Stomach Sleeper

General Discussion on any topic relating to CPAP and/or Sleep Apnea.
MissSax
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Joined: Tue Apr 28, 2015 9:04 am

Stomach Sleeper

Post by MissSax » Thu Apr 30, 2015 7:17 am

yes, I sleep on my tummy. I thought to myself last night.... self I'm sure that you can teach yourself to sleep on your side.... bad idea.. I woke up 3 hours after going to sleep sweating, had to potty and terrible acid reflux and jumpy legs... all things I had before I started using my cpap machine 10 days ago. I don't like it... so I went back on my stomach.

I am using a nasal mask... I tired the pillows during my sleep study and after 3 minutes ripped them from my face cause I just couldn't handle it....

Stomach sleepers out there that... how do you do it? I am curling the pillow up under my head so the mask is hanging over the pillow but the headgear is bruising my face and causes me to wake up and adjust it during the night because I have moved a bit and the headgear goes with me.

Any ideas?

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robysue
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Re: Stomach Sleeper

Post by robysue » Thu Apr 30, 2015 7:42 am

MissSax wrote:Stomach sleepers out there that... how do you do it? I am curling the pillow up under my head so the mask is hanging over the pillow but the headgear is bruising my face and causes me to wake up and adjust it during the night because I have moved a bit and the headgear goes with me.

Any ideas?
Hubby is a stomach sleeper and uses an F&P Eson nasal mask and he has no real problems. The Eson's head gear is not a minimalist headgear like the Resmed FX Nano or the Resmed AirFit N10. It's a pretty traditional headgear with a forehead support.

As for how hubby manages the mask and the bed pillow: He uses a kind of thin pillow and he puts his head next to the edge and turns his head so that his nose is facing the edge and that allows the mask to drape over the edge. His stomach sleeping position is close to, but not quite the same as what's called the "Falcon" sleeping position, which is shown below:

Left facing:
Image


Right facing:
Image

You'll notice the guy in the pictures is NOT using a bed pillow, but the same idea works just fine for thin bed pillows. I'm not sure how well it would work for fat bed pillows.

You can read more about the Falcon sleeping position at: http://www.uarsrelief.com/sleeppositions.html

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Krelvin
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Re: Stomach Sleeper

Post by Krelvin » Thu Apr 30, 2015 8:20 am

Stomach sleeper. Have been using a Buckwheat Husk pillow (Like http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00NERG2O4 but the older smaller version) which I can mold and will stay that way. Before that, I crushed pillows to make them work.
I use a FFM mask (alternate between Flexfit HC432 and more oftenly use Quattro Air)

When sleeping, my head is about 1/2 on the pillow with my mask hanging towards the mattress. I actually hold the mask in my hand and can control leaks without even thinking about it. I tend to be facing the left most of the time.

Took me a while to prefect doing it though. First 3 months, I tried, side sleeping etc.. but just could not sleep that way after sleeping on my stomach for more years. Stomach sleeping with mask now +8 years.
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Papit
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Re: Stomach Sleeper

Post by Papit » Thu Apr 30, 2015 9:35 am

robysue wrote:
MissSax wrote:Stomach sleepers out there that... how do you do it? I am curling the pillow up under my head so the mask is hanging over the pillow but the headgear is bruising my face and causes me to wake up and adjust it during the night because I have moved a bit and the headgear goes with me.

Any ideas?
As for how hubby manages the mask and the bed pillow: He uses a kind of thin pillow and he puts his head next to the edge and turns his head so that his nose is facing the edge and that allows the mask to drape over the edge. Left facing:
Image
Right facing:
Image

You'll notice the guy in the pictures is NOT using a bed pillow, but the same idea works just fine for thin bed pillows. I'm not sure how well it would work for fat bed pillows.

+1

Half the time I sleep the way robysue's husband does. The key is to use a pillow that's only perhaps 1" thick when your head is on it. On travel I use a hotel hand-towel folded up to make my 'simulated' flat pillow. The other key is to position your head on the pillow so your mask is extended just beyond the pillow's edge. That helps me minimize disturbing the seal against my face or nares at night when I move my head. A large, deep plush pillow guarantees for me that the mask will get dislodged and break the seal when I move my head.

It will probably take just a few nights to adapt to this new thin bed pillow and head/mask position. With the benefit of hindsight, I'd suggest that you claim the couch for an early evening or two of lying supine on the thin pillow, masked up and reading or watching tv with your xpap machine ON to get yourself adapted to the feel of all this.

Good luck, Krelvin. Pm me or post here how you're doing. This is one of the easiest problems imo to fix assuming you traditionally sleep on your sides.

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Last edited by Papit on Thu Apr 30, 2015 10:40 am, edited 1 time in total.
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herefishy
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Re: Stomach Sleeper

Post by herefishy » Thu Apr 30, 2015 9:55 am

I do the same, the only thing I can add is to try the Mirage Activa LT mask - it has worked for me for years, despite trying a jillion others. Oh, and a hose management system, so your hose won't be pulling on your mask.

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Mask: Mirage Activa™ LT Nasal CPAP Mask with Headgear
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jon k
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Re: Stomach Sleeper

Post by jon k » Sun May 03, 2015 7:05 pm

Thank you, Robysue, for posting the article about the falcon sleeping position - so helpful! I tried this position the past two nights, and found it very, very restful. I've been a CPCP now for about three months and just now feel like I'm getting quality sleep.