YIKES! - 24 Apneas in one night!

I've started keeping a sleep log. I think it will be essential to improving my results. I've only kept it for 3 days, so I know I need more time and more data to make any real sense of it.

I thought I slept fairly well last night and although it's early, I feel pretty good so far. I was shocked to see my data this morning. I had 24 apneas last night!

I have my VPAP set on spontaneous mode with IPAP at 18 and EPAP at 12. My titration pressure is 14, but several weeks on auto mode indicate I need a pressure of 16 min, possibly as high as 19. I have EPAP on 12 because higher EPAP pressures cause lots of problems with leaks (the mask actually pulls away from my face on exhale and "hovers"). Perhaps I need to try and tolerate a higher EPAP and find some way to control the leaks?

Here's my data from last night:

http://www.box.net/shared/az1yrx6sdt

I'm a newbie in many ways also, but that does not seem like a lot of apneas compared to mine. Lets see what the more experienced people on this forum have to say( that would be just about everyone) as they wake up around the country.
I'm interested in seeing how you do becuase I am at a similar pressure as you are. but I'm envious about the number of hours you slept! Good for you.
Jeff

I am new too and i have been diagnosed with complex disordered breathing- my so called trial (2nd study) is my best result so far and that was 17 apneoas per HOUR, and that worried me until they sent me home with a different type of machine and some initial suggested settings for a home trial and my events supposedly went up to 98 per HOUR! I don't know how these compare with the average newbies starting point but i know it has kind of shell shocked me! We are actually waiting review by my sleep Doc but he has been on leave so i am having to bide my time til he comes back next week!

Hmmmm...

My response is YAY! Only 24 Apneas in one night! Since it puts my AI and AHI under 5, I consider that pretty good vs 500+ total apneas if untreated...

Call me a glass is half full kind of guy...

Blue Bonnet Gal -

I'm curious. I looked at your report. I have a Resmed S8 Elite II, it looks as though the readouts I have on the machine correspond to yours somewhat. I don't really know what the numbers represent.

In the morning, my readout is usually close to this: Leak .10, AI .1, HI 4.4, AHI 4.5

How many would that be per hour / per night?

The total number of apneas doesn't mean much - when we don't know for how many hours that was.
The "index" in Apnea Hypopnea Index means we're counting A+H for a standard time - in this case, for one hour.

In order to know your AHI - to know how many A+H you have per hour - you take the night's total, and divide it by the number of hours you selpt.

O.

Bluebonnet_Gal wrote:I've started keeping a sleep log. I think it will be essential to improving my results. I've only kept it for 3 days, so I know I need more time and more data to make any real sense of it.

I thought I slept fairly well last night and although it's early, I feel pretty good so far. I was shocked to see my data this morning. I had 24 apneas last night!

I have my VPAP set on spontaneous mode with IPAP at 18 and EPAP at 12. My titration pressure is 14, but several weeks on auto mode indicate I need a pressure of 16 min, possibly as high as 19. I have EPAP on 12 because higher EPAP pressures cause lots of problems with leaks (the mask actually pulls away from my face on exhale and "hovers"). Perhaps I need to try and tolerate a higher EPAP and find some way to control the leaks?

Here's my data from last night:

http://www.box.net/shared/az1yrx6sdt

Thanks for sharing. Your data makes me feel really good about my data. I wish I could only get my leak rate to be consistently below 0.40 L/s or better yet, below 0.20 L/s.

Does anybody know what a "mask event" is as that appears in the ResScan data? It looks like I have one such event each night lasting all night. Is that a good thing?

My results are typicall all over the place, but this is the first time I've had over 20 apneas (apneas only, not apneas plus hypopneas) in one night. I occasionally have a night where Ionly have one apnea all night long. The next night I might have 14, or 17. Since ResMed's typically report hypopneas on the high side, I don't look at those too closely, but it's safe to assume I had SOME hypopneas mixed in with the apneas.

Oops, I didn't realize I omitted usage data on this report, but I slept ALMOST 7 hours. The report does show the AI Rate at 3.7, HI 6.2 with an AHI of 9.9. Even ignoring HI completely, almost 4 apneas, which equals disruption in sleep, per hour is high IMHO.

I see other's on the board are having worse results. My heart goes out to you. How are you guys feeling? I probably wouldn't worry too much about my data if I was feeling great, but although I'm feeling better, I still constantly battle sleepiness during the day. Until I can typically stay awake at my desk and while driving most days, I'm afraid I won't be satisfied.

Because my results fluctuate so much, I've decided to keep a sleep log. I include my machine settings, AI, HI, AHI and Leak Rate. Also if I remember dreaming or not, if I slept mostly on my back or on my side. I'm typically a side sleeper, but I can sleep on my back without much problem and I find I have fewer mask leaks if I sleep on my back (not only because of mask coming into contact with pillow, but I think gravity also helps keep the mask more against my face). I also include whether I drank any alcohol the day or evening before and at the end of the day, I record how I felt and how sleepy I was. If I change masks, I will record that info as well.

I just started this Sunday, so I don't have enough data to begin to develop a pattern yet, but I'm hoping that in time I will be able to develop a pattern. So far, after 8 weeks + on xPAP, I haven't been able to develop any type of pattern at all to help me increase the days with few apneas and decrease the days with many apneas.

I'm curious what is "normal" for some of the veterans on this board. I know some have achieved wonderful results with a nearly flat leak line all night and no apnea events at all. I'm sure pressure has some affect on your results?

I think a sleep log is a good idea. I might have an Apnea every other night or so. I was really alarmed last week when I had 9 in one night. I suffer with hypopneas. I am blessed that I keep my numbers down under 3 most nights. It takes so much to learn we need to tweak the mask, insulate the hose, and build a support system to help us understand what is happening with our therapy. Keep working, it'll come together.

Thanks for the encouragement hose head. I just downloaded my data from last night and I had 19 apneas. It's hard to be patient. The people on this forum are a great help!