How many still 100% back sleep and successful with cpap?

[ronragus]

Hi All,

Would like to know many folks here still completely sleep on their backs and still remain successful with the current cpap therapy- if so whether you need any special equipment to make it work for you (special pillows/mouth guard/cervical collars/tape...etc). The technican who did my lab study did told me that I had much worst AHIs on my back, but I am still having a hard time feeling natural on my sides (drooling on my pillow, feeling awkward positioning my legs and arms now on top of each other if I have to side sleep, plus the feeling of the side of the headgear being pressed onto the pillow as I side-sleep.... I have seen t-shirts with tennis balls sawn onto the back to prevent back sleeping, but my concern is it would just cause more arousals in my already disturbed sleep

Thanks

[Pugsy]

With optimal settings on an auto adjusting machine you can sleep in any position you wish.
You don't have to sleep on your side if you don't want to or simply can't relax enough to sleep on your side because you prefer sleeping on your back.
Yes, it is true that often OSA worsens and/or more pressure is needed but that's why we have auto adjusting machines to take care of the potential special needs.

Same thing can happen with REM stage sleep and we can't control REM...just dial in your pressure settings and sleep in whatever position you want.

[chunkyfrog]

While healing from my bilateral mastectomy and simultaneous reconstruction (cancer),
[[[FIVE YEARS AGO--this month]]]
my plastic surgeon advised me to only sleep on my back to avoid side pressure on my implants.
I was very used to side sleeping until that--but it was easier to change with cpap.
Sometimes, even now I wake up on my back--I got there "somehow".

[kteague]

Not 100% but I quit taking steps to stay off my back a few years ago. I flip flop all night long and have seen no higher numbers than when I made efforts to side sleep. I attribute it to the fact that when I wake up on my back now my tongue is still sealed against the roof of my mouth. This one hard learned habit made a world of difference in my sleep experience.

chunkyfrog - Happy 5 Years!!!

[Sheriff Buford]

I have been sleeping on my back probably for decades. I have been on cpap therapy for 10 years and I probably sleep on my back 90% of the night. I know I probably get most of my apnea events on my back.... but that's the position I get most of my comfort. As Pugs stated.... to each it's own.... I wouldn't worry about it.

Sheriff

[DreamDiver]

Ronragus, I change positions multiple times at night. My auto is set to accommodate the pressures I need when I need them. With a little experience and time, you can set yours to do the same. Once you're dialed in, you may not even need positional sleep aids like the tennis-ball t-shirt.

Congrats on 5 years chunkyfrog!

Chris

[zonker]

interesting that you should post this. i've read on here from two different users that back sleeping isn't a problem if your therapy is optimized. i now see pugsy adding in, so that's three.

with the reading of the first two, i've been trying to get my own therapy to the point where i can back sleep with no impact on my ahi. here are the last three nights-

Screenshot (3).png

Screenshot (7).png

Screenshot (8).png

that first one? i don't particularly remember sleeping on my back. that is, i don't remember waking up at any point on my back. this chart is an anomaly in that i don't usually achieve zero, but pretty much hover in the area of below one ahi.

the second one i KNOW i was on my back because i woke up 2x that way. so i increased my minimum pressure by .2 for the next night, last night.

last night was the .10 and i do remember waking up to roll off of my back.

i don't enough data to confirm that i'm optimized and can now sleep in any position. while my average ahi for one year is .91, it swings quite a bit. hoping i can get it down by incrementally increasing my minimum.

i suppose what i'm saying, ronragus, is hang in there. try tackling the problem and see what you can do.

good luck!

[CPAP2017]

That’s a silver lining to using CPAP—it should deliver the pressure to clear the airway regardless of position. For me the only downside of back sleep is that’s when my lower jaw seems to relax and recess, which may cause the mask to lose its seal. It’s one reason why the pressure test on masks is of limited use for me since I don’t really know if it maintains the seal until that point in my sleep pattern.

[Dog Slobber]

I am a 100% back sleeper.

Since I started managing and optimizing my own therapy, I've reduced my AHI from 3.5 to 0.15.


In the attached graphics you can see from the top one, my AHI for the last month; I get about the same 0.0 AHI nights as nights with events.

The middle and bottom charts shows my progression from an average of 3.5 and often above 5, to my current AHI of 0.15.

The gaps in the chart are when I had to take breaks because I couldn't tolerate therapy because of a deviated septum, that was fixed.

AHI_Progression.png

[Janknitz]

I was a dedicated side sleeper when I started CPAP (and still had a disastrous untreated AHI!!!) But as I'm aging I'm having hip pain and often sleep on my back now. No problem CPAP-wise. My treated AHI's are still really low and my pressures are about the same.

[milboltnut]

With optimal settings on an auto adjusting machine you can sleep in any position you wish.
You don't have to sleep on your side if you don't want to or simply can't relax enough to sleep on your side because you prefer sleeping on your back.
Yes, it is true that often OSA worsens and/or more pressure is needed but that's why we have auto adjusting machines to take care of the potential special needs.

Same thing can happen with REM stage sleep and we can't control REM...just dial in your pressure settings and sleep in whatever position you want.

With optimal settings on an auto adjusting machine you can sleep in any position you wish.

I hope it's soon !

[Deborah K.]

I was a natural side sleeper for the vast majority of my life. Then I read that certain ways of back sleeping were beneficial for lower back pain and spasms. So I worked hard to teach myself to sleep on my back. Then I had my sleep studies and found that I had more apnea while on my back. Rats! I have been using my machine for four months now, and am doing very well with it. I found that, oddly enough, I get worse AHIs when I try to sleep on my side. So now I sleep solely on my back and have the best AHIs I have had so far; my last several nights ranged from 0.3 to 0.5. I'm thrilled!

[moonlight]

I can't sleep in any other position with my cpap. The gear makes it uncomfortable. But i don't worry about it, i get way better sleep with my cpap on my back than without it on my preferred position, which is my tummy.

[Respiration99]

Like others here, I more naturally sleep on my side - at least until the back pain kicks in. But on my side I can't get comfortable with the mask, so back-sleeping becomes a must. I've found the key to this is a suitable pillow - I use a very soft duck down pillow, which I push into shape so that my neck is well supported and my head tilts very slightly back. In this position the mask sits nicely and there is no tendency to tuck my chin. Others use buckwheat-hull pillows or shaped orthopaedic pillows, but the principle is the same - support and slightly extend the neck, and everything else seems to fall into place.