what happened here?!

[eok361]

rather than add to an existing therapy thread, i want to ask about this one night (last night) anomaly. 

typically, my ahi is under 2, and usually under 1. if i have any events, they are typically a couple hypopneas. last night i switched to a f&p evora hybrid mask. it's the only change i made.

these numbers are quite odd--and scary--to me. i never have these clustered OAs. plus, the spo2 drops are a concern.

can anyone suggest what may have gone wrong here? no pillow changes. i sleep on my back, so there's that. 

these are two shots from last night, plus the night before with the cradle mask and mouth tape. 

thanks for any advice.

[staceyburke]

You are having positional apnea.  You can see positional apnea where either H or Oa events are clustered together.  Getting rid of as many as you can will lower your AHI.  Positional apnea can NOT be controlled by pressure changes.  You have to find out what position you are getting into and cutting off your own airway.  Have you changed your sleep position?  Sleeping on your back?  Using more (or new) pillows?  These things can cause positional apnea by chin dropping to your sternum and cutting your airway.  Think of it of a kinked hose – nothing can get through – you have to unkink the hose…

IF you can’t make a simple change like changing to a flatter pillow helps then you will need a collar.  I have a link to collars in my signature at the bottom of the page.  It shows people who are not wearing a collar and the SAME person wearing a collar.  There is a huge difference between the two.

[Deborah K.]

You may just be adjusting to your new mask.  It could be too tight or not sitting correctly on your nose or face.  Work at adjusting it a bit and give yourself a little time to adapt to the change.

Good luck!