Tips for sleeping on your side with Mirage Quattro mask?

[IDRIck]

I greatly prefer to sleep on my side. During my sleep study, I spent ~20% of my sleep time on my back, ~50% on my right side and ~30% on my left side. More OA and HYP occurred when side sleeping but the rate was less per minute than on my back. Since I've started on my CPAP, I sleep mostly on my back with limited side sleeping due to mask leakage. Sometimes I can position it correctly and blissfully sleep on my side but it doesn't happen if I change positions in my sleep. Any tips on how to increase side sleeping without leaks?

My AHI typically ranges from 1 to 4. Average leak is just under 4 and the 95% leak is 18 (well below the critical threshold).

[zonk]

Any tips on how to increase side sleeping without leaks?

My AHI typically ranges from 1 to 4. Average leak is just under 4 and the 95% leak is 18 (well below the critical threshold).

leak looks good. 95P indicate leak was AT or BELOW for 95% of the time. some people forget the BELOW part.
you need to look at the resscan leak graph to see the fluctuation

you can use tennis ball sewn on back of shirt or put tennis balls in the front pockets of pyjama shirt and wear back to front or something like that
also you try sleeping with your back against the wall or some firm pillow so you don,t roll on your back

I sleep mostly on my side but not a problem if roll on back or whatever is most comfortable as the machine auto-adjust pressure breath by breath to suit and calculate the pressure needed based on the severity of events

[JudgeMental]

I have that same mask and use it occassionally but have found the same situation as you discribed. Ok, to start on the side with it but to change positions during the night will initiate a sure leaking situation. I have thus, mostly used the Swift LT pillows which is virtually leak-free for me. I see your press @ 15 so the pillows might be a bit tough to use also. Good Luck.

[IDRIck]

Any thoughts on the RemZzzz strips? Are they effective in minimizing leak?

[GreginColo]

Hi Rick, same mask and same problem; I also prefer side sleepong. and it seems any change in positions of face against pillow will move the mask enough to start some leakage. I just keep waking and adjusting, which isn't ideal, so hopefully someone wlse will have some suggestions for us. THX, Greg.

[jfmusil]

I use a buckwheat pillow to prop my head up and take the pressure off the shoulder. I can sleep with the pillow under the bcak of my head and ear.

[HILLTOPPER]

You need to go to amazon and get yourself a cpap pillow with the big cut out area in it.. then sleep on your side all you want

[IDRIck]

CPAP pillows, I'm a newbie and didn't realize that we are targeted groups for pillow manufacturers! Tons of pillows to check out, which one are you referring to? Hilltopper, send me a PM...

Buckwheat pillows, hadn't heard of those. Anything special to look for when checking them out? Thanks jfmusil!

GreginColo, have you tried any of these pillows?

Judgemental, I'm a mouthbreather and must use a full mask... Nasal masks are certainly advantageous for those that can use them...

[TheWerkz]

Hey Rick,

I had the same problem with my Mirage Quattro too (side sleeper) and I went through several pillows in search of the perfect pillow.

I tried a couple of Dacron fill pillows that were thicker (soft and medium firmness) and one was too hard and one worked for a few weeks but lost its loft and I could never fluff it enough to suit me after a month of use.

Next, I dug my Sobakawa (buckwheat) pillow out of the closet and it seemed to support me at first but it would always allow my head to sink into the middle and that's what would always push my mask askew so it was on to try my Tempur-Pedic memory foam (again) which is still the worst $100 I've ever spent, I couldn't ever find a place that worked except for supine which then gives me a backache after a while and really makes my OSA worse.

For 3 years I slept on the outer edge of 2 Dacron filled pillows stuffed into the same pillow case (they were pretty flat) to try to keep my mask from touching the pillow at all, this worked somewhat but made my neck really sore sometimes.

My FINAL pillow I'll ever use now is a MyPillow, yes, the one from the dorky infomercials, I bought it last January and it actually works great for me and because of the hundreds of pieces of shredded foam inside it, it doesn't push hard enough on my mask to cause leaks, I did have to determine the proper "snugness" (is that even a word?) for my mask but it didn't take long and my leak rate last night was 0.0, I may even put off having neck surgery for another 12 years, plus, I don't wake-up with a tension headache anymore.

I was skeptical of it after seeing their infomercial and looking at their website, they do have a list of the various Home & Garden type shows and State Fair's they'll be attending with their pillows displayed, so I went to the one near me so I could see it in person and play with it before just ordering from their website. If you go this route, to save the show admission fee I waited until 45 minutes before closing time to go in and saved the $8 admission fee, I was only there to see and then purchase the pillow if I liked it (I did!).

This is not an endorsement to buy anything, just a review of what I've determined that worked the best for me and since everyone is different and has different preferences on bed's and pillow's and how big or how soft or firm they should be, you'll have to make your own determination as to what works best for you.

Good luck!

Ren

[PaulaO2]

I use a feather pillow and just punch a dent where the mask is. Or hang it off the edge. The mask off the edge of the pillow I mean.

I've only met two or three folks who like the CPAP pillow. Everyone else who has tried it didn't like it very much.

Review:
http://www.apneaboard.com/forums/Thread-...PAP-Pillow
http://www.apneaboard.com/forums/Thread-...-old-forum