Guide me to a better CPAP life

[kinghuzi]

Think you guys might be onto something. Last night I slept on my stomach and I have this habit of holding my face up with my hand in a first position under my face and my AHI were down to 2 average per hour.

Are down pillows recommended over memory foam for sleeping on side/stomach with an N30i.

Would appreciate a few links to some recommended pillows.

[Sleeprider]

The advantage of down in my opinion is that it can be shaped to fill in under the jaw, and it is not usually too tall causing chin-tuck, but a good one is expensive. There are certainly many materials and styles out there, but this works for me. I have heard of others using My Pillow and other loose fills. I think the specialty CPAP pillows with a hollowed out cavity for the mask or those filled with things like buckwheat husks is too firm and inflexible, especially if you are a prone sleeper. I have used contoured memory foam in the past but it does not get the alignment I look for, and seems to be designed for back sleeping.

[staceyburke]

A different type of pillow is the mask.  I use the P30I from resmed.  I like it more than the cradle...  I could never get a good seal with the cradle. One other thing the Frame and head gear are the exact same so all you need is the pillows which are sold on amazon for about 20.

[mesenteria]

I have used many a pillow in my day, and I have slept without anything handy except a desk top or a forearm.  Pillows are better, but from there you have to find one that does NOT hinder sleep.  In your case, I think you should try a down-filled pillow.  Some sold here and there are quite dear, but the Costco ones are of high quality and are reasonably priced.

They do, as Sleeprider sez, conform to your head better, and can be shaped in a way foam could only hope to.  If you wish, use a bamboo pillow case.  My wife and I have been using a 350+ thread count bamboo sheet set for years, and they are very nice, cooler than cotton.

When you sleep on your back, if you must, you can force your head back and compress the down sufficiently that you will not find your chin forced toward your chest, as the foam will almost certainly do when you let up on the rearward pressure.

[kinghuzi]

Alright Ladies and gentlemen, for the past 3 nights, I have slept on my stomach where I tend to tuck my fist under my chin or roll up part of the blanket as a matter of habit. The following are the results.

Also in the last two days I have increased the min pressure to 11 and increase the EPR to 3. I am unsure if this was the right decision.

[kinghuzi]

Also you can see that on Friday night, there is a gap in data from about 3.30 and 5.15. I woke up around 5.15am to find the mask on the floor. Apparently I had ripped it off during the night and tossed it to the floor. First time this has happened to me in about 2 weeks of treatment :/

[Sleeprider]

You can see that your efforts to reduce chin-tucking reduced your AHI and resulted in some better therapy. We's like to avoid the breaks in therapy and find a way to make this as comfortable as possible. It's not unusual for new users to remove the mask without being aware of it, just don't make a habit of it. How are you feeling with the changes?

[kinghuzi]

Massive difference.

1. Lot more alert during day.
2. Can concentrate for longer hours
3. No more drowsiness at all during the day well into the night. Can't even fall asleep even I try.
4. No more nodding off while driving. Biggest difference I've noticed as the cars ahead of me would start to blur and I would doze off at traffic lights.

I do miss my afternoon naps . I could sleep at the drop of a dime in my recliner during lunch break ( I work from home). Honestly the cpap has not bothered me much, the nasal pillows are pretty comfortable and the medium fit doesn't move around even when I have it squished against the pillow. I tried a full face pillow mask and hated it. I don't believe I'm a mouth breather but I do saline clean my nose daily and use dymista as I have chronic nasal tightness (not full blocks).

My current main issue is neck pains probably due to stomach sleeping and a higher memory foam pillow so that's next to change on my list.

[DaveL]

I’ve learned so much reading these posts! Kinghuzi, thanks for starting this thread

I’ll look for a replacement pillow too.

And an oximeter! I want to have one in case

[kinghuzi]

Glad to hear that. I'm consistently sitting on 2-2.2 episodes per hour down from 6-10 by changing my sleeping position. Hypopneas are pretty much gone. Am now hunting for a good low profile down pillow to help belly sleeping. Next goal now is to loose weight.