AHI Number scale

Reviewing the results from my initial sleep study and the titration study I can see the AHI numbers go down. Initial study AHI = 121.6 per hour, Titration study AHI = 30.9 per hour.

My question is what is "normal"? My CPAP machine doesn't show leak data or anything just the hours of usage for compliance.

I have an appointment next week to try and upgrade so I can track myself but am trying to learn what to look for.

You can look at my numbers here,
viewtopic/t21384/First-week-on-CPAP-Auto.html

If you have an AUTO as your profile indicates ... then your machine does provide useful data.

Normal AHI is generally considered anything below 5.

Theatre1sm wrote:Reviewing the results from my initial sleep study and the titration study I can see the AHI numbers go down. Initial study AHI = 121.6 per hour, Titration study AHI = 30.9 per hour.

My question is what is "normal"? My CPAP machine doesn't show leak data or anything just the hours of usage for compliance.

I have an appointment next week to try and upgrade so I can track myself but am trying to learn what to look for.

Your titration study shows an AHI of 30.9 - per hour? Almost 31 event an hour, on cpap? If your'e reading your study correctly, you need some real explaining from you doctor - and maybe either a re-evaluation, or more help. Normally - there are exceptions, but normally - titration aims to bring the AHI down to 5 or less as dreamstalker said.

O.

Per the doctor's explanation - the titration study AHI was a composite of the complete evening. They didn't break it out.

After they set the CPAP to 15 cm the technologist noted very few apneas. HOWEVER - I am scheduled to return in two months for another sleep study to make sure the settings are appropriate.

[quote="Theatre1sm"]Per the doctor's explanation - the titration study AHI was a composite of the complete evening. They didn't break it out.

After they set the CPAP to 15 cm the technologist noted very few apneas. HOWEVER - I am scheduled to return in two months for another sleep study to make sure the settings are appropriate.

If it were me (and I'm no doctor) ... while I was waiting those two months, I'd want to be on an auto-titrating cpap machine. An "autopap" set at 10 - 20 cm H20. I'd want that for the purpose of gathering more information about what pressure (and pressures below that pressure) were needed for me 90% of the time while I was sleeping at home for those two more months.

I'd want that machine to be any one of these:

Respironics REMstar M series Auto with A-flex
Respironics REMstar M series Auto with C-flex
Respironics REMstar Auto with C-flex (older model, non-M series)

I'd want an integrated heated humidifier with any of those.

I'd want to get the Encore Pro software so I could monitor how my treatment was going during those two months myself. Downloading the Smart Card to my own computer myself. Depending on how well the treatment results were looking, both in how I felt and what the data was showing, and my financial/insurance position, I might not bother to go back for another sleep study titration night.

During those two months I'd dig into this message board as if I were a med student studying for the exam of my life. Which, I think you've been doing already.

Yeah, I'd want to be very pro-active about my own treatment.

Best of luck, Theatre...at home and on the road!

The other thing you should ask for is a complete copy of your sleep studies, preferably the full reports with the charts and graphs. The report of your titration study will break the study into the various pressures that were tried in your titration, the amount of time spent in each pressure, and the number and types of events noted in each pressure. This will give you a MUCH better idea of how well you events were controlled.

Good luck and best wishes,
Bill