AHI 6.8
Recently I was diagnosed with an AHI of 6.8. My doctor gave me (3) options; 1. Do nothing at this point. 2. Go to my Dentist and have a dental mouth guard to hold my jaw forward. 3. Begin CPAP treatment. I chose CPAP since this is the "gold standard" for OSA Sleep Apnea. After more than a year of being tired and fatigued my mid-afternoon, I did not want to mess around anymore. I did not like the idea of having something in my mouth all night, so CPAP Therapy seemed to be the right choice for me. My question is with a low AHI of 6.8, did I make the right decision, is CPAP at this point an "overkill"? I look forward to your comments. Thank you!
SFabrizio
RE: AHI 6.8
G'day SFabrizio. Welcome to Apnea Board.
In my view the AHI is only part of the story and there are a lot of other things to consider when determining if apnea is in fact mild, moderate or severe. The AHI tells you how many events you had, but you need to delve deeper to see if they were apneas (total blockage) or hypopneas (partial blockage), and whether they were dispersed or came in clusters. You also need to consider the duration of the events - an apnea lasting 60 seconds will cause more oxygen desaturation than one lasting 10 seconds. There are other factors which aren't apnea / hypopnea at all, such as flow limitations and RERA (respiratory effort–related arousal).
I think you'll find that with a low AHI it's going to take more fine tuning to get an optimum therapy. This is where software such as OSCAR comes to the fore - it allows you to see what's going on in much greater detail than apps such as DreamMapper. If you like, we could review your sleep study report and Oscar output to give you some more in-depth advice. If uploading the report, make sure it includes the charts and tables as well as the written summary, and be sure to erase any personally identifying information.
RE: AHI 6.8
Another hearty welcome.
Another concern is the specific breakdown of your apnea and because of your altitude that may or may not contain altitude induced Central apnea.
Here we tend to rely on data to help offer good advice. Thus please download OSCAR and follow the organization link in my signature. Post
Your sleep study results also please. Full copy, not just the summary. Summaries tend to not include details other than OSA and often those details are important.
12-08-2019, 02:44 PM
(This post was last modified: 12-08-2019, 02:45 PM by mesenteria.)
RE: AHI 6.8
I second everyth….wait, that is now 'third' everything said. 
But, and as I often coach people new to my toy train forums, it's never a bad thing to consider future needs. Most of us, especially when new to something, struggling a bit, and wanting to master just enough to get into play and to start to generate some reasonable results, tend to be myopic. It's natural and understandable. But, if you can steal some time and consider the possibility that you may progress to a more intractable and moderate range of apnea, you'll want to have the experience and equipment suitable for dealing with it. That's where your decision to subject yourself to PAP therapy of a kind now...early... might not be a bad idea at all.
You can always stop if it makes abundant sense soon. But, if things continue to slide slightly, and remember that such disorders tend to be 'progressive', chances are good that you'll need PAP in the future...if not right away. Best to have something in your pocket for that eventuality.
Just my opinion....
RE: AHI 6.8
(12-08-2019, 02:02 AM)sfabrizio Wrote: My question is with a low AHI of 6.8, did I make the right decision, is CPAP at this point an "overkill"? I look forward to your comments. Thank you!
SFabrizio
I think you’ve made a good decision. Look at it this way...you are being strangled 6.8 times an hour. 
No, not overkill. Why not treat your Apnea (even if mild) in whatever way you are comfortable with?
RE: AHI 6.8
I too started with mild apnea. 7.0 events per hour. Now, after 4 years, I am down to 0.3 events per hour. That may or may not be normal but I have never looked back. I have never missed a single night, even when traveling.
It’s a long hard journey, but worth day of it. No, it’s not over kill.
CPAP is a journey like “The Wizard of Oz”. It’s a long slow journey. You will face many problems and pick up many friends along the way. Just because you reach the poppies, it doesn’t mean you are in Kansas.
RE: AHI 6.8
I think it’s great you are starting CPAP therapy. Think of it as the beginning of an experiment. You need to be more rested during the day, right? So start with the least invasive treatment, which also has the best track record, and see how it goes.
You may need to be patient and work on getting used to the whole experience and fine-tuning your settings. A few lucky souls take to the machine immediately, but for the rest of us progress is more gradual.
If you ultimately see no improvement with the machine, you can try the dental device, or better still go back to your doctor for additional evaluation. Other things can cause tiredness. But with a diagnosis of apnea, no need to look for a zebra as the cause of the hoof prints when the horse is standing right in front of you.
RE: AHI 6.8
Thank you for your words of wisdom and encouragement! CPAP Therapy has made a difference. I adjusted to the full mask (Hybrid) just fine. I was grasping for good sleep. Now for the most part I have it. I am still trying to find my optimum CPI ranges.
SFabrizio
RE: AHI 6.8
Anytime you want to post a chart or two, the experts here will be happy to help you fine-tune your settings.
RE: AHI 6.8
[attachment=17907]
Please find my attached In-Home Sleep Study regarding my Sleep Apnea. I would appreciate any feedback that there is to offer. My Sleep Apnea is 6.8, however, I understand that there are other variables to consider. It was suggested that if I could provide a copy of my sleep analysis, this would help me in fine tuning my settings and CPAP Machine for optimum usage. Thank you!
Sincerely,
SFabrizio
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