I'm not looking for a difference between the three. Here's my situation.
Went to a sleep doctor because I'm experiencing myoclonus such as is seen here in this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hyRhVWrZbF8
First sleep study shows 0 apneas, 0 hypopneas, and about 10 RERAs per hour. It was supposed to be a split study and involve adjusting pressures, but I was told that since there were no apneas, then insurance wouldn't allow it... but they made me do an entirely different sleep study to do just that... (twice the cost for me?)
Second sleep study (adjusting pressures) they decide upon a bipap with 11 in and 8 out.
After about 5 days I took it to the doc and told him it was trying to kill me in my sleep. AHI of 9 or 10 involving a lot of clear airway apneas. Doc denies my claim that the machine is "causing" apnea, but does reduce the pressures to 8 in and 4 out. This cuts down the apneas to 2-4 per night and jumps hypopneas up to 18 or so (3-5 AHI).
Fourth visit, I ask if having all these apneas and hypopneas are "better" than a bunch of RERAs and I ask why we haven't even talked about RERAs since the first visit. Doc practically ignores my question altogether and states something along the lines of "We are targeting an AHI of less than 5, and that is what you are getting. So the treatment is working. The 0 apneas and hypopneas may have been a fluke of that particular study." -- What? And what about the mycolus? Doc: "How do you 'know' you're experiencing this?" -- double what? Anyhow, the doc tells me to keep using the machine and see him in a month or two.
Fifth visit: I acquire a copy of a sleep study from a neurologist in 2012 (for the same issue) and that study also showed 0 apneas, 0 hypopneas and a ton or RERAs. I take a copy to the sleep doc and he continues to deny that the machine is "causing" any problems. Then he says if I'm still interested in looking into the myoclonus then I should get another study done at another facility with another doctor because his lab only has 6 electrodes and theirs have 18...
Sixth visit: I continue with the bipap and the AHI stays between 2 and 5. Look on the forums and find out how to hack the dreamstation and I change it to 6.5 in and 4 out, and then 4 in and 4 out. The AHI drops lower and lower and now I only have like 3-6 hypopneas in a 4 hour period and am usually less than 1.5 AHI.
So now I'm wondering if I should keep the machine at all. Vendor says me and the insurance will continue paying for it for another 7 months or so. Costs me about $150/mo.
Any thoughts?
