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Eleven or twelve years ago, I had an inlab sleep study that found mild to moderate sleep apnea and significant enough restless leg syndrome to warrant treatment. I failed CPAP therapy at that time and gave up. In the last year or so, despite losing weight, I have gone from waking up once a night to 2-3 times, never sleeping more than three hours straight, so I decided to give it another go. I no longer have the old study, and apparently no one does. This time, insurance would only pay for an at home study. I slept with the thing on for about 3 hours. I'm told the apnea index was 11, and my insurer won't pay for a machine unless its 15 or higher, or there is another secondary condition (restless leg doesnt count). My wife says she believes my sleep apnea is mild since she never hears me snorting myself awake like she heard with her father, and we still hear everytime my own father comes over.

I don't understand why I can't sleep longer than three hours if my sleep apnea is actually mild and am not sure what to do. Years ago I tried Mirapex and Requip for restless leg, and that didn't seem to do anything except make me itchy. I remain a huge toss and turner, and grind my face into the pillow hard.

I could really use some advice. I have the 11-12 year old machine, and maybe if it still works the insurer will pay for a mask and tubing. Or I could pay for that out of pocket. But is that even worth doing with an apnea index of 11? Could it be my problem is something else?

I don't have the results of the study in my possession yet, and only was told the apnea index.

Thanks for any advice!

Do you have any other physical or mental health conditions that could be impacting your sleep?
You already mentioned the restless leg issue. Anything else?

Do you take any medications of any kind? If so, what?

Exactly what symptoms are you experiencing other than the inability to sleep longer than 3 hours?
Any trouble falling asleep?
Why can't you go back to sleep after 3 hours?

A 10 or 12 year old machine might could still be used to do a DIY treatment thing but it's going to be difficult even if it is a full data machine and you could get a hold of everything that is needed to use some software to monitor the results.

What machine exactly do you still have? Brand and model name or number.

ArtNJ wrote: ↑

Thu Apr 02, 2020 12:28 pm

I'm told the apnea index was 11....
I don't understand why I can't sleep longer than three hours if my sleep apnea is actually mild a

"mild" gives a false sense of 'well, it's not so bad', an AHI of 11 means that, on average, your sleep is being interrupted every five and a half minutes, if not more often.

Is it any wonder you can't stay "asleep"?

Just a word about this "mild" number....numbers don't tell the whole story.

Here's my story....had an in lab sleep study. My OSA is much worse in REM...so bad that I didn't get much REM during the sleep study I had.
In Non REM sleep my AHI was 12...BUT....every time I would get into REM (where my AHI is 53) I would bounce right out of REM. It was so bad it was hard for them to figure out just how bad it was because it's hard to measure something when you don't spend much time in it.
They had to do some extrapolation to come up with a REM figure.

BUT....just the non REM events. On the face of it supposedly mild but my oxygen levels dipped to 73% because of those non REM events.
I can only surmise that despite not being very numerous they must have been very prolonged. I saw on my report that the average duration of my apnea events was 45 seconds. That's the average. Some were longer.

There's a lot more to how OSA impacts the body besides just the overall AHI numbers...there's oxygen levels....sleep quality, etc.
The impact on the body with "mild" OSA can still be very significant and negative.

Pugsy wrote: ↑

Thu Apr 02, 2020 12:55 pm

Do you have any other physical or mental health conditions that could be impacting your sleep?
You already mentioned the restless leg issue. Anything else?

Not really no. I used to get up once a night because I was thirsty or had to go to the bathroom when I was young, but do not have diabetes or any medical reason for that.

Do you take any medications of any kind? If so, what?

no

Exactly what symptoms are you experiencing other than the inability to sleep longer than 3 hours?
Any trouble falling asleep?
Why can't you go back to sleep after 3 hours?

I can often go back to sleep when I try. Sometimes I feel like my neck or ears are sore from rubbing the pillow and I could use a break before going back to sleep. I no I should fight that.

A 10 or 12 year old machine might could still be used to do a DIY treatment thing but it's going to be difficult even if it is a full data machine and you could get a hold of everything that is needed to use some software to monitor the results.

What machine exactly do you still have? Brand and model name or number.

Resmed H41

ArtNJ wrote: ↑

Thu Apr 02, 2020 1:28 pm

Pugsy wrote: ↑

Thu Apr 02, 2020 12:55 pm

What machine exactly do you still have? Brand and model name or number.

Resmed H41

That is a humidifier, not a cpap.

Resmed H41

That is a humidifier model ...not cpap but it does belong to some of the S8 machines.

Does it look like this one?
If so, what does it say in terms of model name in blue right above the middle of the LCD screen?

ArtNJ wrote: ↑

Thu Apr 02, 2020 1:28 pm

Resmed H41

art; is your cpap machine on this list-

wiki/index.php/CPAP_models

palerider wrote: ↑

Thu Apr 02, 2020 1:31 pm

ArtNJ wrote: ↑

Thu Apr 02, 2020 1:28 pm

Pugsy wrote: ↑

Thu Apr 02, 2020 12:55 pm

What machine exactly do you still have? Brand and model name or number.

Resmed H41

That is a humidifier, not a cpap.

Sorry. Resmed AutoSet II

The ResMed S8 AutoSet II is a full data machine but getting the smart card and card reader is a problem and expensive if you can even find a card reader.

There is some data available on the machine LCD screen though and while not comprehensive...it's a decent starting point.

My suggestion is start using it and learn how to get the data that is available and use it and if you can stick with it...then maybe buy a used machine that is full data that it is easier to get the more comprehensive data from it. I think the money spent on a card reader would be better spent on a newer machine.

Go here and request the clinical manual for your machine....It's a ResMed S8 AutoSet...and read up on how to get to the data on the LCD screen.
https://www.apneaboard.com/adjust-cpap- ... tup-manual