Really Worried About CPAP AHI? New To CPAP

[EHEBrandon]

Okay last night was my first night with the CPAP and with a total of 5.5 hours of sleep since I woke up with discomfort just now.. Within that 5.5 hours my CPAP AHI is 10.4... What should I do? I'm really worried.. I was told it is good if its 5.0 or under.. I was diagnosed with obstructive sleep apena and I'm really worried.. Will I die anytime soon because of this and should I contact my doctor? Overall what should I do? The mask fits fine it said I had no leaks so it was a good fit.

[Julie]

Seriously? How long (months, years, decades) did you go without Cpap before being diagnosed - and lived to tell about it? And what was your AHI on sleep study - 20? 60? 120?

Did you expect that after one night with the machine and mask you'd magically never again have any apneas? Who led you to believe that?!

Click on the (tiny) User Ctl. Panel under the logo any pg, then on Profile, and fill in the most comprehensive name, #'s etc. of your machine (not just e.g. 'Resmed' please), as well as the type of mask you use and pressure settings. All those will auto. appear when you post in future (below note) and help us to know what you're working with (also try for now to stick to this thread vs 3 others). Do you have a copy of your sleep study? What were the results? Are you using the humidifier (remember it's not therapy, just a convenience if you feel the need). What about the ramp?

There are many knowledgable and experienced people here who'll help you get started, but it takes time - 10 is not bad at all for the 1st night!

[BlackSpinner]

Your first few weeks are all about getting comfortable with sleeping with your mask on.

If you are really concerned, install sleepyhead software and look at your AHI in detail.

Other then that without at least knowing what you are using we can't help much more.

[EHEBrandon]

Seriously? How long (months, years, decades) did you go without Cpap before being diagnosed - and lived to tell about it? And what was your AHI on sleep study - 20? 60? 120?

Did you expect that after one night with the machine and possibly not-well-fitted 1st choice(?) mask you'd magically never again have any apneas? Wow - who led you to believe that?!

Click on the (tiny) User Ctl. Panel under the logo any pg, then on Profile, and fill in the most comprehensive name, #'s etc. of your machine (not just e.g. 'Resmed' please), as well as the type of mask you use and pressure settings. All those will auto. appear when you post in future (below note) and help us to know what you're working with (also try for now to stick to this thread vs 3 others). Do you have a copy of your sleep study? What were the results? Are you using the humidifier (remember it's not therapy, just a convenience if you feel the need). What about the ramp?

There are many knowledgable and experienced people here who'll help you get started, but it takes time - 10 is not bad at all for the 1st night!

Sorry I'm new to this site and no its not that I believed it would be fixed over night. I'm only 19 over weight and struggling with this.. I'm just kind of scared about this is all. Its all new to me.

My results:

Suine AHI: 51.1

Non-Suppine AHI: 13.2

REM AHI: 0.0

NREM AHI: 52.8

APENA+Hypopnea Index AHI: 51.1

Respiratory Disturbance Index: 51.1

Total Sleep Time: 158.5 MIN

[EHEBrandon]

Your first few weeks are all about getting comfortable with sleeping with your mask on.

If you are really concerned, install sleepyhead software and look at your AHI in detail.

Other then that without at least knowing what you are using we can't help much more.

Updated my information only thing I couldn't figure out the software though.

[Pugsy]

Where are you getting the AHI number from?
Exactly what brand and model machine are you using?

Did you spend much time awake with the mask and machine on? If you did then I wouldn't worry about that AHI right now because it's very possible that the machine flagged some awake breathing (it can't tell if you are asleep or not) and those awake events simply don't count.

Even if they were all the real deal...going from 50 per hour to 10 per hour is still a significant improvement.
First nights are typically kind of rough anyway. Lots of wake ups often and sometimes just because the brain isn't good with having the mask on the face.

Give yourself some time....no need to call the doctor right now.....the doc will very likely say "give things some time".
In the meantime...figure out what machine you are using and let's see if there is some easy to use software that you can see so that we know exactly what that AHI is made up of.
Relax...take a deep breath and start reading and learning about how you can monitor your therapy to best get it optimized. It's very possible those were awake events getting flagged but even if they weren't it might be that you just need a slight pressure adjustment to better get those apnea events reduced even more.

If your machine is a Respironics, ResMed, Devilbiss or F & P then you can use SleepyHead software
follow the links
https://sleep.tnet.com/equipment

[Pugsy]

I see that you are using the Respironics DreamStation Auto...
do you know the pressure settings?

Probably would be a good idea to go here and request a copy of the provider/clinical manual so that you can navigate the menus to see the pressure settings.
http://www.apneaboard.com/adjust-cpap-p ... tup-manual
instructions down near the bottom of the page for requesting via email that manual...which explains a lot more than the user manual offers.

[Julie]

One thing - if no one explained it to you, you'll get more apneas sleeping on your back, so try to not let it happen overnight by (temporarily) wearing a backpk, sewing a tennis ball into your jammies, using foam wedges in behind, whatever works. Once your therapy is working properly (in time) it won't be as important, but for now it can make a big difference... your results prove it - your supine (not suine) #'s are high compared to the non-supine one of only 13. Supine means on your back, prone (they call it non supine - you may also have been on your sides) is on your tummy (which is not necessary btw.

[EHEBrandon]

I see that you are using the Respironics DreamStation Auto...
do you know the pressure settings?

Probably would be a good idea to go here and request a copy of the provider/clinical manual so that you can navigate the menus to see the pressure settings.
http://www.apneaboard.com/adjust-cpap-p ... tup-manual
instructions down near the bottom of the page for requesting via email that manual...which explains a lot more than the user manual offers.

My pressure is 13.0 thats what my Doctor prescribed.

One thing - if no one explained it to you, you'll get more apneas sleeping on your back, so try to not let it happen overnight by (temporarily) wearing a backpk, sewing a tennis ball into your jammies, using foam wedges in behind, whatever works. Once your therapy is working properly (in time) it won't be as important, but for now it can make a big difference... your results prove it - your supine (not suine) #'s are high compared to the non-supine one of only 13. Supine means on your back, prone (they call it non supine - you may also have been on your sides) is on your tummy (which is not necessary btw.

What way should I sleep? What do you recommend? Also sorry I meant to put supine but my keyboard is a Razer and they are cheap so my "p" button doesn't work sometimes. Cant wait to replace it.

[Julie]

On your sides... or do you have some problem that would prevent it?

[yawningjoe56]

dont be scared you have come to the right place for help, i am also new to the cpap try and relax, is it the mask or the whole process that scares you. im two weeks into my treatment i was scared at first, i am still having issues dealing with it, but im sure after time you will deal with it i think this is the right place to be for support and help so smile and dont worry, my wife cals me her little hannibal now,take it one step at a time thats what im doing and good luck to you.

[robysue]

What way should I sleep? What do you recommend?

Once you are correctly titrated and are using the appropriate pressure, you should be able to sleep in whatever position is most comfortable to you.

Yes, many people experience more apneas when sleeping on their backs. However, if the pressure is set correctly, the CPAP machine should prevent most of them and you should have an AHI < 5.0.

But as BlackSpinner said:

Your first few weeks are all about getting comfortable with sleeping with your mask on.

Until you are sleeping soundly with the machine every night, you don't need to get too worried about the AHI. It takes a while to really learn how to sleep with the machine, and until you do, there can be a lot of wake breathing in your data, and normalwake breathing can be misinterpreted by your machine as sleep disordered breathing.

Once you start sleeping consistently with your CPAP all night long, the AHI may come down without your needing to do anything further. If it doesn't you can download your data and post it here so that we can help you figure out what might need to be tweaked.

[Hawthorne]

I put no stock whatsoever in the notion that sleep positions cause more events. As robysue said, if you have been titrated properly, you should be able to get good cpap therapy no matter how you sleep - back, side, stomach.
I have been on cpap for 14+ year and have slept on my back EVERY night for ALL of those 14+ years. My AHI is below 1 - 99.9% of the time. I don't think I have ever been above an AHI of 3, except maybe during my brief adjustment period, and then, only rarely.
I was titrated on my back and feel that this means I was titrated properly - for any position in which I slept! My AHI, at the initial study, was 63+ events. My average setting is not that high (11 cm). I use an auto with a narrow range 11cm to 14 cm (used a brick for the first few years). Any events I have occur at 11 cm - sometimes 12 - almost always. I used Encore Viewer to get my results and, latterly, Sleepyhead.
I believe I had a good sleep tech at my titration, who had me sleep on my back for the titration (easy for me since I slept on my back anyway)- therefore, I was set to get good therapy on my back, or any other position. I didn't have the best sleep study though, because of strange bed, wires, etc.
Sleeping on one's back can reduce the incidence if mask shifting as well, which is often why leak rates are high and events are frequent..
I'm not advocating back sleeping - just saying that the position in which you sleep should not make any difference. You CAN set your cpap and mask up to get good therapy in any position.

[Julie]

But it does make a difference - read her study results. Of course once you're getting consistently good Cpap results you can experiment with positions, but for many people it makes a lot of difference depending on other factors.

[Hawthorne]

I believe that, as robysue said, it should make NO difference, "once you are correctly titrated and using the appropriate pressure".
Unless you have a poor sleep tech, this should happen almost immediately. I was only days in and because, of a good tech who did a proper titration, I was good to go and never looked back. The mask will take some getting used to, but that too, can happen fairly quickly.
I will concede that, not everyone is lucky enough to get titrated properly in the first place. Why should a person have to try everything to stay off their back and become so frustrated that they give up therapy because a tech did not do their job right???
The blame, I think, lies with poorly trained or careless sleep techs, if a person cannot sleep however they want to with cpap, right away.