a question for those consistently under 5 AHI

mrcrayola wrote: ↑

Wed Mar 27, 2019 6:59 am

Principally obstructives and centrals. They seem to take turns being the issue. Obstructives seem to be the key flag for supine sleeping, because the epiglottis (?) still seems to close while breathing. My pressure is setting at a permanent 13.5. Can't post charts presently as I'm away from my desktop.

M

Have you ever tried using your machine in auto mode with a range of pressures? Many of us need a higher pressure when sleeping on our backs. By using a range of pressures, the machine can go up when we need it and then back down when we don't. That is how I get an ahi of under 1.0 most nights despite being worse on my back.

I am new to the group since February, so far be it from me to give any advice. I use the same machine as you, and initially, I was all over the place in my AHI's, which were usually over 5. Thanks to Pugsy's suggestion about increasing the therapy pressure, I am now getting many nights under 5, but I doubt I will ever get to the magic 1 or below. So, I believe, in my case, the increase of pressure is what did the trick for me. I spend most of my night either on my back or on my right side, as I have a problem with hip bursitis in my left hip, so about five minutes on that side is as long as I can take before the pain sets in causing me to change position. I also have back problems, so staying on my back for a long period also doesn't work well for me. I do feel like I breathe better on my back, since the DreamWear headgear is operating at full potential, whereas on the side, it always seems like part of it is being blocked.

I recently upgraded to a new pillow, which is about three times as thick as my old favorite down pillow, which I miss a lot. The new one is water based on the bottom and much heavier. It is not as comfortable as the old one, but I tend to get to sleep more quickly, and possibly stay asleep longer, and perhaps keeping my head higher than the rest of me helps somewhat with the OA's, but that is pure conjecture on my part.

Good luck with finding an answer and joining the "under five" group.

Thanks Norwitchterrior and zoocrewphoto. I tried the APAP setting about a year ago and was getting AHIs in double digits so I went back to the CPAP setting. As I mentioned in an earlier post today, it seems the blockage occurs when I exhale rather than inhale, and pushing out a certain threshold of air. Not certain APAP or any setting will resolve that, but I'll give it another try.

Cheers,

MC

And thanks to everyone else who responded. Dadbar1, I've dropped 17 pounds in the last five weeks (thanks in part to that nasty cold going around). My goal was to hit 200 by my 65th birthday in July. With seven pounds to go, I'm now shooting for 190. I'm presuming (and hoping) that will help control my apnea as well. Meanwhile, it's been a challenge to keep my pants up! A good problem to have!

Cheers all,

MC

For me it was just getting the right pressure dialed in at my Sleep Study.

For me it was changing from Philips Respironics to ResMed . . . my average AHI is .65 with the ResMed ASV, and I did have one night where it went up to 6.85 - but that was when I had this bad cold/congestion, so the week of my congestion was higher, but my normal average under .6

beautifuldreamer wrote: ↑

Sun Apr 07, 2019 9:31 am

For me it was changing from Philips Respironics to ResMed . . . my average AHI is .65 with the ResMed ASV, and I did have one night where it went up to 6.85 - but that was when I had this bad cold/congestion, so the week of my congestion was higher, but my normal average under .6

+1

while i'm not on an asv, the change from phillips to resmed improved my ahi immediately.

mrcrayola wrote: ↑

Sun Apr 07, 2019 8:41 am

And thanks to everyone else who responded. Dadbar1, I've dropped 17 pounds in the last five weeks (thanks in part to that nasty cold going around). My goal was to hit 200 by my 65th birthday in July. With seven pounds to go, I'm now shooting for 190. I'm presuming (and hoping) that will help control my apnea as well. Meanwhile, it's been a challenge to keep my pants up! A good problem to have!

Cheers all,

MC

Do you not have a doctor? Readings over an AHI of 5 are considered abnormal. You should be able to work with them to figure this out.

seattlepap wrote: ↑

Mon Apr 08, 2019 10:26 pm

mrcrayola wrote: ↑

Sun Apr 07, 2019 8:41 am

And thanks to everyone else who responded. Dadbar1, I've dropped 17 pounds in the last five weeks (thanks in part to that nasty cold going around). My goal was to hit 200 by my 65th birthday in July. With seven pounds to go, I'm now shooting for 190. I'm presuming (and hoping) that will help control my apnea as well. Meanwhile, it's been a challenge to keep my pants up! A good problem to have!

Cheers all,

MC

Do you not have a doctor? Readings over an AHI of 5 are considered abnormal. You should be able to work with them to figure this out.

People come here because they have been *failed* by their doctors.

Your post is most unhelpful.

I use the Oracle. I also sleep on my back because of a L1 compression fracture. My bed is adjustable with my head raised and a pillow under my knees. I seemed to have found the perfect settings for both the Oracle and the AirFit F30. With the AirFit, I taped closed the nasal vents on the mask making it an oral mask. My sinuses despise CPAP so no air can go through my nasal passages, unless I want to deal with severe congestion the next day...I don't. I have to give thanks to JDS74 for his expertise and patience helping me reach this point.

Wow... Have not posted here for quite a while...super great posting changes. Thanks to whoever worked it out!

palerider wrote: ↑

Tue Apr 09, 2019 1:32 pm

seattlepap wrote: ↑

Mon Apr 08, 2019 10:26 pm

mrcrayola wrote: ↑

Sun Apr 07, 2019 8:41 am

And thanks to everyone else who responded. Dadbar1, I've dropped 17 pounds in the last five weeks (thanks in part to that nasty cold going around). My goal was to hit 200 by my 65th birthday in July. With seven pounds to go, I'm now shooting for 190. I'm presuming (and hoping) that will help control my apnea as well. Meanwhile, it's been a challenge to keep my pants up! A good problem to have!

Cheers all,

MC

Do you not have a doctor? Readings over an AHI of 5 are considered abnormal. You should be able to work with them to figure this out.

People come here because they have been *failed* by their doctors.

Your post is most unhelpful.

Pointing out that anything over an AHI of 5 is still abnormal and that their treatment isn't working and that they should see their doctor is absolutely helpful advice. Was my statement inaccurate? Does the doctor realize that their AHI is that way? Does the person know to do a follow up early? Are you an MD?

The entire point of using one of these treatments is to bring your AHI down into a normal range. If the CPAP isn't doing that then they're not being treated. Opinions of people on the internet are great and all, but there's a reason why people see a sleep doctor to begin with.

seattlepap wrote: ↑

Thu Apr 11, 2019 2:22 pm

palerider wrote: ↑

Tue Apr 09, 2019 1:32 pm

seattlepap wrote: ↑

Mon Apr 08, 2019 10:26 pm

mrcrayola wrote: ↑

Sun Apr 07, 2019 8:41 am

And thanks to everyone else who responded. Dadbar1, I've dropped 17 pounds in the last five weeks (thanks in part to that nasty cold going around). My goal was to hit 200 by my 65th birthday in July. With seven pounds to go, I'm now shooting for 190. I'm presuming (and hoping) that will help control my apnea as well. Meanwhile, it's been a challenge to keep my pants up! A good problem to have!

Cheers all,

MC

Do you not have a doctor? Readings over an AHI of 5 are considered abnormal. You should be able to work with them to figure this out.

People come here because they have been *failed* by their doctors.

Your post is most unhelpful.

Pointing out that anything over an AHI of 5 is still abnormal and that their treatment isn't working and that they should see their doctor is absolutely helpful advice. Was my statement inaccurate? Does the doctor realize that their AHI is that way? Does the person know to do a follow up early? Are you an MD?

The entire point of using one of these treatments is to bring your AHI down into a normal range. If the CPAP isn't doing that then they're not being treated. Opinions of people on the internet are great and all, but there's a reason why people see a sleep doctor to begin with.

An AHI of 5 is crap. Perpetuating the doctor standard of 'blah blah 5 blah blah' does a disservice to people that are trying to get better sleep. Telling people "Your AHI is 'abnormal' see your doctor" is ... well, do you have even the least amount of a clue as to why we're all here? Apparently not.

There are other places on the net where you can tell people to 'go see your doctor'. Here, you should leave that up to people with more experience.

More experience and more ego.

deleted

Anything over 3 & I feel like crap