Should I be satisfied with AHI of 1.8?

General Discussion on any topic relating to CPAP and/or Sleep Apnea.
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digitaleagle
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Re: Should I be satisfied with AHI of 1.8?

Post by digitaleagle » Mon Dec 20, 2010 6:27 pm

Mine have been averaging around 2.6 but I have no Obstructive Apneas at all. I always get some Clear Airways, Hypopnea's, and RERA's. From what I have been reading the machine sometimes picks up false events? I have tried raising my pressure from 6.5 to 7 with poor results. My titration was 6.0. I also don't do well on APAP.

I have had a couple of nights at .8 but most are around 2.6-2.7.

Any suggestions on improving my numbers?

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jbn3boys
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Re: Should I be satisfied with AHI of 1.8?

Post by jbn3boys » Mon Dec 20, 2010 8:15 pm

digitaleagle wrote: I always get some Clear Airways, Hypopnea's, and RERA's. From what I have been reading the machine sometimes picks up false events?
The System One is known for false vibratory snores, but I'm not so sure about any other false events. Also, the RERAs are not calculated into the AHI.
digitaleagle wrote:I have tried raising my pressure from 6.5 to 7 with poor results. My titration was 6.0. I also don't do well on APAP.
Considering you have some clear airway events, you may want to try lowering your pressure, not raising it. Higher pressures can induce central apnea in some people.
digitaleagle wrote:I have had a couple of nights at .8 but most are around 2.6-2.7. Any suggestions on improving my numbers?
The bigger question is how do you feel? If you are feeling well, then I'd say don't mess with a good thing. Numbers in the 2 range are wonderful. But if you are still feeling miserable, then maybe try lowing your pressure by .5 for a few days and see if that helps. (One night is usually not enough to tell--give it a few nights at any new pressure.)

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kteague
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Re: Should I be satisfied with AHI of 1.8?

Post by kteague » Mon Dec 20, 2010 8:33 pm

By the way, Jonnybee, I LOVE your dog story! He may not be worth 2 cents but I bet you wouldn't take any amount for him. Handsome dog.

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digitaleagle
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Re: Should I be satisfied with AHI of 1.8?

Post by digitaleagle » Mon Dec 20, 2010 9:25 pm

jbn3boys wrote:
digitaleagle wrote: I always get some Clear Airways, Hypopnea's, and RERA's. From what I have been reading the machine sometimes picks up false events?
The System One is known for false vibratory snores, but I'm not so sure about any other false events. Also, the RERAs are not calculated into the AHI.
digitaleagle wrote:I have tried raising my pressure from 6.5 to 7 with poor results. My titration was 6.0. I also don't do well on APAP.
Considering you have some clear airway events, you may want to try lowering your pressure, not raising it. Higher pressures can induce central apnea in some people.
digitaleagle wrote:I have had a couple of nights at .8 but most are around 2.6-2.7. Any suggestions on improving my numbers?
The bigger question is how do you feel? If you are feeling well, then I'd say don't mess with a good thing. Numbers in the 2 range are wonderful. But if you are still feeling miserable, then maybe try lowing your pressure by .5 for a few days and see if that helps. (One night is usually not enough to tell--give it a few nights at any new pressure.)
Thanks for the reply. To be honest I still don't get a full nights restful sleep but feel pretty good during the day. I might take your advice and drop the pressure back down to my titrated rate of 6 and see what happens to the numbers. When I was on APAP for a while the machine would go from 6 to 8 and back quite a bit during the night. The swings in pressure would always wake me up. I've only been on CPAP for less than 4 weeks so I think I'm doing ok.

Thanks again for the thoughtful suggestions. I appreciate it.

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jonnybee
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Re: Should I be satisfied with AHI of 1.8?

Post by jonnybee » Mon Dec 20, 2010 9:37 pm

kteague wrote:By the way, Jonnybee, I LOVE your dog story! He may not be worth 2 cents but I bet you wouldn't take any amount for him. Handsome dog.
Yep, he's my buddy. I think they know when you've helped them out. Strays make the best pets; I've had many over the years. Thanks.
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jbn3boys
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Re: Should I be satisfied with AHI of 1.8?

Post by jbn3boys » Tue Dec 21, 2010 8:33 am

I'm glad I could help. Let us know how it goes.

Merry Christmas!

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Mask: Swift™ FX For Her Nasal Pillow CPAP Mask with Headgear
Additional Comments: titration 11
Sleep study (Aug 2010): AHI 16 (On mask AHI 0.2) <-- Now, if I could just attain that "0.2" again!
aPAP for 4 months, Switched to BiPap, 2nd sleep study Feb 2011 Possible PLMD
to quote Madalot..."I'm an enigma"