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Ahi near 0 but really bad sleep, help - shedu1337 - 09-13-2023
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Hello everyone,
I hope you're all doing well. I wanted to share my recent experience with sleep apnea and seek some advice from the community.
About two weeks ago, I was diagnosed with mild sleep apnea (AHI 6) only hypopneas. Following the diagnosis, i acquired a CPAP machine, and while it has significantly reduced my AHI (almost down to zero), my sleep havent changed at all
Here are my CPAP settings: I've tried both 4-20 and 7-20 pressure ranges, but I'm not noticing any improvments in my symptoms. I continue to wake up with headaches, experience nighttime awakenings, and have extremely vivid dreams that sometimes feel like they're happening in real life. Additionally, I find myself yawning throughout the day with dark circles under my eyes. I also always wakeup with stomach pain and cramps, and i need to use toilet before i can do anything in day (my apple watch shows that i have fragmented sleep with almost no deep sleep, and only rem/light sleep)
I'm reaching out to this forum in hopes of gathering some insights. Are there any specific adjustments Icould make to my CPAP settings? Is there anything else I should consider or investigate? Could there be an underlying health issue I haven't addressed?
I understand that every case is unique, but I would greatly appreciate any guidance or personal experiences you can share. While I plan to go to doctor to make more tests, I value the community's insights and want to explore all possible options for improvement
RE: Ahi near 0 but really bad sleep, help - staceyburke - 09-13-2023
You have flow limits that can cause you from getting into deep sleep or can wake you up. Flow limits are apnea only they are not as large or as long lasting. You can see how they are categorized in my signature at the bottom of the post. They are helped by using EPR (exhale pressure relief) and I would suggest you turn EPR on full time to 3. To make that work you also have to have a min pressure of 7 - or a static pressure of 7 as you have in the last screen shot in OSCAR.
RE: Ahi near 0 but really bad sleep, help - shedu1337 - 09-14-2023
thank you for suggesting the settings for me to test (7-20 pressure and 3 EPR full-time). Here are the results in terms of the OSCAR data. As for my well-being, I feel like my sleep was slightly better, but I still feel tired. I also noticed the appearance of CA, which are central apneas? Is this due to the settings, or is it just a coincidence? During a hospital overnight study, I had 1 central apnea from what i remember. Should i stick to this settings for more nights or change to something else?
RE: Ahi near 0 but really bad sleep, help - staceyburke - 09-14-2023
Everything looks good, it does take a while to start feeling better. I would leave things alone for a while and see if you start to feel better. The flow limits are improved and the centrals are what we call treatment emergent and will get less as your body gets use to the therapy. Good Job.
RE: Ahi near 0 but really bad sleep, help - shedu1337 - 09-14-2023
thanks for all help, i will test it for a week or 2 and report back with data!!