Is A "Perfect Score" Attainable?

I get more 0 on the S10 than I ever did on the S8 or S9.

I get 100's on my ResMedMyAir quite a bit. Usually a couple of times per week or close to it. And my AHI's are either .2 to .3 most of the times. Sometimes none. HOWEVER, I don't have a serious case. I mainly have some Hypopneas, that respond well with Cpap. I've also lost about 45 pounds, but, honestly....my Cpap numbers are about the same as they were before my weight loss. Maybe, a tad better now. I have no plans to stop treatment though, even though, I still have more weight to lose.

got zero exactly once. i'm in agreement with someone above, it wasn't that great of an experience. have also hit around .45 a few times. those actually felt better.

and yes, i'm one of those users who can truly feel better(more well rested, etc.) in the 1-2 range. any higher and i've had me some ragged sleep!

In almost two and a half years, I have had two nights with zero events. For me, they are few and far between.

hobbs wrote:I get ZERO 2-3 times a week.

Over the last 5+ yrs my avg AHI is .2 so that includes mostly zeros. I think if you get your pressure dialed in and are using the right cpap and mask zeroes are certainly possible. Im using a Respironics.

zonker wrote:got zero exactly once. i'm in agreement with someone above, it wasn't that great of an experience. have also hit around .45 a few times. those actually felt better.

and yes, i'm one of those users who can truly feel better(more well rested, etc.) in the 1-2 range. any higher and i've had me some ragged sleep!

I've had a zero once. I am usually under 1.5, often under 1.0.

But for me, a really good night where I can feel the difference is when I sleep 6+ hours STRAIGHT. Typical for me is one bathroom trip after 3-4 hours. Which is much better than without cpap. And that is still a good night. But that time I slept 9 hours straight? Oh, that was a totally awesome night of sleep. And good thing too. That was a Thursday night, and Friday night, I ended up NOT going to slee. All my printers gave me problems, and I had booklets that needed to be printed by Saturday morning. I was still printing at 6am, and had to leave the house at 7am. So, it was a good thing that extra boost of energy was there to get me through that second day.

For me, 3 - 5 hours straight before a single break is a good night, regardless of what the ahi number is. (though it has only gone over 3 ahi maybe 5 or 6 times in 5 years). Anything 6+ straight hours, and we are in awesome territory.

Once upon a time I could expect seeing zeros as often as not. This went on for several years. Over time I needed to bump up my pressure as as began to see an AHI over 2, but I was not able to bump up the pressure enough to get all those zero readings again. With my pressure now over 14, getting air in the belly became a problem, so I decided a decent AHI of usually <1 and tolerable belly air was a good compromise for me. I think for those who don't need a very high pressure, who aren't prone to pressure induced centrals, and who don't have air in the belly issues, there's an excellent chance one could just bump the pressure up a digit or 2 above their greatest need and see fairly regular zeros. The rest of us have to pick our battles. If it were an option for me, I'd go for it. If it can possibly eliminate even a few wakeups during a night, I see value in that. But based solely on CPAP data, it's hard to say if our few events are disturbing our sleep stages. Not all events do, so one could be chasing a possibility that isn't a reality. BTW, I was never able to tell the difference in how I felt between those zero nights and those with a low AHI.

I generally have pretty good AHI numbers in the hypopneas and obstructive events category ... none last night for example, and this is not unusual. Centrals however make up the bulk of my AHI and those are 90% SWJ when looked at in the flow chart. So the 5 or so centrals I have each night are always going to make zero elusive for me. I don't worry about that at all.

I'm with Zoocrew, for me much more important is the length of good, uninterrupted sleep. That is what I am seeking. Sleep quality. Maybe this happens after we get our numbers down into a range that is well treated, the next step is getting the blissful sleep. I'm pleased to say that I'm sleeping longer and longer each night, I'd forgotten how good it feels to get that kind of sleep.

As I recall I have had the occasional zero, usually when my sleep was so crappy that I considered it a bad joke to have Mr Smiley Face telling me how grand things were.

Please know that my objective in posting this was not my fixation on numbers or that my goal was to achieve a perfect score--it was simply a curiosity, that if, with all the variables in sleep and with therapy, it was even possible to get all zeros.

Like everyone else, my goal is to get a good night's sleep and wake up refreshed. I have been on therapy for about two and a half months and I finally felt better at night 16--when I got the correct pressure, mask and comfort features all coming together for me. Also, just getting used to having a mask on my face all night.

I too, can't tell the difference between a 2.0 AHI night and a 0.1 night. I would LOVE to have nights where I did NOT have to get up to go to the bathroom! That would be my goal. Before therapy, most time I would have to get up every HOUR! My best before therapy was if I could make it once every two hours. Now I am grateful if I can make it 3-4 hours before I have to get up. I am down to two trips to the bathroom a night. So much better, but, MAN, would I love to sleep through the whole night! I can't even remember what that's like!

While nocturia is a symptom for sleep apnea it isn't the only reason we can have nocturia.
Do you have to go to the bathroom fairly often during the day also?
Have you checked with your doctor to see if there is something else in addition to the sleep apnea causing the nocturia?

Sleeping Ugly wrote:I have been on CPAP therapy for about 2 months now. Mainly through this site, I have found how to improve my therapy with adjustments/features to the point that I now have almost perfect numbers. It's been weeks since I have had either a CA or obstructive airway apnea. I have a smattering of hyponeas--most nights as few as 2-3 and my VS's are averaging 2-5. Last night I only had one RERA and 2 flow limitations.

I am well aware that everyone is different--medications, medical problems, weight, masks, machines, sleeping positions, etc. All the variables I am aware of.

My question is: Do you think it possible to ever achieve the "prefect score?" All O's? No CA or OA, no hyponeas, no VS, no RERA's, etc. ?

Is it a unicorn or has anyone ever had the perfect night? (UHHH--RELATED TO CPAP THERAPY)!! LOL

I have had a "perfect score" ONE time in the past 8 months. It was about 3 months ago. (I did save the Sleepyhead Chart). Mostly run between .5 and 3.

In seven years on Resmed machines, I have had fewer than a dozen zero AHI nights.
The number that gets most of my attention is leak rate, as my AHI is always low.
Low leak means I am GETTING my therapy--low AHI only means the computer THINKS I am.
Got to have BOTH for it to mean anything.

Sure it's possible ... happens all the time.

OK, well every week anyway.

Pugsy wrote:While nocturia is a symptom for sleep apnea it isn't the only reason we can have nocturia.
Do you have to go to the bathroom fairly often during the day also?
Have you checked with your doctor to see if there is something else in addition to the sleep apnea causing the nocturia?

I don't have to use the bathroom much during the day. I have had medical tests to determine if the nocturia was caused by something else. It's logical it was sleep apnea. I don't know why it still continues with good therapy. it certainly is MUCH better, however!

It's good to compare notes, because, now I'm wondering if I should bump my pressure up just a notch to get a perfect score all the time, but.......I may just leave it.

Bathroom trips were HORRIBLE for me before my treatment. So, even though, my numbers weren't that bad, my bathroom trips were. I no longer have that problem and in fact, normally go all night with no bathroom trip, EVEN though, I drink a lot of fluids and go a lot in the day. (Med I'm on. Long story.)

I just started taking Melatonin. I can't tell it really. I think I may need a higher dose.

My goal is to get uninterrupted sleep. Sometimes, that is possible and I LOVE IT, but, I am sometimes awakened by my Continuous Glucose Monitor. It alerts me if my blood sugar is too high or too low. So, I'm okay, if that will not go off. But, I a light sleeper and outside noises will awake me.