Glad to be Part of CPAP Community!

[rockncountry101]

I must say that the responses I have had have been overwhelmingly helpful. Thank you everyone for your kindness! I hope that one day I can contribute to this forum! With that being said I have one question. The doctor that put together my split-night sleep report said that I had mild sleep apnea (4.7 API and 9.7 RDI) but also stated that due to non-rem sleep the results could have been over/under estimated. The doctor also stated that I needed to get in there as "soon as practically possible" to have the titration and be careful driving and such. I go in for a titration night next week due to not meeting the criteria the first night. (At least it's free.) They are going to set me up with a CPAP but I was wondering about the over/under estimation. What if my sleep apnea is not as bad or worse than first thought? Thank you!

[palerider]

What if my sleep apnea is not as bad or worse than first thought? Thank you!

what if it's worse? wait and see.

[kaiasgram]

What if my sleep apnea is not as bad or worse than first thought?

Actually it doesn't matter. Here's why:

The severity of your SA has nothing to do with the amount of pressure you'll need on your machine. Severity is defined by the frequency of respiratory events -- mild, moderate, severe. How much pressure you need to hold your airway open is about your anatomy. No real correlation between severity and needed pressure. You could have mild SA but need a high pressure for your airway, or have severe SA but only need a little pressure to treat it.

The titration is to help find the right pressure(s). The right pressure will effectively treat your SA whether it's mild, moderate or severe. So at this point it doesn't really matter if your SA was over or underestimated during the sleep study. You're already on to the titration which is the appropriate next step.

[knothead]

I love my cpap, fought it for years. Finally gave in and had a sleep study, had a terrible time adjusting to a mask on my face, but now, hey I even nap in it...greatest thing since....well maybe not that, but toast & jam
Not to worry about it, if its needed you'll be better off.

[zoocrewphoto]

A lot of people are worse when sleeping on their back as well as in REM sleep. So, while you might not be worse in REM sleep, if you are, and you have a decent amount of REM sleep at home, untreated, then your overall apnea would be more severe than your test showed.

I had an ahi of 79 in the sleep study, but I never reached REM sleep either. I know I do at home, but for somebody with severe sleep apnea like me, we tend to get less REM sleep, and it is more at the end of the night. Since I scored pretty severe early in the night, there was no need to test how much worse I might be. It was pretty obvious I need treatment So, they started the titration.

Try not to worry too much. They won't be testing you for diagnosis again. They will be working to determine the best pressure for you to prevent most events. And that doesn't depend on the number of events. Stay on the list, as you may need to fine tune it some more later. Some people, once they start sleeping deeper with good treatment may find they need a bit more pressure later on. And sometimes the pressure found in the lab doesn't quite work as well at home. It is usually a good starting point, and then we can fine tune it at home.