Rank Newbie

[Doza]

Thanks for the reminder. Duh me LOL

[Doza]

Got myself a cervical collar to try to minimise the OAs, and snores.
All I got was a spotty flag chart, more snores, leaks, shunted top teeth, a sore neck and the worst strap marks from the mask ever. I've been up for more than two hours and they're still visible. Which means they've been visible to customers for the hour I've been at work already. 
Oh, and instantly I got that gag/snore reflex before I even went to sleep.  Go figure.
Ironically, during the night the discomfort wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, although it did affect the direction of the hose swivel and the venting (Swift FX).
It can go back into its bag and be stowed until one of us needs it for some future mishap.

[ajack]

If it were me, I'd raise the 15 to 20 and get it out of the way for now and set the min to 12.
I wasn't seeing bad clusters on your charts, are you doing a collar for mouth breathing leaks?

[Doza]

No, I think I've got the mouth breathing thing down. More about tilting my chin forward.

[HalfAsleep]

I can't use a cervical collar to sleep in. It's very bad for my neck and causes serious neurology problems in my shoulders and down my arms.


Use a different pillow? This will likely be better for your neck and back than a cervical collar when used for sleeping. It tilts your head slightly backward, so you have the natural and desired curve in your neck while you're sleeping. This keeps your chin from retracting.

If you want to see whether a different pillow will work, Improvise by rolling up a towel with a comfortable diameter for you. Sleep with it under your neck. Try using it for a nap first.

I have a high quality pillow that is in lieu of a towel, but some folks on here really swear by their buckwheat pillows.

Lately, I've been using a hospital sock stuffed with old socks so I have a hardish tube about 3-4" in diameter. If I stir in the night with my jaw retracted, I slip it between one jaw and my collar bone. Voilà, it resets the whole chin. I don't like pushing it against my Adam's apple, so I just have it to the side. I don't need a jaw support for all night, just some portions.

Other folks have used one of those airplane sleep crescent-shaped pillows worn backwards.

[Doza]

Yeah, A rethink is in order for sure. I love my memory foam wavy pillow but it's too soft, obviously. I adore my old latex jobbie too but it allows me to tuck too. I sleep mostly on my side/tummy though which complicates things as I also tuck up in those possies.

[HalfAsleep]

Side/tummy sleeping would indeed complicate things!

I'm out of my depth there...

[Doza]

Update.

I'm into my tenth (?) week now and have a pretty good handle on my hardware. Happy with the P10 and Swift FX (post-hack) and can manage both the XS and S pillows on the the P10, and the S on the Swift, so I have 3 different sizes to go on with for a while.  
The most recent settings are working, and I've had fairly consistent figures for the last few weeks (under 2 AHI).  
I'm used to having something attached to my face now, although I still wake often to adjust the hose when rolling from one side to the other.
I've adjusted to the ortho pillow and find the satin case really does help when my face is pressed up against it with the mask on.
I've successfully travelled and used the machine without any dramas.
The cat has become quite used to it, to the point of trying to push it off my face with his nose to get me out of bed. As any revolutionary knows, hunger will embolden the most scaredy of cats!  

But has it made any difference?  Well yes, and no.
What hasn't changed is that I'm still RS in the mornings and at least until mid-afternoon.
I have grainy eyes and my usual dry eye seems to be about the same (maddening).
As expected, my reduced congnitive function, alertness and memory issues remain the same.  If at all, any changes to all that will take longer to become noticeable.
Metabolism hasn't changed to my knowledge yet either.

So, what has changed?
I realised last night that I wasn't waking on the couch at some ungodly hour like I used to.
I'd still get very sleepy but try to go to bed before falling asleep after I first started on this. Now managing to stay awake with no issues until about 9:30 and head to bed within half an hour of that most nights. I still have the odd late night, but I'm mostly ok for those, too.
Daytime fatigue still grips me for the first 3/4 of the work day, but late afternoon and early evenings are much better.  I've cut my napping down by about 90%. If I really really need to however, I will go out the back and lie down for a while. I don't zonk instantly for hours like I did before PAP therapy, though. More a quiet doze for an  hour, tops.  A far cry from the mega-naps of old.

So things are starting to happen which is heartening.
We're emerging from a very long and stressful cycle of events in our work lives, and moving into a new, very uncertain one which will pretty much decide our long-term future, which is even more stressful.  
I've been in training for this new chapter in terms of physical fitness for a year already, and feel a bit more optimistic about my ability to cope with it now that slowly the other systems in my body might be starting to play nice with each other..  
That in itself is priceless.

[HalfAsleep]

What a profound status update! Good luck with the “new chapter” in your work life.