Tips to lower AHI? Sleepyhead screenshot.

[arthuref]

Been averaging about 4 for AHI. I know under 5 is good, but wondering if anyone can tell anything by looking at my Sleepyhead chart; any suggestions for lowering AHI. 8cm pressure recommended by doc, though for a awhile I used 7 as max setting due to side effects (stomach pain, extreme dry mouth).

Let me know if I can supply more info and/or screenshots. Thanks!

Screen Shot 2018-08-24 at 11.00.10 AM.png (554.32 KiB) Viewed 556 times

[palerider]

Been averaging about 4 for AHI. I know under 5 is good,

Under 5 is *NOT* good, it's "good enough" for doctors, but 5 is still like being poked with a sharp stick every 12 minutes, all night long.

Under 2 is good.

but wondering if anyone can tell anything by looking at my Sleepyhead chart; any suggestions for lowering AHI. 8cm pressure recommended by doc, though for a awhile I used 7 as max setting due to side effects (stomach pain, extreme dry mouth).

Let me know if I can supply more info and/or screenshots. Thanks!

Screen Shot 2018-08-24 at 11.00.10 AM.png

Your *min* pressure needs to be more like 7.6, and max needs to be higher to bring your ahi down. Maybe not a lot higher, because raising the min will help a lot.

[arthuref]

I'll try that and report back, thanks.

[jamesbond007]

Disclaimer: This comment may not help you with your AHI.

It looks like your EPR is turned on full time but it is set at 0. It is a comfort feature that lets you exhale (close to) normally. Have tried it and turned it off? If you turn it back on, then add that much amount of pressure to your both min and max pressure. Just FYI.

[palerider]

I'll try that and report back, thanks.

If you've had bloating, then go easy on the max increases... You need more, but go slow

[arthuref]

If you've had bloating, then go easy on the max increases... You need more, but go slow

Thanks for the replies folks. I've been gradually dialing up the min and max pressure, which seems to be working: AHI is lowering (last night: min: 6, max: 8, AHI: 1.49).

But last night I did get pretty bad bloating/stomach pain. If I increase pressure more gradually, is it possible my body will get acclimated to it and bloating can be avoided? Any other tips to avoid that?

[Pugsy]

Sometimes people reach a point with the bloating/aerophagia that they just can't go higher without a lot of discomfort.
Maybe later they could try revisiting more pressure and see if anything has changed. Sometimes a person can use more pressure 6 months from now without a problem than they can use right now.

There's no urgent need to increase your pressure any more. Back up just a little or add a little EPR in the mix (if you can) to lessen the aerophagia symptoms. Not much else you can do and there's no urgent need to do more anyway.
AHI less than 2.0....quite acceptable.
You don't want to trade one problem which is a maybe tiny problem for a bigger more annoying problem like the aerophagia.
Sometimes the cure is worse than the disease.