4 months use and AHIs are rising - thoughts?

General Discussion on any topic relating to CPAP and/or Sleep Apnea.
User avatar
mrcrayola
Posts: 111
Joined: Mon Dec 18, 2017 8:42 pm

4 months use and AHIs are rising - thoughts?

Post by mrcrayola » Sat Mar 17, 2018 11:51 am

Okay, I've been CPAPing since November and a daily AHI under 5 is still a rarity for me. The SleepyHead welcome page characterizes my readings somewhere in the range of 'not very good' to 'horrible!' :lol: It just occurred to me - what is the average of the population in general? I imagine folks who do not suffer from sleep apnea likely still experience 'events,' although perhaps not OAs. Five or fewer 'events' per hour would be groovy, but experience (and Pugsy) suggests that a variety of activities can be interpreted and recorded by the machine as an 'event' that, in reality, have no bearing on one's health or sleep quality.

Thoughts?

Thx

MC
Just an average joe on his way from here to there...

TedVPAP
Posts: 974
Joined: Sat Jun 12, 2010 10:29 am

Re: 4 months use and AHIs are rising - thoughts?

Post by TedVPAP » Sat Mar 17, 2018 12:04 pm

Post charts.

_________________
Machine: DreamStation Auto CPAP Machine
Mask: AirFit™ P10 Nasal Pillow CPAP Mask with Headgear
Humidifier: DreamStation Heated Humidifier
Additional Comments: AutoPAP 16-20, Ultimate Chin Strap http://sleepapneasolutionsinc.com/
Use data to optimize your xPAP treatment:
how to see your data https://sleep.tnet.com/resources/sleepyhead
how to present your data https://sleep.tnet.com/resources/sleepyhead/shorganize
how to post your data https://sleep.tnet.com/reference/tips/imgur

User avatar
kteague
Posts: 7768
Joined: Tue May 16, 2006 8:30 pm
Location: West and Midwest

Re: 4 months use and AHIs are rising - thoughts?

Post by kteague » Sat Mar 17, 2018 12:35 pm

Those on here who have a good grasp of the data can look at it and and maybe see some clues about real vs false events. Sometimes things are obvious, other times not so much. In general, that amount of wake time you have with the mask on can affect reporting of events. Are many of your events reported during known wake times? For me, if I mask up then end up in a conversation, my report will show an ugly cluster of events at the start of the night. When the total AHI isn't satifactory and tweaking the settings hasn't brought the AHI down, can't help but wonder about wake time. Hopefully posting your data as requested will lead you to more insight.

_________________
Mask: TAP PAP Nasal Pillow CPAP Mask with Improved Stability Mouthpiece
Humidifier: S9™ Series H5i™ Heated Humidifier with Climate Control
Additional Comments: Bleep/DreamPort for full nights, Tap Pap for shorter sessions

User avatar
mrcrayola
Posts: 111
Joined: Mon Dec 18, 2017 8:42 pm

Re: 4 months use and AHIs are rising - thoughts?

Post by mrcrayola » Sat Mar 17, 2018 1:12 pm

Note how I am having a pretty good night index-wise. I get up to use the bathroom and, thereafter, all "hell" breaks loose.
Attachments
screenshot-20180317-151240.png
screenshot-20180317-151240.png (120.4 KiB) Viewed 235 times
Just an average joe on his way from here to there...

TedVPAP
Posts: 974
Joined: Sat Jun 12, 2010 10:29 am

Re: 4 months use and AHIs are rising - thoughts?

Post by TedVPAP » Sat Mar 17, 2018 1:52 pm

Very hard to read. Too many unnecessary charts. Best to just show "Event Flags", "Flow Rate", "Pressure", "Leak Rate".

Most likely you were awake during the cluster since it was just after your awakening. If so, they are not real.

_________________
Machine: DreamStation Auto CPAP Machine
Mask: AirFit™ P10 Nasal Pillow CPAP Mask with Headgear
Humidifier: DreamStation Heated Humidifier
Additional Comments: AutoPAP 16-20, Ultimate Chin Strap http://sleepapneasolutionsinc.com/
Use data to optimize your xPAP treatment:
how to see your data https://sleep.tnet.com/resources/sleepyhead
how to present your data https://sleep.tnet.com/resources/sleepyhead/shorganize
how to post your data https://sleep.tnet.com/reference/tips/imgur

User avatar
Julie
Posts: 19898
Joined: Tue Feb 28, 2006 12:58 pm

Re: 4 months use and AHIs are rising - thoughts?

Post by Julie » Sat Mar 17, 2018 2:09 pm

What are your pressure settings?

User avatar
mrcrayola
Posts: 111
Joined: Mon Dec 18, 2017 8:42 pm

Re: 4 months use and AHIs are rising - thoughts?

Post by mrcrayola » Sat Mar 17, 2018 3:13 pm

Ramp starts at 4. Top pressure is 12.5.
Just an average joe on his way from here to there...

User avatar
Julie
Posts: 19898
Joined: Tue Feb 28, 2006 12:58 pm

Re: 4 months use and AHIs are rising - thoughts?

Post by Julie » Sat Mar 17, 2018 3:37 pm

Ramp is not the same thing as pressure settings... most of us in fact turn off the ramp feature within a week of getting machnes. Pressure settings are entered according to prescriptions so if your min. pressure is set at 4, you're not getting adequately treated (if you can even manage to inhale at that pressure) and I'd bump that to 6 or 7 and the max. setting (high one) to 15 or 20 for now and see how things go for a few nights.

Ramping is for those whose min. (low) scripted settings are quite high and don't like to start off with strong 'blasts' of air at bedtime, so enable the ramp feature to work up to the min. pressure (e.g. 10) over a few minutes... and you'd set the time of the transition... then the ramp would stop once that pressure is reached. But as 4 is the machine default low for most machines, there's no point in using the ramp at all as it's already 'there' to begin with and would only delay (by whatever time you specify) your getting any therapy for that period of time... pointless at that setting.