been using it for years. So using something like Vasoline jelly...yeah it might cause the silicone to degrade but I have long suspected that the pillows would be trashed otherwise before the petroleum in such products would eat the silicone.
I wouldn't use Vasoline except in a dire emergency for a different reason...I wouldn't want the possibility of petroleum based products entering the lungs. It's a small risk but it is a risk and a long time ago I read something about it causing pneumonia. So that is the main reason I would avoid petroleum based products.

[lazer]

I've finally solved my leak issues with the Mirage quattro mask & my leak levels are well below 24........

How did you solve this? I'm ready to turn this mask in back to the DME and move on to something else.

[Todzo]

I've finally solved my leak issues with the Mirage quattro mask & my leak levels are well below 24.

Last night they were below 16 for 95% of the time with a max of 21.

But now I'm having trouble figuring out is why my AHI goes up every night around 2AM for about 30-45 minutes...

I go to bed at 10PM every night.... my alarm goes off at 4:30AM on weekdays and I tend to stay in bed until 6:30 on weekends.

Sleepyhead charts clearly indicate that around 2AM; obstructives happen, snores increase, tidal volume increases and my AHI goes up to around 12. The events last for about 30-45 minutes and suddenly everything returns to normal.

before and after 2AM, my AHI seems to stay around 2-3.

is it aliens?

Hi Dave!

I would guess some kind of audio event occures during that time. I often record my nighttime audio and compair with the SH data. I remember in particular a very loud motorcycle which lit up every day arround 5a. It did not make my AHI go up but it was obivious it did arouse me.

Record the audio or better do a video. It could be some kind of light event.

May we find great sleep!

Todzo

[Denial Dave]

Lazer

FWIW-- I have a mustache, so I too am dealing with leaks due to facial hair

I solved my Quattro leak issues with my higher pressures by these 4 steps;

#1 I start with everything extremely loose & follow "Taming the Mirage Quattro" guidance exactly every night. Set & forget does not work for me.

On day 3 of using the mask, I experienced the dreaded Quattro red nose syndrome, but it went away after using a band-aid for 3 days. It has not returned

#2 I use Pad-a-cheek liners

#3 I wash my face with hot water every night before bed & do not towel dry it. I try to make sure my face is still slightly damp when putting the mask on. I have found that the remaining moisture on my face seems to help keep the seal for me.

#4 I hand wash the pad-a-cheek liner and the mask seal every 4th day.

Dave

[Denial Dave]

Sleepyhead says that my max leak was 16 last night and that 95% or more of the time I was below 9

WOW!

[Pugsy]

Sleepyhead says that my max leak was 16 last night and that 95% or more of the time I was below 9

[Sheriff Buford]

Back to the original question, I think it's REM sleep. Lots of stuff happens during REM. You dream more, your body is amost in the shutdown-mode, the "daily repair" is met and all kinds of other stuff. That is why people don't feel very good when they lack REM sleep. You body needs it to repair itself and to prepare for the upcoming day. Just my thoughts...

Sheriff

[Bonnie]

Pugsy, what program shows the Hypnogram?

[Pugsy]

Pugsy, what program shows the Hypnogram?

None that we have access to with these machines and their software for the image I posted.

The hypnograms that I post are generic from the web hypnograms developed to show the normal stages of sleep for most normal people.
What we can do is compare the approximate time frame of our sleep and get a sort of idea where and what stage sleep we might be in.

Now the Zeo sleep manager will get you a pretty good idea of the sleep stages within its limits.
It's not 100% accurate but does a decent job. Several forum members are using it and value its information. I tried one for 3 nights and it was just something else to wear on my face which is not high on my list of things I wanted to do and it pretty much confirmed what I already suspected and didn't point to anything exciting...so I see no need for me to bother with it. It was a loaner and I sent it back and have no desire to buy my own.
Lots of discussion here on the forum about it and you can read about it here. Understand its limitations though.
http://www.myzeo.com/sleep/

[Bonnie]

Thanks for the link. I would agree, nothing more on my face either and yikes, the price is pretty hefty, too. I noticed in your profile you use the Bella. I got my a few weeks ago and was really excited about it. I've been using the Swift products with good success and wanted to finally get away from the head straps. My hair is thinning on top from the years of use with the headgear. Unfortunately I didn't have much success with the Bella. Lots of leaks and sore ears. Before ordering from Pad-A-Cheek I made a quick home made fix for the loops which helped a little. I tried all size pillows and ended up with the medium which I think might be a bit small. If you have any tips, tricks or lab ratting ideas I'm all ears . I'd appreciate any input you might have.
Thanks....

[ems]

Bonnie... I wonder if you have the Bella Loops too tight? Mine are so loose I keep them on with the help of my bed pillow. I am a side sleeper and use a memory foam pillow which is fairly firm. I use a foam neck roll also that I put in the case along with the bed pillow . There is a bit of a slope between the neck roll and the pillow. That's where my head is which means my ear falls between the roll and the pillow. I hope that makes some sense.

Occasionally my nose feels chapped so I use lanolin before I put the Loops on.