Choosing a pillow...

So now that I over a month in to my treatment, I am starting to become very curious on the various non-CPAP related things that can improve my sleep. After considering a number of possible 'upgradeable' items, I settled on a new pillow. My current pillow is at least 10 years old (my wife says they could be 20), and literally feels I am sleeping on a hundred year old potato sack filled will 2 inches of fiberglass insulation. I am currently looking at the memory form pillows, and also noticed the CPAP pillows. I currently sleep on either my side of back, and do no consider the CPAP tubing to be an inconvenience. Is there any other value of the CPAP pillows other than the shape to allow side sleeping? I would love to here what everyone is using, as well as if they noticed any improvement in overall sleep quality.

Here is the one I am considering: http://www.amazon.com/Classic-Brands-Co ... 750&sr=1-2

I use a buckwheat pillow. You can search "Buckwheat" here to see the discussion. I have used a memory foam pillow for several years. The buckwheat pillow took me a while to get used to, but I can "shape" the pillow to my comfort. I would definitely say that I like the buckwheat better.

Another gizmo you might consider is a hose hanger. I use the Hose Buddy, and I have often stated here that it has to be the best cpap investment I've made. The padacheek strap covers are also a good investment. They protect my skin from the rash that the mask straps can cause and they also provide a great deal of comfort.

Sheriff

nutricula wrote:So now that I over a month in to my treatment, I am starting to become very curious on the various non-CPAP related things that can improve my sleep. After considering a number of possible 'upgradeable' items, I settled on a new pillow. My current pillow is at least 10 years old (my wife says they could be 20), and literally feels I am sleeping on a hundred year old potato sack filled will 2 inches of fiberglass insulation. I am currently looking at the memory form pillows, and also noticed the CPAP pillows. I currently sleep on either my side of back, and do no consider the CPAP tubing to be an inconvenience. Is there any other value of the CPAP pillows other than the shape to allow side sleeping? I would love to here what everyone is using, as well as if they noticed any improvement in overall sleep quality.

Here is the one I am considering: http://www.amazon.com/Classic-Brands-Co ... 750&sr=1-2

Well, I tried my regular fill and latex pillows, and they worked ok for side sleeping with ffm. I then used one of my wife's memory foam pillows. It was certainly better. The more defined edges made it easier to drop the mask and hose of the side. However, I just didn't find it tall enough to accomodate my shoulder width. I finally bought the cpapmax pillow from our hosts, and I find it to be one of the best pillows I've used. Of course, so much of this is personal preference.

It has one regular loose fill side and one memory foam side. You can also remove a middle section of firm foam if it's too tall. For me, it was perfect for side sleeping. The cutouts really fit well to the side posture, and they allow masks a lot of freedom. It was also great in the supine and made me long for my pre-apnea nights on my back. It's width was just right for rolling from one side to the other and perfectly landing in the cutout on the other side. Lastly, the pillow case is cut to fit both cutout sides and is cotton with a decent feel. I would "guess" it would perform at least for a year or two, but I don't think it would have the straight longevity of an all memory foam. It comes packaged in loose plastic so that you can give it a trial run without making a committment, which was important to me.

It's certainly worth a try if you want to get a feel for a cpap pillow design. Good luck!

Best,

Mike