Erronious AHI reporting when congested

[pbaldock]

After 3 months of using the Philips DreamStation (with Nasal mask) it would appear that it reports a much lower AHI when I am congested than when I am not. I would assume that the machine is reporting in error and cannot detect accurately Apnea events with added resistance from congestion.

I have verified this by running a trial by using Afrin 3 nights in a row, with the machine reporting an AHI around 11 when it would have been without the Afrin around 4 to 6 depending on my level of congestion. Given that I am congested to some degree most all of the time and it is not wise to take Afrin continuously, I'm not sure CPAP is of much benefit.

[Sleeprider]

You have chronic congestion, but your conclusion that CPAP may not be a benefit seems illogical. The most helpful approach would be to narrow down causes for congestion and find a different solution than Afrin, which has a pretty bad rebound effect with chronic use. If the problem is inflammation or allergy, then Flonase is better option. Nasal pillows can open nasal passages better than nasal or full face masks. Anyway, it might be productive to download OSCAR software which can show the events and respiration on a breath by breath basis and would certainly be more informative than your DreamMapper. We can help optimize therapy and get more comfortable results, but if you are looking for an excuse to quit CPAP because you have a "treated" AHI of 11 when you use Afrin and only half that when you don't, I have nothing for that.