Still exhausted with low AHI

[napnaptime]

I was diagnosed last year with obstructive sleep apnea with an AHI of 7 I have been using Cpap now for a year and I am still tired, my AHI averages at less then 1 AHI per night and sometimes goes as low as 0.3 but I am still exhausted.

I am no where near as bad as I used to be but I am still tired a lot I often sleep around 3-4 hours during the day and feel fatigued on waking, I am of average weight and otherwise appear to be in good health. My respiratory specialist does not know why I am still so tired, does anyone have any idea why I am still so tired.

[jonde]

For what it's worth, I seem to have a similar problem. I finally was able to see some of the results from the sleep study which reported very low AHI's [3.4] [mostly in and just before REM sleep] and leak loss's [12] accompanied with shallow breathing. I'm still very low < 4 and 17l. I went over the info and it reported a moderate leg movement just before REM, causing RERA's, I believe is the term. I'm beginning to think I should look into breathing exercises and overall physical improvement to reduce the non apnea problems. I'm 76 by the way, and that doesn't help either.

[napnaptime]

For what it's worth, I seem to have a similar problem. I finally was able to see some of the results from the sleep study which reported very low AHI's [3.4] [mostly in and just before REM sleep] and leak loss's [12] accompanied with shallow breathing. I'm still very low < 4 and 17l. I went over the info and it reported a moderate leg movement just before REM, causing RERA's, I believe is the term. I'm beginning to think I should look into breathing exercises and overall physical improvement to reduce the non apnea problems. I'm 76 by the way, and that doesn't help either.

I am not sure what mine were but my oxygen saturation was reported at 93%

[DariaVader]

I am vastly improved with cpap, but still tired after 1 yr of treatment. It does seem to be getting slowly better, and it is hard to tease apart the tiredness of apnea from the fatigue of DMII and improper thyroid hormone replacement values. Have been struggling with all of those and others in the past year as well.

WRT sleep, though - as near as I can tell - my initial REM and deeper sleep cycles were non-existent when I began treatment, and have been (very) slowly improving. My evidence is to watch the respiratory rates - on nights I feel more refreshed I have 4 nice stretches of faster heavier respiration (and often a *higher* AHI) where as on nights I wake less refreshed there is 2 or even just 1 such stretch. The AHI is low on these nights, but I slept more lightly and had fewer dream cycles. It took many many years of sleep apnea to develop the unrefreshing pattern of sleep. Might take a few to unwind that and sleep normally. My body doesn't know how to handle good sleep!

[jonde]

You may want to consider getting a second opinion on the sleep apnea diagnosis, a 93 is above the minimum normal reading along with the other results which are mild, according to what I found. Since mine were reportedly in the low 80's, I'm probably looking at the same thing.

[napnaptime]

I am vastly improved with cpap, but still tired after 1 yr of treatment. It does seem to be getting slowly better, and it is hard to tease apart the tiredness of apnea from the fatigue of DMII and improper thyroid hormone replacement values. Have been struggling with all of those and others in the past year as well.

WRT sleep, though - as near as I can tell - my initial REM and deeper sleep cycles were non-existent when I began treatment, and have been (very) slowly improving. My evidence is to watch the respiratory rates - on nights I feel more refreshed I have 4 nice stretches of faster heavier respiration (and often a *higher* AHI) where as on nights I wake less refreshed there is 2 or even just 1 such stretch. The AHI is low on these nights, but I slept more lightly and had fewer dream cycles. It took many many years of sleep apnea to develop the unrefreshing pattern of sleep. Might take a few to unwind that and sleep normally. My body doesn't know how to handle good sleep!

I am still so badly fatigued that I cannot work, my memory is also really bad and getting worse. I feel like I am dying of the tiredness. I don't wake up at all during the night and my mask is comfy, it is just horrible.

[OpalRose]

napnaptime,
When was the last time you saw your GP and had a complete physical?
There could be other reasons for your fatigue since you have been on CPAP for a year, your AHI is good and you state you sleep all night.

Please fill out your profile with CPAP name, model, mask name, humidifier settings.
Then download Sleepyhead software (see link top of this page) and once we can see some of your data, we may be able to advise you.

[DariaVader]

I am still so badly fatigued that I cannot work, my memory is also really bad and getting worse. I feel like I am dying of the tiredness. I don't wake up at all during the night and my mask is comfy, it is just horrible.

Need to investigate other issues!!! AHI of 7 is mild apnea sometimes they won't even treat at that level, although when it occurs with significant symptoms, more and more they still do. There are other conditions that cause fatigue, including other sleep disorders.

Did you have an in-lab or home test? Home test is strictly for OSA and will not catch other sleep disorders. If you had an in-lab test, did it indicate issues beyond OSA?

Check Thyroid, Blood Sugar, Heart Function, Liver Function,
Check for disease such as Lymes, Lupus, MS, HepC, or whatever your other symptoms seem to point to

and good luck!

[trish6hundred]

Hi napnaptime,
WELCOME! to the forum.!
If you haven’t, you should talk to your doc about the problems you are having.
Hang in there for more responses to your post.
Much success to you with your CPAP therapy and getting your problems taken care of.

[trish6hundred]

Hi jonde,
WELCOME! to the forum.!
Hang in there for more responses to your post and much success to you with your CPAP therapy.