Is it possible to get good AHI with S8 Auto II?

I'm new to the forum, been on treatment for three months now. All my results are very good except for AHI which I can't seem to get down to 5.0. I am averaging 6.9. I have had some nights where I do get AHI as low as 4.0, but that is rare. I am feeling well rested most days, functioning well, though I suspect I am still working on sleep debt as I really sleep a lot longer on weekends when I can.

I have been searching the threads for whatever I can find on the S8 scoring of hypopneas, I understand that this is a known thing with these machines.

I'm just wondering if anyone has managed to get their AHI's down to below 5.0. Is it possible with this machine?

I do have to say that I am one of the lucky ones who had very little trouble adjusting to therapy. I put the mask on, had some mild panic I was able to breathe through, went to sleep, and slept most of the night. After two days, felt awesome! I did have some sore nose issues from not fitting my mask correctly, but the forum helped with mask fitting tips, and humidifier tips, so that is now corrected. My DME called a couple of days after I started just to see how things were going, and I brought in my card to the DME a couple of weeks later so they could check the data to see how things were progressing. That was the first time I saw the pressure ranges, leak data, etc. It was also about this time that I had read the forums enough to know that I should be checking my results myself just to make sure I'm doing okay.

I have to thank all of you on this forum who encourage people to take charge of their own treatment, and give us the info we need to figure out how to get into the menu to check our results if it is not enabled.

i never had good luck with numbers much lower than you are seeing with the S8.....they say that you can cut the HI number in half with the logarithm.

I see lower numbers and feel even better with the S9 machine......the S8 has been regulated to a travel machine......

It would be helpful for us if we knew what your pressure ranges are.
If you're relying on your DME to read your card and give you your data, you need to take control of your therapy. You can find out that information from the LCD in the mornings (before Noon).

You should be able to find the instructions from this link:

http://www.apneaboard.com/CPAP%20Adjustment.htm

If you have any further questions, please feel free to ask.

The S8 Auto machines have a tendency to score higher hypopnea numbers (HI), so what you want to do is work on getting your apnea numbers (AI) down to zero, or as close as possible. If you have a wide-open pressure range, it can take too long for the pressure to get to where it needs to be, and thus you would be having more events that get through. One way is to set your minimum pressure to about where your 95% pressure number is.......OR.......switch to CPAP mode and tweak your pressure that way.


Den

I use the ResMed Autoset II and my AHI are normally under 2.0 and always under 5. Everyone is different and maybe this is what works well for you. If you are feeling well rested and functioning well I would not worry too much about your AHI being 6.9. It isn't that bad. What is your pressure? You may want to adjust it a bit to see if this will lower your AHI.

rosie

I have figured out how to read my results each morning (thanks to some people on this forum who pointed me in the right directions to figure out how to do that!)
My machine is currently set at min 6, max 20. My pulmonary MD said that he would set straight CPAP at 10, so I tried setting
my machine at 8-16 with EPR at 2. That lasted 1 night....could not stand the higher pressure. So I set the minimum at 6 a week ago, and plan to set it to 7 for tonight and get used to the change in pressure gradually. I thought abut lowering the upper pressure, but still have to bring the card into the DME soon so they can check on my usage for my insurance company. I figure I can get by with "I thought I was suffocating with the pressure at 4 to start with" (which I was!).

I pulled my averages for the last month:

Pressure: 11.8
Leak: 0.02
AHI: 6.3
AI: 0.2
HI: 6.0

I am also a very shallow breather, if that has any effect. I do sleep on my back quite a bit, which I know isn't good. I start on my side, but I have arthritis in both hips, so, can't always stay on my sides if I have a flare-up in pain. The good news is that therapy has reduced my restless legs, so no need for medication now, and I have started to have some nights where I don't wake up at all.

OK. As long as you know that your pressure (minimum or CPAP) is BELOW where it needs to be, your numbers are going to be higher. Also, your EPR setting is going to drop your exhale pressure by the number of centimeters of pressure. So, if you're using a minimum pressure of 8 and an EPR setting of 2, you're only getting an "effective" pressure of 6.
My recommendation would be to work that pressure up to where it needs to be as soon as you can get used to it.


Den

Jettagram wrote:My machine is currently set at min 6, max 20. My pulmonary MD said that he would set straight CPAP at 10, so I tried setting
my machine at 8-16 with EPR at 2. That lasted 1 night....could not stand the higher pressure. So I set the minimum at 6 a week ago, and plan to set it to 7 for tonight and get used to the change in pressure gradually.

I pulled my averages for the last month:

Pressure: 11.8
Leak: 0.02
AHI: 6.3
AI: 0.2
HI: 6.0

Your numbers are perfectly fine, the keys are leak and Ai numbers - in both cases you're well below 1.0. No need to worry.

Your pressure 11.8: is that 95th percentile? If so, as you gradually increase the lower pressure setting, your target/goal is to get to a 10+ to 16 range. My original cpap was 9, I started at 4-20 and eventually settled to 10.4 to 13 range,with my 95th usually around 11.2.

StartedCPAP therapy Aug 20, '07, been using the AutoSet II for 189 days with AHI=1.3 & AI=0.1, Usage=7:22 I really need 8, working on that. I was in the "severe" category based on AHI during my sleep study.

Therapy excellent but I still have sleep issues which I'm working on, one at at time as I figure out how to improve/resolve.

Jettagram wrote:I'm just wondering if anyone has managed to get their AHI's down to below 5.0. Is it possible with this machine?

I was using an S8 Autoset (Vantage) prior to updating to an S9 and typically had AHI scores in the 2.0 to 3.0 range.

Cheers,

Bill