CPAP works, but Spontaneous Arousals/Poor Sleep Architecture

[rebeccamakesthings]

Hi! So, great news: My CPAP titration study was a success, and I'll be getting a machine in the very near future. My AHI went from 20.9 during the diagnostic down to .6, which seems like an unequivocal success to me.

That said, there were a few odd things -- or at least things I could use some help understanding -- from the titration study.

First, despite *way* fewer respiratory events and dramatically improved N3 sleep (2% on diagnostic vs 19.5% with CPAP), the study noted a "high rate of spontaneous arousals" -- 13.3 per hour. I didn't have any periodic limb movements at all.

I also still had poor sleep architecture, with less REM sleep than the diagnostic test (10% vs 14%) and a longer delay in getting to REM (252 minutes vs 200).

Can anyone tell me if these kind of findings are normal? Is this just what getting used to having a mask on your face while sleeping looks like?

Also, I had a few central more central apneas this time -- 5 in all. That's not a number to worry about, right?

Thanks in advance. This board has really helped me wrap my head around OSA and has made getting adjusted to the idea of treating the problem a LOT easier.