Need help with AHI fluctuations

General Discussion on any topic relating to CPAP and/or Sleep Apnea.
mile0105
Posts: 3
Joined: Sun Aug 14, 2022 10:06 am

Need help with AHI fluctuations

Post by mile0105 » Sun Aug 14, 2022 10:59 am

Hi everyone!

Before I was diagnosed with sleep apnea I did nose surgery to reduce my turbine on my right side - apparently, I had 90% blockage! After the surgery, I have been diagnosed with mild overall sleep apnea (AHI 6.3, RDI 11.3) and moderate in REM and on the stomach (REM AHI 14.5, REM RDI 21.8, stomach AHI 11.9 , stomach RDI 18.5). I have had many complications from sleep apnea, even though it was mild such as:
- high blood pressure(especially my diastolic BP) - 160/110
- polycythemia
- respiratory acidosis
- erectile issues
- high blood lipids (cholesterol and triglycerides)
- high uric acid

Fast forward 2 months in therapy and second nose surgery on my left side, my blood pressure is around 135/78 - can be better, but it's improving(especially my diastolic BP is great!), my RBC are within range (hemoglobin and hematocrit are still a bit high, but getting down), uric acid normal, my cholesterol dropped 80 points and my triglycerides dropped about 50 points, and the little guy downstairs works much better ;)

I feel much better overall, however, I sometimes have high-ish AHI, for example, if my AHI is > 2.5 I feel terrible and have a morning headache. I am posting some OSCAR charts, from 3 individual nights.

I would appreciate some help here!


13 August.png
13 August.png (132.6 KiB) Viewed 599 times
8 August.png
8 August.png (135.42 KiB) Viewed 599 times
7 August.png
7 August.png (131.04 KiB) Viewed 599 times

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Julie
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Joined: Tue Feb 28, 2006 12:58 pm

Re: Need help with AHI fluctuations

Post by Julie » Sun Aug 14, 2022 11:48 am

Your leaks aren't terrible, but have you ever considered a full face mask to improve them?

lynninnj
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Joined: Mon Jul 25, 2022 8:56 am

Re: Need help with AHI fluctuations

Post by lynninnj » Sun Aug 14, 2022 12:33 pm

mile0105 wrote:
Sun Aug 14, 2022 10:59 am
Hi everyone!

Before I was diagnosed with sleep apnea I did nose surgery to reduce my turbine on my right side - apparently, I had 90% blockage! After the surgery, I have been diagnosed with mild overall sleep apnea (AHI 6.3, RDI 11.3) and moderate in REM and on the stomach (REM AHI 14.5, REM RDI 21.8, stomach AHI 11.9 , stomach RDI 18.5). I have had many complications from sleep apnea, even though it was mild such as:
- high blood pressure(especially my diastolic BP) - 160/110
- polycythemia
- respiratory acidosis
- erectile issues
- high blood lipids (cholesterol and triglycerides)
- high uric acid

Fast forward 2 months in therapy and second nose surgery on my left side, my blood pressure is around 135/78 - can be better, but it's improving(especially my diastolic BP is great!), my RBC are within range (hemoglobin and hematocrit are still a bit high, but getting down), uric acid normal, my cholesterol dropped 80 points and my triglycerides dropped about 50 points, and the little guy downstairs works much better ;)

I feel much better overall, however, I sometimes have high-ish AHI, for example, if my AHI is > 2.5 I feel terrible and have a morning headache. I am posting some OSCAR charts, from 3 individual nights.

I would appreciate some help here!



13 August.png
8 August.png
7 August.png
I can’t tell you thing about your numbers as a newbie here but welcome to the board.

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Last edited by lynninnj on Sun Aug 14, 2022 3:53 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Beware the schoolyard bullies, mean girls, and fragile male egos. Move along if you can’t be kind.

mile0105
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Joined: Sun Aug 14, 2022 10:06 am

Re: Need help with AHI fluctuations

Post by mile0105 » Sun Aug 14, 2022 2:41 pm

Julie wrote:
Sun Aug 14, 2022 11:48 am
Your leaks aren't terrible, but have you ever considered a full face mask to improve them?
Yes, initially I started with a full face mask, but I just couldn't tolerate it. I have noticed that if I sleep a bit on an incline, the AHI is low as well as when I use my chin strap since I'm forcing my body to breathe through my nose.

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Okie bipap
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Re: Need help with AHI fluctuations

Post by Okie bipap » Sun Aug 14, 2022 5:09 pm

most of your events are clear airway (central apnea) that your machine can"t do anything about. I believe most, if not all, of them are caused by poor sleep. You are having very few obstructive events. We do not sleep the same every night. Some nights we just have crappy sleep which often leads to having more central apnea events.

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Brad S
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Re: Need help with AHI fluctuations

Post by Brad S » Mon Aug 15, 2022 2:38 pm

mile0105 wrote:
Sun Aug 14, 2022 10:59 am
Hi everyone!
I would appreciate some help here!

Welcome and I am very new and trying to figure all of this out.
It is amazing to me how many problems sleep apnea really causes. 2 years ago my wife was diagnosed with pulmonary hypertension caused from years of severe untreated sleep apnea.
There are a lot of great people here that will be able to help you out.

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jimbud
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Re: Need help with AHI fluctuations

Post by jimbud » Mon Aug 15, 2022 2:54 pm

Your leaks are fine:

Large leak
1. Aug. 13th - 0.00

2. Aug. 8th - 0.00

3. Aug. 7th - 0.00

Okie bipap has it right. :wink:

You are doing fine. :D

JPB

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clownbell
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Re: Need help with AHI fluctuations

Post by clownbell » Mon Aug 15, 2022 7:36 pm

@ Mile - Okie has nailed it. There is simply night-to-night variation. Humans are not robots and will not replicate the same results night after night. With the same gear and the same pressures and going to bed at the same time and no alcohol or drugs, I have nightly variations too. One thing you CAN control -- which you have been doing -- is controlling the leaks. That is not the only factor but is an important one. After you have more time on CPAP, I recommend trying a FFM again. It may work for you in the future.
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jimbud
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Re: Need help with AHI fluctuations

Post by jimbud » Mon Aug 15, 2022 9:19 pm

mile0105 wrote:
Sun Aug 14, 2022 2:41 pm
Yes, initially I started with a full face mask, but I just couldn't tolerate it.
There is no reason for you to wear a full face mask, if you don't want to.

The only reason to worry about your level of leaks, is if they are waking you up.

The leaks you currently have do not affect therapy pressure. The machine you are using can easily handle/hold adequate therapy pressure at these leak levels.

JPB

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mile0105
Posts: 3
Joined: Sun Aug 14, 2022 10:06 am

Re: Need help with AHI fluctuations

Post by mile0105 » Tue Aug 16, 2022 2:33 am

Thank you all for your wonderful replies!

I might consider a full face mask in the future, I still have it lying around somewhere :wink:

I spoke to my ENT doctor and he thinks that sometimes my leaks could be mouth leaks (I have slept with my mouth open pretty much my whole life - my body needs to adjust) which could also explain the central sleep apneas - in reality, I might be just breathing through my mouth and my machine registering it as a CA. I don't really wake up from the leaks.

He also thinks that I may have had moderate or even severe sleep apnea before my right side of nose surgery as my throat was permanently inflamed/swollen (due to mouth breathing) which could explain all the complications - mild sleep apnea rarely causes issues, but it is good to have it treated anyway! Now that my throat is better and less dry, it opened my airway a bit.

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palerider
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Re: Need help with AHI fluctuations

Post by palerider » Tue Aug 16, 2022 3:59 pm

mile0105 wrote:
Tue Aug 16, 2022 2:33 am
Thank you all for your wonderful replies!

I might consider a full face mask in the future, I still have it lying around somewhere :wink:
the larger the surface area the mask covers, the more places that you can get leaks.

Not everyone understands this.

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