Something I thought of today related to AHI #'s

Barb (Seattle) · Post by **Barb (Seattle)** » Wed Sep 21, 2005 10:41 pm

At 70 events/hour before CPAP, that was more than one per minute. Now, the average is about 24. I was thinking that was really great till I realized that it's still an apnea or hypopnea about every 3 minutes Guess I'll leave it on 9 for a week and see if the numbers get any better. *sigh*

Ok, went back to look at numbers again (I think I'm obsessed with this) My lowest AHI # so far has been 12. That's even one every FIVE minutes. Now, the apneas are lower..the lowest being 1, but most of the time it's a bit higher. I guess I'm not exactly starving for oxygen with these numbers...

WAFlowers · Post by **WAFlowers** » Thu Sep 22, 2005 7:13 am

There is some good news here. Your AHI has significantly improved (although there is room for more improvement) and you are having very few apneas. Hopefully the hypopneas are mild enough that you aren't being significantly aroused from sleep, so that your sleep architecture isn't being too badly disturbed.

The treatment is making a significant difference for you. Hopefully you are starting to feel it also.

Although the numbers are encouraging, the most important measure of success is how you feel. So don't get too obsessed with the numbers.

Barb (Seattle) · Post by **Barb (Seattle)** » Thu Sep 22, 2005 8:50 am

No..I'm not starting to feel anything but tired really..I "flopped" around all night last night

The numbers weren't very good either, the AHI was 32.2 although the apneas were only 3.4 Good news, bad news, I guess LOL

LoneRider · Post by **LoneRider** » Thu Sep 22, 2005 9:52 am

WAFlowers wrote: Hopefully the hypopneas are mild enough that you aren't being significantly aroused from sleep, so that your sleep architecture isn't being too badly disturbed.

So when this happens, is it possible to just wake up and not know anything was wrong?

Not knowing the results from my sleep study is kinda killing me. I hate to wait.....

thanks again,
Tom

WAFlowers · Post by **WAFlowers** » Thu Sep 22, 2005 11:27 am

LoneRider wrote:So when this happens, is it possible to just wake up and not know anything was wrong?

Absolutely! You might not even remember waking. You might not even become fully awake, but just be pulled out of REM or stage 3 or 4 (the refreshing and healing Delta sleep) back to a stage 1 or 2. That is often what was happening to me (according to my sleep study) and what was causing the crushing fatigue that was generating some genuine physical and mental problems.

Not knowing the results from my sleep study is kinda killing me. I hate to wait.....

Boy, do I know what you are going through! I don't envy you Tom, and I sure hope your doc doesn't choose to go on vacation just as you expect to get the results like mine did!

mikemoran · Post by **mikemoran** » Thu Sep 22, 2005 1:15 pm

Barb,

It almost sounds like you are mouth breathing alot. Is that a full face mask you are using? I found my Hypos went up dramatically when using a FF mask. The same was happening until I finally learned to keep my mouth shut.

Sleepless on LI · Post by **Sleepless on LI** » Thu Sep 22, 2005 1:26 pm

Bill, I have to say how impressed I am at how you can answer questions so intelligently in such a very short time. Now, don't let this go to your head, but I read your reply to Barb and though that you've come such a long way in such a short time that it was really impressive. That oxygen infusion you have been getting to the old gray matter must be doing wonders for you. If you said you were a bit foggy before CPAP, it certainly doesn't seem that way now.

Barb, poor Barb, I am so sorry you're not feeling better yet. But Bill is right about the improvement that you've made. You still need to tweak the numbers a bit to get them where you start to feel a difference. And you're sure this is your only problem when it comes to the feeling tired all the time? Have you had this looked into since starting on therapy? Sometimes there can be more to the equation than just OSA. I hope things improve for you and that you either fix it by getting the right pressure or getting some answers professionally. It really is horrible to feel tired all the time AS WE ALL CAN ATTEST TO.

wading thru the muck! · Post by **wading thru the muck!** » Thu Sep 22, 2005 2:20 pm

Barb,

You may try to use a fixed pressure. My guess is that an auto will have trouble catching such rapid fire apneas

Barb (Seattle) · Post by **Barb (Seattle)** » Fri Sep 23, 2005 9:07 am

mikemoran wrote:Barb,

It almost sounds like you are mouth breathing alot. Is that a full face mask you are using? I found my Hypos went up dramatically when using a FF mask. The same was happening until I finally learned to keep my mouth shut.

Yep..the ComfortFull *scratching head*

Barb (Seattle) · Post by **Barb (Seattle)** » Fri Sep 23, 2005 9:15 am

[quote="wading thru the muck!"]Barb,

You may try to use a fixed pressure. My guess is that an auto will have trouble catching such rapid fire apneas

Barb (Seattle) · Post by **Barb (Seattle)** » Fri Sep 23, 2005 9:17 am

[quote="Sleepless on LI"]Bill, I have to say how impressed I am at how you can answer questions so intelligently in such a very short time. Now, don't let this go to your head, but I read your reply to Barb and though that you've come such a long way in such a short time that it was really impressive. That oxygen infusion you have been getting to the old gray matter must be doing wonders for you. If you said you were a bit foggy before CPAP, it certainly doesn't seem that way now.

Barb, poor Barb, I am so sorry you're not feeling better yet. But Bill is right about the improvement that you've made. You still need to tweak the numbers a bit to get them where you start to feel a difference. And you're sure this is your only problem when it comes to the feeling tired all the time? Have you had this looked into since starting on therapy? Sometimes there can be more to the equation than just OSA. I hope things improve for you and that you either fix it by getting the right pressure or getting some answers professionally. It really is horrible to feel tired all the time AS WE ALL CAN ATTEST TO.

Sleepless on LI · Post by **Sleepless on LI** » Fri Sep 23, 2005 11:00 am

Barb,
You quoted me and I THINK called me Amy. Lori?

Barb (Seattle) · Post by **Barb (Seattle)** » Fri Sep 23, 2005 3:13 pm

Sleepless on LI wrote:Barb,
You quoted me and I THINK called me Amy. Lori?

Ooops

Even with the pictures?! I should be doing better than this with names

Sleepless on LI · Post by **Sleepless on LI** » Fri Sep 23, 2005 3:56 pm

You and Grabraham with the most adorable icons! I wish you guys could add to our selection on this site. Not enough to choose from. That one was adorable!

loonlvr · Post by **loonlvr** » Fri Sep 23, 2005 7:21 pm

Barb, that comfortfull kind has a bad rep in here. I use a Ultra Mirage, very nice mask. I also had an high AHI, and run a pressure of 12-18 on my auto with few leaks. You may have to try some other masks, as I think your pressure may have to be raised. Just a thought.