[Equipment] Nasal pillow mask leak with side sleeping

[jmac862]

Hi, I’m restarting my adventures in CPAPland after a less than stellar attempt with a nasal mask. This time I’ve been supplied with an F&P Brevida nasal pillow and no doubt, it has been better. There is, however, a few wrinkles to sort out – the most significant one at this point being the mask getting displaced by the (bed) pillow as I sleep on my side.
 
I can put on the mask and pass the ‘mask fit test’ but on settling down to sleep it easily gets displaced and I get air leaking on the side against the pillow up past the side of my nose. I’ve tried tightening up the straps but this results in discomfort and leaks from other places.

This sounds like a fairly intractable problem – the only thought I have is to try a very soft bed pillow or a very hard pillow. There must be folks out there who have faced and resolved this problem? Any advice gratefully received.

Regards
John

[jmac862]

...I've just found special CPAP pillows with cutouts for the mask... has anyone had any experience with these? They're not cheap and I'd prefer to get a 'good' one first time out!

Regards

John

[OpalRose]

I've never used those special cutout pillows, but I've learned that sleeping on your side with any mask is a learning process.

I do however sleep with my head more toward the side of my bed pillow so that the mask hangs slightly off the pillow. This way the bed pillow doesn't push on my mask.

[koala1]

I've never used those special cutout pillows, but I've learned that sleeping on your side with any mask is a learning process.

I do however sleep with my head more toward the side of my bed pillow so that the mask hangs slightly off the pillow.   This way the bed pillow doesn't push on my mask.

I don’t know how people normally sleep but I have always slept with my face crossing the edge of the pillow. 
Thanks to that, from the very beginning I have no leaks with nasal or nasal pillow masks.

[green wings]

I also sleep on my side with my nose not quite touching the pillow. I’ve had the best luck with pillows with filling that lets you shape them (can be down, little pieces of memory foam, etc.)

I was surprised to find that, after a few weeks, I became able to adjust the nasal pillow if it started to leak air without fully waking up.

Things that I keep an eye out for that can cause the nasal pillow to unseat are when it’s too old (it seems to get floppy) or stretched-out headgear.

[ArcherNeedsSleep]

I'm using a buckwheat pillow and have had good luck with it.  I've tried a standard size and a travel size and both of them have worked better than any regular bed pillow I've tried at home or in hotels while I'm traveling.  

The buckwheat pillows let me set up a shape that works for whatever position I'm sleeping in.  There was a learning curve at first, finding the best shape for each position, but now I mostly reshape the pillow as I roll over and barely wake up as I do it.

[Crimson Nape]

I've found that as I gained experience sleeping with a mask, it mattered less as to which pillow type I was using. Now, I switch back and forth between a memory foam, a buckwheat, and a CPAP "dog bone" shape pillow. It boils down to which one is the most comfortable one for that night. Also, I use these pillows with all mask types, and I am a side sleeper.

[jmac862]

Thank you all for the advice and info, I've decided to give the buckwheat option a try... it seems to have a good reputation and I've got to start somewhere

Thanks again

John

[clownbell]

I am a side sleeper. Originally the pillow was displacing the nasal cushion style of mask. In my experience, sleeping with the nose off the edge of the pillow (with your head on the end of the pillow, not the middle) has worked well for me.

[ArcherNeedsSleep]

Thank you all for the advice and info, I've decided to give the buckwheat option a try... it seems to have a good reputation and I've got to start somewhere

Thanks again

John

I think you'll enjoy the buckwheat once you get the fill volume right for your sleeping positions.  Make sure you get one that has a zipper so you can adjust the fill.  Some of the cheaper versions are fully-sewn and you have to pull out stitches.  It took a few rounds of removing/adding fill to get both of my pillows to the right fill levels.  I wouldn't want to be messing around with sewing to make that happen.