Lowering AHI

Hi,

I bought my first APAP machine about 1.5 months ago after completing two sleep studies that showed I had an AHI of around 7 for one sleep study and 9 on the second sleep study. I usually got pretty tired in the evening and my mind typically clouded up around that time. I'm aware my sleep apnea is mild, however I was motivated to use an APAP machine to improve quality of life, reduce the risk of complicating my cardiac condition and help prepare for overnight shifts I will have to do in the future.

1.5 months later, I have used the machine daily. I started with a minimum pressure of 6 which gave me an AHI of about 5-6 each night. After reading through forum posts that suggested to raise it based on the 95% pressure, I progressively bumped it up until I got to what I'm using now- a minimum pressure of 8.5 which gives me an AHI of 2-4. When looking at the AHI, sometimes it spikes up to 8-9 for a couple hours and I'm not sure why. It's hard to tell whether I feel any better or not. Some days I do feel more awake, but some other days I feel just as tired as I did prior to starting therapy. Some days I fully wake up 2-3 times and I think that disrupts my rest. I'm pretty comfortable with the mask and noises, so I don't find the therapy annoying. I do notice hypopneic events occur more on my back. I am a side sleeper, but sometimes I do roll onto my back. But with therapy, I'm under the impression that it should not matter that I roll on my back as the air will keep my airway open. Would I be correct that it's fine to sleep on my back?

Also, I'm wondering if anyone has any suggestions on how to lower my AHI further. I feel to be happy with the therapy since my AHI was already on the lower side to begin with, I have to get my AHI as low as possible (<1 consistently), have no interruptions in my sleep (not waking up consciously in the middle of the night), and get rid of the tiredness I still feel some days. I know my AHI is already low, but the improvement if any feels so small that it's a bit discouraging/ making me doubt whether therapy is all worth it.

I have attached data from May 9th and May 11th respectively.

Any input is appreciated.

kdper wrote: ↑

Wed May 13, 2020 11:56 pm

After reading through forum posts that suggested to raise it based on the 95% pressure,

Those posts were made by people that don't know what they're doing. You cannot adequately summarize a night of sleep in a number,

Let's go to 9, then after a few days, 9.5, and continue till things are better, ideally, your AHI should be under 1.5

palerider wrote: ↑

Thu May 14, 2020 6:47 am

kdper wrote: ↑

Wed May 13, 2020 11:56 pm

After reading through forum posts that suggested to raise it based on the 95% pressure,

Those posts were made by people that don't know what they're doing. You cannot adequately summarize a night of sleep in a number,

Let's go to 9, then after a few days, 9.5, and continue till things are better, ideally, your AHI should be under 1.5

Thanks, I'll give this a try over the next week