Low AHI/RDI with CPAP but still jolting awake every night

General Discussion on any topic relating to CPAP and/or Sleep Apnea.
boogiemoogie
Posts: 4
Joined: Wed Aug 09, 2023 4:44 am

Low AHI/RDI with CPAP but still jolting awake every night

Post by boogiemoogie » Wed Aug 09, 2023 4:49 am

Sleep study results gave .3 AHI and 7.0 RDI. Been on CPAP for almost 2 months and both measures are usually below 2.00 every night. However, I am still consistently being jolted awake at least twice a night, around 12am and 4am. Usually can't fall back asleep after the 4am jolt. This was also happening before getting the CPAP. I am using a ResMed AirSense 11 with the F30i mask.

Initial settings were 4-20cm. I've tried APAP at 7-20, 8-20 and CPAP at just 9. I get the same results with all settings - better AHI/RDI but still being jolted awake. I tried looking through the OSCAR data but can't really pinpoint what is causing me to wake up. I'm getting only 3-5 hours of sleep a night because of this.

https://imgur.com/a/tnM2Bgu

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Miss Emerita
Posts: 3732
Joined: Sun Nov 04, 2018 8:07 pm

Re: Low AHI/RDI with CPAP but still jolting awake every night

Post by Miss Emerita » Wed Aug 09, 2023 11:49 am

Welcome! I sure wish something would jump out at me to explain your "jolts," but nothing does. Maybe others will spot something I'm missing.

I do see some flow limitations preceding a couple of your breaks in therapy, but that's not true for all of them.

I would suggest that hypnic jerks might be in play, but those almost always happen when you're falling asleep.

Did you experience these jolts before you started CPAP?

Did your sleep study show any periodic limb movements or restless legs?

And what medications are you taking?
Oscar software is available at https://www.sleepfiles.com/OSCAR/

boogiemoogie
Posts: 4
Joined: Wed Aug 09, 2023 4:44 am

Re: Low AHI/RDI with CPAP but still jolting awake every night

Post by boogiemoogie » Wed Aug 09, 2023 3:34 pm

Thanks for the welcome! I was already waking up around 12am and 4am every night before CPAP. However, lately with the CPAP treatment the "jolts" feel much more pronounced - I can feel myself gasping for air and my heart rate spiking right before waking up, like a shot of adrenaline. Besides the occasional caffeine (2-3 times a week in the mornings) I am on no medications.

Some detailed close ups of the moments around the time I wake up:
https://imgur.com/a/E6IEFyr

I'm not sure if my sleep study showed anything about limb movement. Unfortunately, the doctor who administered it did not really go over the results in detail and is hard to get ahold of. However, I do have screenshots of the results:

Image

Image

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Miss Emerita
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Joined: Sun Nov 04, 2018 8:07 pm

Re: Low AHI/RDI with CPAP but still jolting awake every night

Post by Miss Emerita » Thu Aug 10, 2023 11:19 am

Thanks for posting your sleep study report. A home test like this won't measure leg movements, so that's why there's no information on that.

What led you to have a sleep study in the first place? Aside from the jolts, are you feeling any better now that you're using CPAP?
Oscar software is available at https://www.sleepfiles.com/OSCAR/