still snoring while sleeping on my back

I have a devilbiss standard sleep cube machine, the pressure is set for 12. My husband says I am now only snoring while on my back. Do I need to increase the pressure. If yes ,by how many increments. Any other position is okay.

Sleeping on your back is the poorest position to sleep on while on XPAP, it's best to learn to sleep on you side. Increasing the pressure 1CM woulfd probably be OK, but it would be better to sleep on your side. More pressure means more problems. with leaks and discomfort. Jim

I have to agree with GP on this. Back sleeping is as good as inviting apneas & other complications.

My own therapy has been very significantly compromised because for the past 2 months I have been sleeping on right side & back
due to a damaged tendon in left shoulder after doing a somersault off my bicycle at some speed (my 2nd airborne failure in past 8
months )

My left side was always the preferred sleeping one but I just don't have the shoulder well enough under control to sleep on it & for
2 months therapy has begun to decline enough that I notice it. I like back sleeping but it elevates OSA problems quite markedly.

The fact is, sleep on your back & pay the price !. Sleep clinics may ask you to sleep on your back just so they can get you at your
worst (which back sleeping usually is). Side sleeping very clearly reduces the potential for both OSA and for GERD symptoms. Be
aware that GERD is exacerbated with back sleeping as your stomach is sitting high & inverted & that puts pressure on the stomach
contents which then leads to reflux & subsequent respiratory complications. Back sleeping is progressively worse the more weight
you carry over what is considered healthy / normal.

Sleeping just isn't the dreamy opportunity we would all love it to be

Good luck

DSM

Back sleeping is definitely the worst possible position( I have positional OSA), but with a properly adjusted machine, it should not make much difference. Sleep study titrations are generally done on a "worst case" senario, and call for maximum pressure to resolve worst case Apnea situation (generally the back). When I back sleep, the machine corrects for a few more APS and Hypops, but it isn't radically different from my normal numbers. So, the machine is doing the trick. This is why I particularly like autopaps over straight cpaps--they tend to correct abnormal situations, and catch events that would not normally arise in an "average" sleep night.

Autopapdude wrote:Back sleeping is definitely the worst possible position( I have positional OSA), but with a properly adjusted machine, it should not make much difference. Sleep study titrations are generally done on a "worst case" senario, and call for maximum pressure to resolve worst case Apnea situation (generally the back). When I back sleep, the machine corrects for a few more APS and Hypops, but it isn't radically different from my normal numbers. So, the machine is doing the trick. This is why I particularly like autopaps over straight cpaps--they tend to correct abnormal situations, and catch events that would not normally arise in an "average" sleep night.

I agree re it can be adjusted for - I have upped my ipap CMs by 1.2 to compensate & thus far it seems to be working, but the price I am paying for that extra 1 CMs is an increase in mask leaks & squeaks. As always it is a juggling act.

DSM

Great thread! Information here should be saved for easy reference. I've added some of the content to the CPAP Wiki, here:

wiki/index.php/Obstructive_Sleep_Apnea# ... leep_Apnea

If I've left anything out feel free to copy and paste more to the wiki.

estherz wrote:I have a devilbiss standard sleep cube machine, the pressure is set for 12. My husband says I am now only snoring while on my back. Do I need to increase the pressure. If yes ,by how many increments. Any other position is okay.

Hi,

I don't know anything about your machine. Is it an auto-PAP machine? The reason that I ask is that an auto machine might work out for you. An APAP can adjust its pressure on-the-fly to compensate for things like you rolling onto your back and needing a higher pressure level. You might want to talk to your sleep doctor about this if you have a straight CPAP machine--perhaps they will write you a prescription if they agree.

-john-

Great thread! Information here should be saved for easy reference. I've added some of the content to the CPAP Wiki, here:

wiki/index.php/Obstructive_Sleep_Apnea#Positional_Obstructive_Sleep_Apnea

If I've left anything out feel free to copy and paste more to the wiki.

Katherine you got it right! Thanks--agree that it is a good thread, as some folks think back sleeping is absolutely forbidden. Most properly set autopaps catch the few additional events very easily. My AHI during a back sleeping period of time ( had knee surgery) was 1.8, and normally, it is between .8 and 2. So, no significant difference. The machine got a few more events during that period of time, but no big problems.

Autopapdude - I agree that a properly set auto should work for many people who sleep on their back or when they are on their back for a time during the night, unless they have "positional sleep apnea".

I have slept on my back for the 7+ years that I have been using cpap. The arthritis pain in my hips and shoulders does not allow me to sleep, mostly pain free, in any other sleeping position.

I obviously do not have Positional Sleep Apnea since my AHI is almost always under 1 and I get 0.0 AHI a couple of times a month.

For some (maybe many), back sleeping all the time or for some of the night, should not be a problem. I'm glad I'm one of those people, because of my arthritis, otherwise I would not be able to sleep at all!

Thanks to everyone for your advice. I have a standard machine, not an auto one. It is set for a constant 12. My insurance only pays 50% and they don't feel I need the auto adjust machine. I have diabetes and a frozen right shoulder, so that leaves my left side. Unfortunately I am a restless sleeper, and change positions frequently, according to my husband. Any tips on how to keep from sleeping on your back.

Do the auto adjust machines make more noise then the standard ones? Of course I am married to a very sensitive sleeper. He sleeps with his ipod on!!!

Elisa Zalk

They other issue is your mask. If you do not have a full face mask you may be mouth breathing which would seriously degrade your therapy because the air would be coming out of your mouth instead of where it should be going.

estherz wrote:Do the auto adjust machines make more noise then the standard ones? Of course I am married to a very sensitive sleeper. He sleeps with his ipod on!!!

Elisa,

Some machines make less noise than others. An auto machine can be quieter because it will start off at a lower pressure, and likely only ramp up once you are asleep. Masks can also make a difference. I notice that my current favorite mask, the Swift LT, makes the most noise of any mask that I have tried so far. One trick that several people have reported here is to set your machine below the level of your mattress. That helps keep the sound below you, and let it get absorbed by the foam and padding in your mattress.

-john-

I have decided to switch to the devilbiss sleepcube automatic, after all your suggestions and my internet research. Since I just bought my machine a few days ago the company will exchange it. It is another $400, but there is no value on a good nights sleep and marital harmony!! Maybe I will get some money back from my insurance.

Before I'd let them soak me for a $400 upgrade, I'd keep what i had and buy what I wanted online, a spare is good. Jim

The company is not milking me. I live in Israel, prices are much higher here. Internet is not an option, because when it arrives here it gets taxed. The $400 is the difference in price between the 2 machines. As far as a spare, I am waiting on a price quote to repair my old devilbiss. First in 2003 I got a tyco, it went. Then I got a bpap by devilbiss. It died 2 months after the warranty went. (2 year warranty). The new one comes with a three year warranty. Thanks for looking out for me.

Elisa