Sudden increase in AHI

[Scorpio]

I wondered if anybody can comment on why I have experienced a sudden increase in my AHI.
During a recent sleep study I was diagnosed with OSA with an AHI of 15 with an average of 2 hours sleep a night.
Two months ago I started treatment with a Resmed S9 Autoset and Swift FX nasal pillows.
The results have been remarkable because within a very short period (4-6 weeks) my AHI had decreased to below 1 with an average of 5.8 hrs sleep a night....and has continued to be at this level for the past 2 weeks. Then this morning I was very disappointed to see that my CPAP machine had registered an AHI of 6 for 6.5 hours of sleep.
Coincidentally, last night I had a late snack of oatcakes with cheddar cheese about an hour before going to bed. Would it have been possible for this snack to have caused this spike in my AHI readings?.....have any other members experienced anything similar?
NOTE: I would add that normally my AHI readings show mostly obstructives with centrals very rarely registering above 0.5 but my last nights reading showed an abnormally high central reading of 3.6.

Being a new member to this community I just wanted to add what a great resource of information these boards are, I've been 'cruising' several CPAP forums over the past couple of weeks and IMO this is by far the best.

[Julie]

I believe oats can cause gas, and that certainly could have caused trouble even if you weren't conscious of it at the time, but in any case, there are many things that cause one-off nights like that, and only if you find that you're consistently having a problem should you begin to worry.

[Pachyderm's Nose]

I know my ahi bounces around anywhere from 0.4 up to 4.5 and it does seem to be affected by late snacks. I also have a lot of centrals (most of my ahi) but I don't worry too much about them as they can be from holding breath while turning over or false events flagged while I'm awake.

[Tino2You]

Hi Scorpio and welcome to the forum.

It is very good you are taking an active role in your treatment and are keeping track of your "numbers". Keep it up! As for your last AHI of 6, I would not put much thought into it. As you said it could have been caused (indirectly as in the case of gas) by your late night snack. You could have had a bit of a restless sleep because of it. Or maybe your had some very vivid dreams. There are those in this forum with many, many more hours on the machine that would say "one point on a chart is not a trend". Keep track of your stats but try not to be concerned if you see a spike now and then.

Cheers,
-tino

[nanwilson]

Morning
One night of higher ahis is not a biggy..now if it just kept up for several nights in a row then you would need to start "fixing". Do you realize that 2 months of use with your Resmed pillows is sometimes the culprit too. You may need new pillows....if you were given the 3 sets of pillows when you got your mask, you can trade the unused ones for those that you need, thus having 3 sets of the size you require instead of just one. Go to the search box above and type in THE GREAT PILLOW EXCHANGE, you will see what you need. There is also a thread on "boiling the pillows", you could try that hint too.

[TalonNYC]

I second Nan's comments on one-off nights. i have an AHI that is typically under 2 (and many times under 1). However, every few weeks (no real schedule or pattern, just about ever other week or so) I'll have a night or two where I'm well over 5 or even over 6. It resolves itself within a couple of nights, and I'm back to being under 2 every night once again.

Sometimes you might be feeling the effects of allergies, or a minor head cold, or just have a bad night. One friend of mine who's been on therapy for years gave me the best advice ever:

"Some rough nights are normal. Everyone has them, OSA or not. The only difference now is that we can feel them, where as before we never noticed them because EVERY night was a bad night!"

[Burkebang]

I try to not eat cheese in the evening. I get slimey in the throat from cheese and have seen that affect my AHI.

[Scorpio]

Thanks everybody for your help....I really appreciate you taking time to give me some sound advice.

[DavidCarolina]

(belated reply)

From experience, a sudden AHI spike or Periodic breathing problem is caused by

1. LEAK. It follows a sudden leak problem for that ONE night or a worn out mask

2. Gerd/eating causing bad dreams, reflux, and bad numbers

3. Irregular sleeping patterns, getting out of routine

4. CHEMICALS: msg in paricular, but also aspartame, never use diet sodas

5. ALCOHOL, totally disturbs REM

[old dude]

(belated reply)

From experience, a sudden AHI spike or Periodic breathing problem is caused by

1. LEAK. It follows a sudden leak problem for that ONE night or a worn out mask

2. Gerd/eating causing bad dreams, reflux, and bad numbers

3. Irregular sleeping patterns, getting out of routine

4. CHEMICALS: msg in paricular, but also aspartame, never use diet sodas

5. ALCOHOL, totally disturbs REM

Diet sodas/aspartame can cause a sudden spike in AHI or periodic breathing?

Please explain.