High AHI using Auto-BiPAP

I started using the Philips Respironics Dreamstation Auto-BiPAP about a week and a half ago after being diagnosed with sleep apnea. My AHI during the sleep study was 23. The Dreamstation Auto-BiPAP machine provides a reading every morning of my AHI as well as the total number of clear apnea, obstructive apnea and hypopnea events throughout the night. Just curious if it's normal that my AHI is still near 20. For those veteran users, does the AHI improve after longer therapy time? I'm still waking up frequently through the night with no leaks and a relatively comfortable mask. Last night for example, my readings were:

AHI - 20
Clear apnea events - 107
Obstructive apnea events - 7
Hypopnea events - 74

ak_grown wrote:I started using the Philips Respironics Dreamstation Auto-BiPAP about a week and a half ago after being diagnosed with sleep apnea. My AHI during the sleep study was 23. The Dreamstation Auto-BiPAP machine provides a reading every morning of my AHI as well as the total number of clear apnea, obstructive apnea and hypopnea events throughout the night. Just curious if it's normal that my AHI is still near 20. For those veteran users, does the AHI improve after longer therapy time? I'm still waking up frequently through the night with no leaks and a relatively comfortable mask. Last night for example, my readings were:

AHI - 20
Clear apnea events - 107
Obstructive apnea events - 7
Hypopnea events - 74

With that many "clear airway" events, you may have the wrong machine. You may need an ASV type of machine.
Do you have a copy of your sleep study?
Did your sleep study show "Centrals"?
Are you using the settings they prescribed?

If you could post some reports, that might help.

Yes, there can be a decrease in the events over time, but they shouldn't be as bad as what you're reporting.
For all intents and purposes, the machine and setup a person is prescribed SHOULD get the AHIs under 5.0 from the beginning of therapy.


Den

.

Your AHI is over half clear airway/central apnea events. Will they reduce over time? Maybe...maybe not. It all depends on why you are having them.

Did you have any centrals noted in your diagnositic sleep study? If you don't know or don't have that report...get it as it is important to know.

Did you have an in lab sleep study where they hooked you up to the mask and machine? If so, did it show any centrals?...again get a copy if you don't have it.

Why were you given Bipap? Any idea? What are your settings? Pressures? PS ..Pressure Support? Using auto adjusting or fixed pressures?

Your hyponea count is approx the other half of your AHI and it would be real helpful to see your actual software reports to get maybe an idea what is going on with the hyponeas. They might be obstructive in nature and just need a little more pressure but they could also be central in nature especially since your central count is elevated.

If you had very many centrals during your diagnostic sleep study so that your primary diagnosis was central sleep apnea and not obstructive sleep apnea then it is unlikely that things will get any better with this particular model of BiPap.

So to help you best we need a little more detailed information.

Do you know about SleepyHead software?
viewtopic/t103468/Need-help-with-screen-shots.html
https://sleep.tnet.com/equipment