Time to End Cpap?

[Bravo8]

My AHI has been consistently below 1.0 Have a 1.2 or 1.7 once in a while, but usually run .7 or .9. Average is about .7. Have had a couple of .1 and .2 show up. Is it tie to go cap-less and see what happens or do I have to go thru Doc to do that. I was told that anything below 5.0 was mild SA, so I figure with my stats, SA is almost over.
Suggestions please.

[Big Guy]

Subscribed! 

[staceyburke]

Have you got those numbers from what? MyAir? Put up your charts from OSCER and let’s see how you got there. It does not show your pressures _ nothing. How can you make ANY kind of decision without any data??? How can anyone give you an answer?

[WhyMe]

Short answer - CPAP is a treatment, not a cure. You are treating the symptoms, but the cause for your sleep apnea does not go away. If you discontinue treatment, the symptoms will almost definitely return.

[Ockrocket]

I'm not sure CPAP cures sleep apnoea.. it just manages to keep it to a controlled level.

You would probably need a proper sleep test again to determine if you still have apnoea events when not using CPAP.

[Sleeprider]

Welcome to the forum Bravo. The answer to your question is no.

[OpalRose]

Hi Bravo8,
I wish it were that simple... to think we can be cured so easily, but for most of us and probably you included, had a sleep study for a reason, because we had untreated apnea, and felt like crap.

Once you are on Cpap therapy, your apnea is treated, but not cured.

So, if you were to stop using Cpap, your apnea events would likely return to untreated status, and you would go back to feeling the same as before you started Cpap.

And, Welcome Back!

[SarcasticDave94]

Like others have said, PAP therapy is a treatment for apnea not a cure. Using the CPAP treatment for a while does not cure or remove the throat collapse that causes apnea in the first place assuming you had obstructive apnea.

Feel free to show us some OSCAR data, but I do know this already, having an AHI of .5 or whatever that you're seeing is POST treatment, meaning after the CPAP reduces apnea events this .5 or other low AHI numbers will most definitely be higher without treatment.

[Sleepster]

My AHI has been consistently below 1.0 Have a 1.2 or 1.7 once in a while, but usually run .7 or .9. Average is about .7. Have had a couple of .1 and .2 show up.

That just means that the CPAP therapy is treating your condition. If you stop the CPAP therapy the AHI will go right back up to what it was before you started CPAP therapy.

The CPAP machine keeps your airway from collapsing. Take away the CPAP machine and the airway collapses.

[Gideon]

As above the answer is No.
The best we can do is turn down the pressure to the minimum of 4 (after carefully noting your current settings) and see if your apnea increases.
If it increases by any amount over routine variation, we will say over 5 AHI, then you definitely have sleep apnea.
If not you have an argument to another Diagnosticr PSG/Sleep Test (without CPAP) to see if you are in fact apnea free.