"Normal" AHI?

So I contacted the respiratory therapist because with three nights of BiPap my AHI average is 8.9. She said that that is a "great" AHI because in a general population of healthy people, "7 is average". I reminded her that my insurance company's policy is that they will pay for treatment if it brings me below an AHI of 5, since anything above 5 is still considered to be experiencing sleep apnea. "Oh, we've never had an insurance company ask for verification of AHI". Reminded her that I'm still feeling like !@#! and scatterbrained during the day. "You should be happy with being almost normal". Anybody got links to data on the REAL "Normal" AHI so I can bring it to her office and suggest places to file it?

The wiki at the top of the page is a goldmine of info..... here is what you are looking for: wiki/index.php/Apnea_Hypopnea_Index

Bons wrote:So I contacted the respiratory therapist because with three nights of BiPap my AHI average is 8.9.

An AHI of 8.9 is 60 or so events per night. What does the Daily Detail report show? How are the events distributed? Clustered at certain times or spread fairly evenly through the night?

BTW, the software in your profile does not match your machine.

Confirm whether your insurance does require certain results, and then insist on pressure adjustments to get you those results. If the RT refuses to work with you, bring the problem to your sleep doc's attention and ask for his help in making the necessary adjustments. He may just have a little talk with the RT or the RT's boss.