109AHI, starting 2nd week on CPAP, have some questions

[toinewi]

Lifelong 'snorer'. Finally decided to do something about it.

Went in for a sleep study about a month ago, and ended up with a wonderful 109AHI.

Starting week 2 of my CPAP treatment. My pressure range is currently at 8-20, but I'm still averaging between 12 and 21AHI overnight, with peaks as high as 45AHI.

I was wondering if I should be patient as I've only been using the machine for a week, or if I should be working with my healthcare professional to get the machine adjusted.

I do find myself currently waking up 1-2 times a night, usually right after a significant pressure jump.

Any advice would be appreciated.

[PoolQ]

One week is still early, that being said your numbers are perhaps a little high to just wait it out-this coupled with the wide settings on your machine. Posting a plot from sleepyhead would help a lot. We need to see just how high your pressure is going and what the pressure is doing when you are having apneas still.

You have taken big step in getting your SA under control, and there is still room to do more!

[DariaVader]

as poolq said - you should post some daily plots. you need a few more posts to actually post live links, but you can post cheater links containing removable spaces for something like this.
http://www.apneaboard.com/forums/misc.ph...elp&hid=22 for helps on formatting an image.

My son had an AHI like yours, and in his case, starting at 8 just wasn't enough. My guess is we will see that with you as well, but that could be dead wrong and you might have complex apnea, where upping the pressure makes it worse --- so really need to see data before making an actual recommend

[justMongo]

Be sure to get a copy of your complete sleep report and your prescription.

Just get accustomed to CPAP for now. Post some plots (graphs); it's useful to see what the AHI is composed of: OA, HA, CA...

You are only at the start of your journey; you may graduate to a bilevel or an ASV machine with time.

a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step -- Laozi from the Tao Te Ching

[trish6hundred]

Hi toinewi,
WELCOME! to the forum.!
It can take time to get used to your mask and machine, so just stick with it.
Hang in there form ore answers to your questions and good luck to you on your CPAP journey.

[chill]

A life of CPAP begins with a single breath -- justMongo from the Apnea Board

[holden4th]

AHI 109 - holy sh*t! That means you stop breathing twice every minute for at least 10 seconds. I'll let you do the rest of the maths. Your current numbers are a huge improvement and proves that xPAP should work for you. it's now a matter of tweaking your settings to get the best result. The folks on this forum can definitely help you do that. It's a gradual process but one well worth pursuing.

[toinewi]

Thanks all. Yeah, I was pretty much scared sh*tless upon getting the AHI numbers.
I'll be sure to get a full copy of my sleep study results. I talked to my resp. therapist, and they suggested contacting the sleep study medical staff about getting my starting pressure raised a bit. I will say I'm happy so far with being less tired, and last night was a nice solid 8+ hours on the CPAP.

Soon as I can post, I'll go ahead and add some plots.

[DariaVader]

you need 2 more posts, is all... you can make one by telling us what was last night's AHI? and what was the breakdown of contributing events? (CA, OA, H) This can be seen on the left side of the daily graph

[toinewi]

Last night's I haven't checked in Sleepyhead as of yet, but I do know the machine claimed about an 18AHI, which typically means I had a horrid first half of the night. When I can finally post plots, you'll see what the mountain ranges I've been dealing with look like.