better understanding of why hypopneas remain uncorrected

[RMinOntario]

It is easy to get caught up in an xPAP Olympics.....chasing after numbers achieved by other OSA sufferers undergoing xPAP treatement for no particular good reason other than they are perceived as better than whatever numbers you personally get.

Also, xPAP therapy does not directly treat all sleep disordered breathing problems (let alone, all sleep problems). It only directly treats OSA. So there may be other things which are effecting sleep (and in turn the AHI score to some degree) which will simply not be impacted much, if at all, by xPAP therapy.

This is not to say that there aren't things on the more average nights than wont impact my AHI score (for example controlling maks leaks etc), but it is saying that the answer to the question "what, if anything kept me from experiencing good sleep last night?" may lie in areas of overall sleep hygene/architecture which have nothing much to do with xPAP therapy.... therefore sweating on the minutiae of XPAP therapy is not necessarily of great benefit in terms of longitudinal outcomes, once you have got into an acceptable range of being able to consistently answer yes to the "do I feel noticeably more rested than I did before commencing xPAP treatmentl?" question.

Cheers,
Bill

Bill,
I'm not looking to chase numbers just for the sake of it, as much as trying to understand as far as the equipment goes, what will help, for instance, lower my hypopneas. I am also looking at bettering my sleep hygiene. But now I understand that the equipment just doesn't address certain things, and it kinda takes it off the list of things to try and work with. Then I can deal with things under my control.

I also find that nights that I am very tired can give me better numbers.

[Muse-Inc]

...If it will help you guys feel better I will report my AHI every morning...It was 19+ two and three nights ago but I got it down to 11+ last night..

This should end a lot of the angsting over AHIs; everyone can now think to themselves, "Gee, I'm not that bad!" Thanks Mar!

How're you doing anyway? Haven't read any posts from you lately...gone to the neuro yet?

[-SWS]

...If it will help you guys feel better I will report my AHI every morning...It was 19+ two and three nights ago but I got it down to 11+ last night..

This should end a lot of the angsting over AHIs; everyone can now think to themselves, "Gee, I'm not that bad!" Thanks Mar!

How're you doing anyway? Haven't read any posts from you lately...gone to the neuro yet?

Muse-Inc, I redirected your question HERE if you guys don't mind.

[dkdc]

AHI still up - next steps?
Posted on another forum - in case you are having deja vu

I know I should check with my doctor - but I want to know what he should be suggesting before I go there.

About a month with this mask and 1.5 months with the machine - My AHi readings have been about as high as 25 and as low as 7 - with an average of about 11-12. AI readings are averaging about 2-3 (which is odd since they were 0.5 in the initial study). (Leak rates are 0.0 or close to 0 every night). I will have 3 days in a row sometimes with an AHI of 7 and then it goes back up for 6 days to 14-15. No real trend that I can see.

I have read that AHI for mild cases (my AHI was 13.7 in the initial study) may take months to come down and that it may take months to feel better. And that machines (S8 elite) may over report events - like counting shallow breathing as an AHI event. So, it may be that I am doing fine. It may be that something is not right and should be corrected.

My doctor already upped the pressure from 8 which the titration study found to be optimal, to 10 cm. That was about a month ago.

I am feeling like the "fog" may be lifting slowly, or it may be that I am just going to bed earlier so I am feeling a little better, or maybe there is no improvement. I am not sure

So, what would make sense from this point on?
-------------
Keep on with what I am doing?
Have the doctor look at the graphs from machine data but try to talk him out of raising the pressure any more?
Ask him to raise the pressure?
Will the data point to an obvious course to take?

I think my doctor knows what he is doing, but I have found that it is important to know what I am doing before I see doctors.

[Cygnusia]

Long story short I noticed some months back I was somewhat awake, somewhat asleep, and I found myself holding my breath.

Since I've started doing CPAP, I've caught myself doing the exact same thing. I guess being on the therapy has made me hyper-aware of my breathing patterns when trying to go to sleep.