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+--- Thread: Why am I still having AP/HY while on CPAP? (/Thread-Why-am-I-still-having-AP-HY-while-on-CPAP)
Why am I still having AP/HY while on CPAP? - SleepyEyeDoc - 06-20-2012
Newbie here. Been on straight CPAP of 10cwp for 8 days now as determined by an official sleep study. ResMed v3.16 is showing that I am having 10-15 events/8hrs sleep or so. Little boxes above the AP or HY or Centrals? posts are between 10 and about 21 (seconds that the event lasted I assume). Would these events be longer if not on CPAP? AHI is usually .8-2.3...not bad I know.....but what about all the events???? Using ResMed LT mask with variable leak rates......last night all were well below the 24 mark....learning to adjust my mask and tube still. No chin strap.
Room temp is about 73F. Machine is set up at 73 degrees/3 humidity. Not on auto, where I believe the ClimateLine delivers 80% humidity.....too high for me. Thanks.
RE: Why am I still having AP/HY while on CPAP? - PaulaO2 - 06-20-2012
There will still be events. Even people without the diagnosis of sleep apnea will have some.
As long as the AHI is below 5 and you are feeling good, don't worry.
10-15 events a night is great. Think about it. The AHI is the apnea events + hypopnea events divided by the number of hours you slept. So 15 a night at 8 hrs is only 1.875 AHI. That's freakin' wonderful.
Add in the fact this is only your 8th night? It's about as perfect as you can get.
If you were diagnosed with sleep apnea (and I assume you were since who the heck would want to use a machine if they didn't??!!), then yes, if you weren't using the CPAP, the events would be longer and there'd be a lot lot lot more of them.
What was your AHI from the sleep study?
If you want to experiment, in a few months, change your machine from "straight" CPAP (solid pressure) to the Auto mode. Set it to, oh, 8-12 then view the data after two weeks or so. Some folks like to tweak the pressure until they get their events as close to zero as possible. I don't think you should do it now because there's too much going on. Your body and brain are still adjusting. Your sleep is getting better and you don't want to mess up a good thing.
RE: Why am I still having AP/HY while on CPAP? - Sleepster - 06-20-2012
10 events in 8 hours is 1.25 events per hour.
15 events in 8 hours is 1.875 events per hour.
An AHI between 1.25 and 1.875 is considered "normal" so I doubt your doctor would be concerned or interested in trying to lower it. You say it seems like a lot of events, but it's actually not. It's a normal amount.
Your leaks are good and your events are short, barely longer than the minimum of 10 seconds required for them count as events. So that's all good, too.
If your humidity is too high, lower it or turn it off. It's purely a comfort feature and doesn't directly affect your therapy. If you have a cold, you can turn it up higher as it's good therapy for sinus membranes and lungs.
If you're having too many HY's and OA's, the general remedy is to raise the pressure. If you're having too many CA's, you would lower the pressure. My AHI is about the same as yours, but it took several months to get it that low. If I were you I'd wait until I had at least a month or two of data before I'd consider tweaking the pressure. And then I'd make adjustments of only 0.5 cm of pressure, waiting a month between adjustments so I can see their full effect. That's what I'm doing right now to see if I can get my AHI lower, but it was at 2.0 for a long time before I started tweaking. The reason for waiting so long is that there are variations in the AHI due to lots of other factors, like stress, tiredness, diet, exercise, medications, alcoholic beverages, and so on. You have to wait and see how the AHI averages over several weeks. This is especially true for newbies because our AHI changes as we adapt to the CPAP therapy itself.
RE: Why am I still having AP/HY while on CPAP? - SleepyEyeDoc - 06-20-2012
Thanks PaulaO2 and SleepSter. I did call the doc's office today and asked a few specific questions but got general answers. Did not want to let them know I had accessed the clinicians menu. My titration study AHI was 23, moderate OSA.
I will not, as you suggested, try to titrate myself in order to obtain the range data for auto CPAP mode although I'm thinking that I may sleep more comfortably in auto...????
I'll see what the doc says next month at my first f/u since starting CPAP and hope that I don't just get the "looks like you're complying with CPAP", OK, next patient. LOL..
RE: Why am I still having AP/HY while on CPAP? - zimlich - 06-21-2012
You're doing great, please don't change anything! Congratulations. Good work. Your involvement shows commitment. When the numbers are good- I would give my eyeteeth for your numbers, don't micromanage. Relax- you're doing fine. As I said- good work.