Now What?

[blownaway]

My AHI has gone from low single digits to decimal fractions -- such as 0.015. The reason is that due to insomnia I have taken to falling asleep on the couch in living room so that I could watch TV. Boring shows make for better sleeping pills. I end up sleeping sprawled out, head elevated. This totally solves the apnea problem but results in some morning stiffness that soon goes away. My problem with daytime sleepiness, somewhat like narcolepsy, is much improved, but not eliminated. This sleeping situation is tolerable for me.

If sleeping with head elevated can produce such dramatic changes, why am I bothering with the CPAP machine? With AHI that low, is the machine giving me any benefit at all?

Another factor is that I have kidney failure and for 5 years have slept connected to a peritoneal dialysis machine which means that I rarely get more than for hours of interrupted sleep/night. CPAP just makes for more tubes and wires to get tangled up in and problems to deal with.

[LSAT]

My AHI has gone from low single digits to decimal fractions -- such as 0.015. The reason is that due to insomnia I have taken to falling asleep on the couch in living room so that I could watch TV. Boring shows make for better sleeping pills. I end up sleeping sprawled out, head elevated. This totally solves the apnea problem but results in some morning stiffness that soon goes away. My problem with daytime sleepiness, somewhat like narcolepsy, is much improved, but not eliminated. This sleeping situation is tolerable for me.

If sleeping with head elevated can produce such dramatic changes, why am I bothering with the CPAP machine? With AHI that low, is the machine giving me any benefit at all?

Another factor is that I have kidney failure and for 5 years have slept connected to a peritoneal dialysis machine which means that I rarely get more than for hours of interrupted sleep/night. CPAP just makes for more tubes and wires to get tangled up in and problems to deal with.

Your AHI is THAT LOW because of the CPAP....Being this negative will not solve any of your sleeping problems.

[englandsf]

I'm puzzled. If you are NOT using your cpap how do you know what your AHI is?

[chunkyfrog]

Given the same set of disorders, I would not stop cpap unless I were being drawn to the light.
Probably not even then. I like living.

[jtravel]

I assume your using the Cpap machine when sleeping on your sofa so your still getting the benefit of that Cpap Machine during sleep.
Having a elevated Head position has been reported to help some with snoring and maybe sleep apnea.
That could explain why your AHI is lower when using Cpap with your head in a elevated mode.
You still need to use Cpap in conjunction with the elevated head to get the improve AHI.
I have a friend who had moderate Sleep Apnea and he purchased an adjustable bed frame to raise his head and said it was a big improvement.
He had another Home sleep study done and his AHI was lower but it still showed he would benefit from Cpap Treatment.

[palerider]

If sleeping with head elevated can produce such dramatic changes, why am I bothering with the CPAP machine? With AHI that low, is the machine giving me any benefit at all?

why do so many people, such as yourself, make the mistake of thinking 'a low AHI means the machine isn't doing anything"?

[RogerSC]

Yes, don't forget that the AHI that a cpap shows are only the events that it couldn't prevent. You have no idea how many apnea events were prevented by your cpap, and no way to find out, aside from a sleep study in your preferred sleeping position. That would be hard to do, but not impossible, if you used an at-home sleep study kit.

I would just keep using the cpap and enjoy feeling better if it were me.

[BlackSpinner]

If sleeping with head elevated can produce such dramatic changes, why am I bothering with the CPAP machine? With AHI that low, is the machine giving me any benefit at all?

why do so many people, such as yourself, make the mistake of thinking 'a low AHI means the machine isn't doing anything"?

With my big boots and heavy coat and my hat and mittens I was warm at -10c this morning so the thermometre must be wrong!

[NachtWürger]

With my big boots and heavy coat and my hat and mittens I was warm at -10c this morning so the thermometre must be wrong!

Good idea, but you blew the analogy. Better:

"With my big boots and heavy coat and my hat and mittens, I was warm at -10c this morning, so the boot/coat/hat/mittens are not necessary."

[ChicagoGranny]

With AHI that low, is the machine giving me any benefit at all?

I might be able to help, but first what are your machine pressure settings?

[palerider]

If sleeping with head elevated can produce such dramatic changes, why am I bothering with the CPAP machine? With AHI that low, is the machine giving me any benefit at all?

why do so many people, such as yourself, make the mistake of thinking 'a low AHI means the machine isn't doing anything"?

With my big boots and heavy coat and my hat and mittens I was warm at -10c this morning so the thermometre must be wrong!

it's toasty up there, innit?

[BlackSpinner]

With my big boots and heavy coat and my hat and mittens I was warm at -10c this morning so the thermometre must be wrong!

Good idea, but you blew the analogy. Better:

"With my big boots and heavy coat and my hat and mittens, I was warm at -10c this morning, so the boot/coat/hat/mittens are not necessary."

In fact my first version was that but then I thought maybe it was too obvious.

[palerider]

With my big boots and heavy coat and my hat and mittens I was warm at -10c this morning so the thermometre must be wrong!

Good idea, but you blew the analogy. Better:
"With my big boots and heavy coat and my hat and mittens, I was warm at -10c this morning, so the boot/coat/hat/mittens are not necessary."

In fact my first version was that but then I thought maybe it was too obvious.

methinks the OP may not be great at subtle.