Pillow for side/stomach sleepers--simple mod

For any CPAPers out there who like to sleep in the side-stomach position, I wanted to share something I did to my husband's Tempurpedic Comfortpillow. He really likes this memory foam pillow, and none of the CPAP pillows we saw really interested him. To make a space for his mask, I cinched the pillow around the middle with an old fabric belt. This created an indentation on either side of the pillow for his mask, and it doesn't 'squish out' again during the night. He says he can't feel the belt underneath the pillow case, and it's still comfortable when he sleeps in other positions. I did some adjusting till the indentation looked about right. A piece of old pantyhose might be another soft, flat material to use for this. I expect that the technique would work with any soft pillow. I'm sure that I'm not the only person to ever think of this, but I've never seen it posted, so I thought I'd put it out there.
Hopefully the image will post.


Le_Wif

That looks like a great idea and I'm going to try it. I love the ideas that people come up with on this forum. Thanks.

Another use for panty hose - how excited am I LOL

Great idea. A pillow can make all the difference sometimes.
If this works out and you want a premanent 'indent' you could cut it out,
Like Carbonman suggested, using a carving knife (but only IF you are not a vegan).

RG I think we have an award here.

Nice idea.

You want to use an electric carving knife to cut your foam pillows. Trying to cut foam with a standard knife or scissors is a b*tch.

Depending on your skill level, you might not cut the foam perfectly cleanly. But it will work, and once the pillowcase is on it, you'll never notice.

BTW, Big Lots still has memory foam pillows for $12.00. My BF likes the one I found at Ross for the same price better, however, as it is shorter vertically. He's used to sleeping on a pancake flat pillow.

I've been sleeping on foam pillows for a long time, so I like the taller model at Big Lots. Plus I have broader shoulders than the midget BF...

I've found just learning to sleep on the edge of the pillow was sufficient for me. When I roll over now, I just automatically push the pillow back the other direction so my face is hanging off the edge of the pillow.

Cheers,
B.

Glad you like the idea. This particular pillow isn't a solid mass of foam, it's made of shredded memory foam bits, so it's not really 'cut-able'. I was thinking that this might also work for pillows that are stuffed with polyester fill. For solid foam pillows, I think cutting might be the better option.

As for pantyhose, they are very useful items--as long as I don't actually have to wear them. For some reason, the feel of them makes my skin crawl....

Le_Wif

I tried it last nite and slept for 7 hours without waking up. Thanks for the great tip.


JeffH

My wife got me one of those CPAP pillows, and it would be great except for ONE MINOR detail....it's as hard as a Brick. What I discovered is that my old fake down pillow, which had gotten too soft to use now makes a great second pillow...I sleep with one pillow on the bed and scrunch the down pillow under my head, but not against my mask. Works great.

You could take a down or fake down pillow and remove some of the loft. That might work too.

Jeff