AHI Values?

[SarajkoAustria]

Hello to everyone!

I have been using " Sleepy Head " software for analysing my Apnea Problem (Sleep behaviour).

Average Value for the last 3 Months is AHI = 1.11, I had 4 Days with AHI = 0.00

The highest Value was AHI= 4.3

In January 2018 I was in sleep laboratory and the results from there were AHI = 86

In the meantime I lost 13 kg = 28,66 Pfund 

I am confused now, is it possible to have such improvement in this period of time?

Average Value for the last 3 Months is AHI = 1.11 ( Should I understand this Value as very good) ?

Regards from Austria

[OpalRose]

Hi SarajkoAustria,

Yes, it appears that your Sleep Apnea is being successfully treated at an AHI of 1.1, and congratulations on the weight loss.

[gwc2795]

Congratulations SarajkoAustria

Welcome to the forum.
It is great to hear how successful your treatment has been. Keep us informed

[Madcat207]

Welcome and congrats!

In answer to your questions:
- Yes, an AHI of 1.1 certainly can be considered well treated. But keep in mind that it also is just as important to note how you feel in the morning; if you still aren't feeling rested, its is worth seeing if something else is disturbing your sleep.

- And yes, Improvement can easily happen that fast. Before treatment, my apnea was really putting stress on my heart, and i was waking up a few times to use the bathroom at night. By the second night of treatment (where i still had AHI of 8, and was still very much working on mask fitting), that had stopped. Certain problems can take a long time to heal, but better sleep can literally happen overnight.

Keep it up, and enjoy the rest!

[SarajkoAustria]

Should I continue with usage of the maschine, or not?

[Walla Walla]

Yes. Sleep Apnea normally doesn't go away. If you were to stop using the machine the Apnea would return.

[Sleeprider]

The success you have had in reducing AHI are mainly attributable to the positive air pressure therapy. I'm pretty sure you would find yourself back in severe obstructive apnea, in spite of your weight loss, if you ceased use. There have been many users that have experienced similar success with CPAP and can consistently experience therapeutic results less than one AHI, but once the positive pressure is removed, the OA quickly returns to similar levels. One way to find out is to schedule a sleep test and withdraw from therapy a couple nights ahead of the test.

My own experience is that if I don't have the CPAP/BPAP it is very difficult and uncomfortable to sleep. With a diagnostic AHI over 80, I'm sure it wouldn't take long for you to notice if the same is true for you.

[SarajkoAustria]

Is it possible to heal it for good?

[Walla Walla]

With Severe Sleep Apnea I'd say probably not.

[OpalRose]

Is it possible to heal it for good?

There have been a few folk that are able to discontinue the use of Cpap with they lose a lot of weight, but they are in the minority.  

You were diagnosed with severe sleep apnea with an “untreated” AHI of 86.  You may be confusing the fact that your now “treated” AHI of 1.1 is the same as being cured.  There is no cure that we know of and you would find that if you stopped Cpap therapy, you would feel as bad as you did prior to treatment.  Your AHI would normally go back to pretreatment numbers of AHI of 86.  You would have to have another sleep test to find out for sure.

You are very fortunate to have adapted quickly and have achieved low numbers.  For your own health and well being, you will more than likely need to continue Cpap therapy.  Of course, you should discuss this with your doctor.