Discovery: Airfit P30i airflow slightly restricts with my firm bed pillow

[BornInChicago]

Hi folks,

First, I am SO glad I found this forum. I learned to try setting my minimum pressure a bit higher, from 5 to 6, and how to do it on my ResMed AirSense 10 APAP.

What a difference from my first night! I could breathe normally, as if I did not have a CPAP on at all.

Beautiful!

But I also discovered that my wonderful firm foam bed pillow restricts the air flow when I sleep on my side. The air tube goes along the face of my face on the Airfit P30i headgear. I always like to put my arm under my firm pillow as I sleep, and that "pinches' the airflow.

The slight suffocating feeling returned, until I rolled onto my back, or at least onto a 45 degree tilt.

I bumped the pressure to 7 and it was better, but it was still tricky to sleep on my side and get full, effortless inhale.

I am going to try a soft piece of foam under the pillow cover and see if that helps.

My firm foam bed pillow is not going anywhere. I experimented for years until I got this one and it is perfect. Except for the headgear.

I do like the top-of the head connection. But I wonder if I'll need to try a front-connection headgear.

[Pugsy]

Take a look at the mask I use if you want to consider experimenting.
Absolutely nothing to get in the way of your side sleeping. If interested let me know and I will point you to a big review thread that was done a while back.
A bit radical for some but it also works well for a lot of people.

Otherwise if you want more traditional...look at the ResMed AirFit P10.

[BornInChicago]

Thanks, Pugsy!

I can see now that there are so many things to get one's personal CPAP setup just right. I can see how a lot of people can have a terrible or suboptimal CPAP experience if they don't learn what the experts on this forum know about how to set it up properly.

What a great resource this forum is.

[realshelby]

I use the P30i. I have a favorite down pillow.

I went to a foam pillow that "gives" a bit more. Won't push away the nose piece and doesn't seem to change airflow at all through the headgear.

I understand the favorite pillow. But in this case I can and have slept through the night with no waking from leaks, lack of air volume, and most importantly the hose around my neck!

Everything is a compromise. The P30i is the best one I have found as far as masks go. But it did work better with a foam pillow than with the down pillow.

[Dog Slobber]

I switched to the p30i from the p10 about 3 weeks ago and I love it. I had a Septoplasty that was only partially successful and the p10 helped my breathing a lot, the p30i seems to help my breathing even more.

But I don't have a firm pillow that collapses the tube when side-sleeping. Actually, I've had more success side-sleeping with the p30i than the p10.

Hi folks,

First, I am SO glad I found this forum.

Welcome to the forums, not sure, but I may know your granny.

[billbolton]

The air tube goes along the face of my face on the Airfit P30i headgear. I always like to put my arm under my firm pillow as I sleep, and that "pinches' the airflow.

There are air tubes down both sides of the P30i headgear, and either tube is quite adequate to supply full airflow to the nasal pillows at any flow rate.

[realshelby]

There are air tubes down both sides of the P30i headgear, and either tube is quite adequate to supply full airflow to the nasal pillows at any flow rate.

Yes, the tubes do tend to provide enough air flow if one is pinched off. But try pinching one off...and you can feel a difference. The effect the harder pillow had on me was not so much the blocking of air in the tube, but the shifting of the nose piece just enough that it would effect airflow and sealing. The softer pillow fixed both. This is by far the best mask I have had as far as burrowing your face in a pillow.

[BornInChicago]

Yes, I am aware there is a tube along each side. But as realshelby noted, pinch one and I can feel a difference. I get a slight air hunger again. I am quite sensitive to it.

I, too, thought the headpiece would compensate since people do sleep on their sides.

I suppose a little softer pillow is in order.

[billbolton]

But as realshelby noted, pinch one and I can feel a difference

You may well have convinced yourself there is a difference, but I checked the flow rate on my P30i pillows at 14cms H2O. There is no measurable difference in flow rate at the pillows between neither tube blocked and either tube blocked.

[Dog Slobber]

Last night, I tried pinching off either side of my p30i, didn't notice any flow differences.

[BornInChicago]

My nasal passages have always been easily "collapsible" on my side. So I may have an anatomy sensitive to perfect airflow.

Last night I went to clinical settings with the machine next to me blowing air, and I rotated the dial to raise the minimum pressure as I lay on my side until I "felt' totally unrestricted breathing.

At 8.5cm I felt I was now breathing without that slight inhale resistance. Lowering it back to the 6.8cm I originally had made side sleeping feel slightly restricted to me.

In the middle of the night I have seen the machine APAP go to 10.5, so I figure 8.5 is not a problem as a minimum setting for me.