[Diagnosis] Testing severity of Sleep Apnea with maximum 4 pressure

[freetime]

I'm curious about the severity of my sleep apnea in terms of AHI when it is not treated. Would you set a Resmed S9 autoset to minimum 4 and maximum 4 with EPR off? Except for an untreated night's sleep, is this a bad idea?

With the help of information on apneaboard my weekly AHI average is .8 with each type of event about a 1/3 of total. I'm feeling better.

[Gary1of2]

Most of us feel starved for air at 4. The feeling dosnt go away till about 6.

[Walla Walla]

I don't think it will hurt you for one night. It will give you a ballpark idea what your API is. As long as you don't mind a lousy night!

[Hojo]

Don't look just at the AHI, look at the resp rate and tidal volume, which indicate lack of air.

[Mogy]

Right now you are at 10 to 12?
I am at 7 to 8 and I slowly tried to get to 4, dropping at a half point or less every night. I stopped at 4.6
My AHI went up, not drastically, but up.

[Mogy]

I don't think I worded the above post very well.
I meant to say from 10 to 4 is a big drop and may be difficult.

[freetime]

Thank you for the input on stuff to look for with my test. I'm still thinking it through and will test myself after New Year.

Just realized I should use a different SD card and separate SleepyHead account. I don't report to anyone but also don't want to mess up my Stats.

[trish6hundred]

Hi freetime,
WELCOME! to the forum.!
Good luck as you continue CPAP therapy.

[Sleeprider]

Another alternative might be to use a recording oximeter and just compare your results with CPAP as a control, then monitor oxygen without CPAP. That should be a fair test and would not be affected by the minimal pressure. Wearable oximeters that record data are pretty inexpensive, and might be a useful thing to have around. The CMS-50F Pulse Oximeter would be a top choice here at about $90.