What (sleeping) pillow do you like and why?

[PaulaO2]

Buckwheat hull. I actually have a "Duplex" pillow that has buckwheat hulls on one side and millet hulls on the other. They offer it so you can decide which one works for you. I prefer the buckwheat. I got it from the Pillow Company online.

[groggygirl]

Thanks so much for the comments! You've given me a lot to look into.

[groggygirl]

A big THANK YOU to everyone who took the trouble to respond! I so appreciate the suggestions even of the ones that I have ruled out for lacking some aspect that I know I need. There are SO many options out there that it was an enormous help to have some suggestions to start with. Your comments also helped my crystallize exactly what I was looking for, although the pillow I need may not even exist.

It looks like the benefit of the buckwheat hulls is being able to arrange them to accommodate your accessories. I can do that with my down pillow; I want something that already has the gaps and supports I need. But thanks for bringing it up!

I don't use back/front support pillows, I seem to stay in position okay without them. I do use a pillow between my legs, but a cheap sofa pillow from WM has worked fine for that for years. (I do have back pain on the rare occasions I'm able to sleep in bed more than a few hours, but since it happens so rarely and I really hated messing with arranging pillows in bed, I'll continue my current setup.)

One concern I have with memory foam is that my ear hurts fairly quickly if I don't arrange my down pillow so there is a gap under my ear to prevent pressure. Since I wouldn't be able to do that with the memory foam, is it soft enough to not press on my ear? (I have yet to read a review that mentions ear pressure even from self-identified side sleepers. Maybe I'm just weird. But meanwhile the Modern Sleep Contour is still on the "maybe" list.) (Ha! One of the reviews specifically mentioned it was kinder to the reviewer's ear. And the price is a big plus - if it turns out to not work for me, I won't have wasted a lot of money.)

The Splintek SleepRight looks like a nice pillow but it doesn't have the holes/gaps I am looking for. (I use a full-face mask.) Same for My Pillow (although DH mentioned that a friend of ours uses that and absolutely adores it - but she doesn't use a CPAP).

Have any of you tried any of the CPAP-specfic pillows on the market? What did you think of them?

[Sleep2Snore]

I don't use a pillow, well I do but it is just to get some height.
I use a cushion from a Swedish company, it is about two feet long and around six inches across, it keeps the mask off the rest of the bedding and I can use it in any direction just to keep things from getting knocked off by bedding.  Good for side sleeping.
They are not even expensive, just a few dollars and can be chucked into the washing machine and drip dried, perfect for me.

[ShaunBlake]

...
I use a cushion from a Swedish company, it is about two feet long and around six inches across ...

Never heard of such a pillow. Can you give us a source or name?

[markndurham]

I had a 2 pack of bamboo pillows that I didn't use because they were too thick. I took one and sliced open the end and pulled off the cover. I then used a sawing machine and sewed a half moon on one side of the cover. I then laid the cover on top of the stuffing and tore out a half moon section from the filling and removed some of the filling thickness and put the cover back on. Once the filling was back in the cover, I pulled out another half moon shaped sliced of filling on the opposite side, then hand sewed the cover to match the shape. Then I used the sawing machine to sew up the end. Saved $50-70 and have a CPAP pillow that I love.

[PaulKTF]

I have an EnduriMed Large CPAP pillow that I like very much- it's comfortable and lets me sleep on my side without the mask shifting.

[mikeh99]

Tried several cpap pillows but ultimately went back to tried and true down. I use four of them. I'm generally a left side sleeper.

[groggygirl]

I hadn't thought about making my own, interesting idea! I could also sew a circle for my ear with practically no filling. I don't know if I'm up to that much sewing, my back hasn't let me sew in years.

The Endurimed is one I've been looking at. Does it put pressure on your ear when side sleeping?

FOUR pillows? That would drive me crazy. lol Even getting my one pillow re-arranged whenever I get up at night (usually at least twice) bugs me. I do like the comfort of down, though, just wondering whether the convenience of a pillow that accommodates my CPAP mask would be worth the tradeoff. Looks like it is to some people and isn't to others.

[OpalRose]

I tried a CPAP Contour Pillow early in my treatment, thinking I should have one.  
It had all the cutouts you talk about, but the problem is that the cutouts don't fit everyone's head and neck shape.  Same as a certain mask won't fit everyone.  

I found it extremely uncomfortable, hard as a rock, and the cutouts didn't match my short neck.  And yes, my ear was sore in the morning.  I gave that pillow to my brother in law, who loves it.  

Pillows are not a one size fits all, you just have to try them.  I used a My Pillow brand for years, way before I was diagnosed with SA.  After trying a couple pillows  "made just for CPAP users", I ended up going back to the My Pillow and still use it to this day.

Someday, just for the heck of it, I would like to try a buckwheat pillow, but no one ever says if they hear any crunching sounds of those buckwheat hulls when moving around.