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Re: hypopneas vs. apneas

Posted by SleepyTimeGal on March 09, 2006 at 09:16:03:

In Reply to: Re: hypopneas vs. apneas posted by ArtistMonday on March 09, 2006 at 08:50:18:

RDI is respiratory distress index. There is a very handy list of definitions and abbreviations on this site; click on the link at the top of this list of posts. RDI of 135.8 means that your body was in respiratory distress nearly 136 times in an hour, little more than twice a minute. AHI is apnea/hypopnea index.

Having read your three postings, my non-professional opinion is that you are removing your mask so frequently in response to your body feeling that you are not getting adquate air from the CPAP or some other discomfort associated with mask/CPAP is occurring. Although mask removal in the first weeks is a common occurrence, your episodes seem to be increasing as time goes on rather than decreasing. You should be using over half the water in the humidifier every night. Discomfort caused by dry air could be sufficiently aggravating that you remove the mask.

Nowhere in your first post do you say whether your sleep study reports the actual pressure that stopped all/most events. 7 might be too low and my guess would be that it is. Even if it was sufficient on the night of the study, it is not uncommon for apneics to need the pressure bumped up a couple of notches within the first 4-6 weeks of treatment.

Some doctors seem to operate on the theory that starting patients at lower-than-optimum pressure enables them to "get used to" the air flow before cranking it up to where it needs to be. I think that approach contributes to the patient feeling air-starved (as you seem to be) and is definitely counter-productive.

Check out the pressure used at your sleep study.
Check that your mask is comfortable.
Check that you're getting sufficient humidification.
Ask your doctor how he feels about autopaps.
Hound your doctors, even though it is such a short time since your sleep study. Your health is way too important for you to continue floundering like this. Good luck to you.


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