AHI of 74

[minniesc]

After watching me go through my CPAP appointments and having success after use, my husband was finally convinced that he should go for an appointment. He has been having severe issues sleeping and now has been very forgetful. After his first night at the sleep lab they called to get him back in as soon as possible, saying his AHI was 74! I am amazed, mine was 16.7. He will be going again in a little over a week, but they have him on a cancelation list, and have told him to sleep sitting up until he goes. They have told him they will have him on a machine within 24 hours of his second night. I was just wondering, what exactly does his Ahi mean health wise? I am definately worried.

[cindjo717]

After watching me go through my CPAP appointments and having success after use, my husband was finally convinced that he should go for an appointment. He has been having severe issues sleeping and now has been very forgetful. After his first night at the sleep lab they called to get him back in as soon as possible, saying his AHI was 74! I am amazed, mine was 16.7. He will be going again in a little over a week, but they have him on a cancelation list, and have told him to sleep sitting up until he goes. They have told him they will have him on a machine within 24 hours of his second night. I was just wondering, what exactly does his Ahi mean health wise? I am definately worried.

Sounds like he has severe sleep apnea. My AHI was in the mid thirties and I felt like crap,how does he feel?

[LSAT]

An AHI of 74 means he stops breathing 74 times an hour....I would say that was serious. I'll bet his oxygen saturation levels were very low.
This causes the heart to pump harder.

[Mr Bill]

Don't be too afraid, but I am glad you are getting such an excellent, quick response from his study doctors. During my first sleep study I was having a respiratory disturbance index of 76 events per hour and apnea/hyponea index of 67.7 events per hour. 59 of the 84 events during actual sleep were central events. They scheduled my second sleep study two months later. So, either its not life threatening, or you are getting much better care. Either way, its all good. Great news.

[2 B Sleeping Soundly]

minniesc,

I know everyone is different, but for an example my AHI was 73.8 and a low O2 sat of 74%.
I would bet money that LSAT is correct that his O2 sat must also be very low, even possibly worse than mine was. It's a good thing he has you to get him on the right path to deal with this, because it would only get much worse in time.

Thank God for our loved ones who keep after us until we conquer denial, admit our responsibility and then take the steps necessary to finally manage our OSA/Sleep disorders.

John

[red1]

Not to worry minniesc

I had an AHI of 106 during my last sleep study. Thanks to this forum I have an AHI of 1.8.

Thanks to this forum & the great people here, I am on the way to getting well again. Your husband will be fine, once he gets his machine. There are so many good people with so many great suggestions that are here to help. There is also so much info available here through the search feature. IT is good he finds this out now. Your husbands first big step, was in recognizing that he could have sleep apnea. Things will only get better for him. There are hurtles along the way, as you know. The one good thing he has, is someone like you, that can relate. There is so much you can do, to help him through the transition.

Rick

[DoriC]

Thanks to you, I'm glad he'll be getting a machine soon but try to make sure it's data capable and not the Escape you have listed.

[archangle]

Be sure to get a good CPAP machine when he gets his new one. You got royally screwed when they gave you an Escape machine.

Get an Elite, or better yet, an AutoSet. (Not an Escape Auto.) Philips Respironics PRS1 Pro or Auto is fine as well. Don't accept a PRS1 Plus machine.

Find out ahead of time who the in-network DMEs are for your area. Be prepared to dump the DME associated with the sleep lab and find your own.

Do NOT let them give you a bad CPAP machine "just for now." Get a good machine to start with. If he's survived for years without CPAP, another week is unlikely to kill him.

Read Janknitz's how not to get screwed article.

[2 B Sleeping Soundly]

by archangle on Sat Dec 10, 2011 12:17 am

Be sure to get a good CPAP machine when he gets his new one. You got royally screwed when they gave you an Escape machine.

Get an Elite, or better yet, an AutoSet. (Not an Escape Auto.) Philips Respironics PRS1 Pro or Auto is fine as well. Don't accept a PRS1 Plus machine.

Find out ahead of time who the in-network DMEs are for your area. Be prepared to dump the DME associated with the sleep lab and find your own.

Do NOT let them give you a bad CPAP machine "just for now." Get a good machine to start with. If he's survived for years without CPAP, another week is unlikely to kill him.

Read Janknitz's how not to get screwed article.

And all the congregation in unison said AMEN!

In a perfect world (if we could somehow create it) this would be printed out on a little flyer and given to all of those going to a DME before they get to the door. The best we can do is to educate those around us, when possible, and bring any of those we know who are starting their journey (with the hose) here to become informed, enlightened, and helped

John

[mingaldrichgan]

One of these days, I'll post a proper introductory post, but...

My AHI was 118 when I got diagnosed six months ago. Roughly speaking, that means I stopped breathing almost 120 times an hour, or every 30 seconds, for at least 10 seconds at a time! Coupled with my poor sleeping habits through college, that means I rarely got much sleep at all.

minniesc, I don't know if you have experienced this yourself, but don't be discouraged if your husband has trouble with his therapy at first. For the first few months, CPAP therapy made me feel worse, not better, and I had to go through four or five different masks before I finally found one that works for me. Good luck!

[chunkyfrog]

Mine was only 13; and I felt like the brown on the ground that the hound puts down.

[TalonNYC]

To answer the first part of your question, AHI = Apnea/Hypopnea Index. It's the number of times you breathe improperly or stop breathing completely during each hour.

[archangle]

AHI is useful information, but it doesn't tell the whole story.

AHI counts the number of events, but doesn't judge your severity. If you stop breathing for 11 seconds, that counts as one event. If you stop breathing for two minutes, that also counts as one event and has the same effect on your AHI. That's part of the reason you really need a data capable machine where you can look at the waveforms of your breathing and other data. A dataless CPAP is like treating a heart attack victim by taking his pulse instead of using an EKG.

However, AHI is still useful. A lot of doctors do basically treat simply by trying to minimize the AHI, and that does usually give reasonably good treatment.

[minniesc]

Thanks for all the replies. You have taught me so much here...I shared with my husband about the type of machines when he first agreed to go for his study, I have repeatedly stressed to him that he needs a machine much better than mine. He has told the dr. that he needs a data capable machine, not just to show if the machine is used. He travels for work and also camps at least one weekend a month with my son, so he asked for a machine that will be easy to tote and can hook up to a battery, if possible.
My husband really does not sleep much, for the past few months he has pretty much stayed up most of the night (which I now wonder if it was his body's way of keeping breathing...) His personality has been less than attractive for the past few years, he has been miserable and moody. Lately he has severe memory problems and this has really concerned him. A friend of mine who also recently started cpap treatment said that he didnt realize how miserable he was until one of his kids mentioned to him that he was "more nice" now, I must admit I hope my husband is the same. My husband has been living on tea and redbull, which has me incredibly concerned.
I know this may be rough for him to adjust, and he is not a patient man, but I keep stressing to him what a difference it makes to me. I am one of the lucky ones, once I found a mask to fit I am able to sleep with it on for 7 or more hours a night with minimal leaks except when I roll onto my side (although I cannot wear it with asthma flare ups). I am hoping that I can help him adjust and not give up, and have encouraged him to come here and read posts for encouragement.
Thanks again!

[archangle]

PRS1 (Philips Respironics System One) machines are easier to power for camping than ResMed. PRS1 will live happily off 12V power. ResMed needs an expensive DC-DC converter.

Do NOT! accept a PRS1 Plus. PRS1 PRO or Auto are good. I don't like the new PRS1 Auto IQ, but in theory, it's between a Pro and Auto.