Another Newbie!!!

[SleepyGrant]

Well here is my story. It started about six years ago. I used to always get off of work, come home and take a few hour nap and did not think much about it. After awhile though I started to think that this is not normal because when I woke up I was still tired. After awhile my wife started to tell me that I stopped breathing in my sleep. Then it turned into her waking me up several times a night for my incredibly loud snoring. Well being in the military I went to my PCP to see what was wrong. They sent me to see a sleep doctor. I did 2 take home studies (Which are junk!!) with inconclusive result. I was then referred to an out in town sleep clinic. My new sleep doc set me up with a split night sleep study. I was diagnosed with moderate OSA. I went from sleep study to having a CPAP in home in 1 weeks time. This was pretty quick since it all happened right around Christmas. So last night was my first night on CPAP and it seemed to have gone pretty good but I have a question. My PR One Auto Cpap said that I had an AHI of 7.5 last night. Does this sound right? Will that number go down as I acclimate to the therapy? My original AHI during m sleep study was 25. My doc prescribed me at 8.0 CM H2O. Is this number possible to low? Thanks to all the great information that I have learned from all of you on CPAPTALK.COM!!!

[JohnBFisher]

... My PR One Auto Cpap said that I had an AHI of 7.5 last night. Does this sound right? ...

Sure. There is no magic to the pressure. It is just the pressure YOU need to keep your airway open.

... Will that number go down as I acclimate to the therapy? ...

Probably not. It may and sometimes does. But as you age your airway will tend to collapse more. In fact some people note it increase both over time and as they loose weight. Go figure. The key is that it will keep your airway open.

... My original AHI during m sleep study was 25. My doc prescribed me at 8.0 CM H2O. Is this number possible to low? ...

Proably not. It sounds as if your sleep doctor put you on straight CPAP. If you have a PR Auto CPAP then it can be changed to Auto CPAP mode at a later time. That will allow it to adapt as your pressure needs change.

... Thanks to all the great information that I have learned from all of you on CPAPTALK.COM!!!

Keep on reading and posting. Only "stupid" question is the one unasked. But do read as you will find lots of people post similar questions. Of course, you might need to clarify the thoughts. No problem with that. Most of us need to do that.

[Gerryk]

Welcome aboard,
Your pressure requirements aren't something that would go down as you acclimate to cpap. Your pressure reauirement is set by the pressure that is required to maintain an open airway with a minimal amount of events. However if you are having a lot of events because of being overweight, then your pressure requirements would probably go down if you lost weight.

Gerry

[SleepyGrant]

Im sorry let me clarify my statement of the numbers going down. What I meant to ask is will my night AHI go down. For example last night it was 7.5 will that number go below 5 as it did when they tritrated me during my sleep study? And again sorry for the confussion.

[Geminidream]

Welcome!

I am a very recent newbie too! Have been on cpap therapy for almost 2 weeks now. Its going pretty well, minus a few adjustments and I am already starting to feel pretty good. You will be amazed at what sleep you have been missing all this time. Glad things are going well for you so far. Keep it up.

[Gerryk]

As far as the numbers going down just because you get used to the cpap, I don't think so. However they numbers could go down once you get used to the cpap. I know I know, let me explain a little. You probably have some mask leaks and that could cause your numbers to be up where they are. The quattro mask is like a double edged sword eighter it works for you and you love it or you fight it for ever and hate it.

With the quattro fit and adjustment will make or break that mask. You don't want to crank down on that mask, you kind of want it to hover on your face. You lightly tighen the straps on the bottom and leave the top ones a little looser and turn your machine on then adjust via the dial in the center of your forhead. That's not a volume knob for your wife to turn down so she can't hear you it's to adjust the mask in and out once it is in place.

Any other questions don't wait just ask on here.

Gerry

[KatieW]

Welcome to both of you....SleepGrant and GeminiDream.

Read as much as you have time to, there is such a wealth of helpful info here. And kind and generous folks, for any questions.

[rested gal]

What I meant to ask is will my night AHI go down. For example last night it was 7.5 will that number go below 5 as it did when they tritrated me during my sleep study?

It's "normal" for the AHI to vary occasionally from one night to another, even without changing anything. Remember though, that as the nights go on, you will be looking at weekly/monthly average AHI, not just "last night's." Unfortunately, Respironics did not put a just "last night" data reading in their machines. ResMed has "last night" along with weekly/monthly, but Respironics does not.

So, after your first night, any AHI you look at will be an ongoing average -- won't be just for the previous night. There's a way to reset that data to start over showing just the previous night, but that involves getting into the clinical setup menu. That's pretty easy to do, if you know how to access the setup menu. But it's an aggravation to have to reset it each time before each night's session, for something as simple and useful to see as "last night" data.

I think Respironics really dropped the ball when they didn't choose to show the same kind of data breakdown that ResMed uses to show theirs.

Now, with that little rant of mine out of the way....

Generally, raising the pressure a cm or two will lower the AHI.

I'm not a doctor, but I wouldn't hesitate one bit to raise the prescribed pressure one or two full cm's (or more! LOL!) if I wanted to.

Check your Private Messages, Grant. Click the phrase at upper left that says "__ new messages", under the Search box.

[Hawthorne]

It is quite possible that raising the pressure a cm or 2 will bring that AHI down some.

A pressure of 8.0 cm is not very high so raising it 1 or 2 cm should not be much of a problem. You might want to raise it gradually - 1 cm for a few nights and then another cm if the AHI stays above 5 consistently.

Given the nature of sleep studies ( 1 night - strange surroundings - all wired up) is is very possible, maybe even probable that your pressure is a bit too low.

As Rested Gal said, your AHI will be a bit different most every night regardless but, once you get used to cpap and get a good pressure for you, the AHI will be very similar most nights. Things can change once in a while, for a few nights because of other factors in your life ( having a cold - extra stress - time of year - other health conditions) but this is also normal.

Let us know how things go!