Preferred mask for side-sleepers

[Bobby269]

Sleeping on your back demands a requirement for a higher pressure then for sleeping on your side.My pressure is set to Cpap 14, but during my titration testing 12 ( on my side) eliminated all apneas. I have at times set my unit to apap 11 to 14 , sleeping on my side I never needed more then 12.

[sleeplessinaz]

I cannot imagine a doctor demanding that you sleep on your back!! That is the craziest thing I have ever heard--in fact, I would switch doctors if I were you. I never would get any sleep on my back! I am strickly a side sleeper---using the Swift LT for her and love it. I use a down filled pillow so that I can form it around my neck and let me mask hang off of the end of the pillow. I still can't imagine your doctor telling you to sleep on your back----as you can see most of CAN'T sleep on our backs.

Carrie

[rocklin]

My sleep doctor stated very clearly that the "Best sleep position is on your back!" so I have tried to follow his advice.

My brother, Steve, taught me this mental trick. When anyone, but especially, when a doctor (or another authority figure) states something as a solid, unassailable fact, politely but firmly ask him or her:

"Excuse me, but could you rephrase that by saying: "In my humble opinion, sir, . . ."

so, the Doctor Declares as Fact: "The Best sleep position is on your back!"

becomes the Doctor politely voices: "In my humble opinion, sir, the best sleep position is on your back."

_______________________________________________________________________________


If, when you first make this request, the doctor can keep from launching himself across his desk, aiming for your throat . . . this little trick works wonders.



If forces them—and anyone using this jedi mind-trick—to recognize that there are no facts, only our very biased opinions.

[RogerAN]

I cannot imagine a doctor demanding that you sleep on your back!! That is the craziest thing I have ever heard--in fact, I would switch doctors if I were you. I never would get any sleep on my back! I am strickly a side sleeper---using the Swift LT for her and love it. I use a down filled pillow so that I can form it around my neck and let me mask hang off of the end of the pillow. I still can't imagine your doctor telling you to sleep on your back----as you can see most of CAN'T sleep on our backs.

Carrie

Hi, Carrie

It's not so much that he demanded that I sleep on my back---it's just that he felt that to be the best sleeping position for most people. I've actually gotten pretty much used to it, and though I occasionally roll onto one side or the other, I tend to find myself sleeping on my back most often. It's always interesting to hear the experience of others.

[RogerAN]

My sleep doctor stated very clearly that the "Best sleep position is on your back!" so I have tried to follow his advice.

My brother, Steve, taught me this mental trick. When anyone, but especially, when a doctor (or another authority figure) states something as a solid, unassailable fact, politely but firmly ask him or her:

"Excuse me, but could you rephrase that by saying: "In my humble opinion, sir, . . ."

so, the Doctor Declares as Fact: "The Best sleep position is on your back!"

becomes the Doctor politely voices: "In my humble opinion, sir, the best sleep position is on your back."

_______________________________________________________________________________


If, when you first make this request, the doctor can keep from launching himself across his desk, aiming for your throat . . . this little trick works wonders.



If forces them—and anyone using this jedi mind-trick—to recognize that there are no facts, only our very biased opinions.

I enjoyed that one rocklin---I'll try that next time I see him!!

[thegregster]

I'm mostly a side sleeper and wear a Respironics Comfortlite 2, with the direct seal nasal pillows and don't have a leak problem even though I toss and turn a lot. Interestingly enough, I'm about to have a new sleep study so I just perused my old study results, and noticed my AHI was LOWER when on my back in 2 out of 3 studies. In all 3 studies my AHI was higher when sleeping on my right side compared to my left side. Interesting...

[Cuda]

I do much better on my side. Glad to see this post, have to lookup Buckwheat pillows?

[snuginarug]

I use the ResMed Soft Gel nasal and sleep on my side. I use normal bed pillows, stacked in a roughly pyramid shape, 2 on the bottom, one on top. A portion of my mask hangs over the end of the top pillow. I sleep more deeply on my side, but I leak a bit more. My AHI stays low, whichever position I sleep in, but I feel much better after sleeping on my side. I believe, personally, being guided by your data and how you feel in the morning is the best way to choose sleep positions. We're all different, there are no hard and fast rules.

I hope you find the right mask/sleeping position that is best for you soon. Good luck!

[xenablue]

Wow, that's surprising that you would be told to sleep on your back only - oh well... differing opinions, different docs.

I'm a side/stomach sleeper and find nasal pillow masks (Swift FX and Swift LT) work best for me as there's minimal mask pushing around on my face to get dislodged and cause leaks. Just started using my new SleepWeaver mask which is all fabric and very, very comfortable, although I'm still working on some leak issues.

Cheers,
xena

[Janknitz]

My sleep doctor stated very clearly that the "Best sleep position is on your back!" so I have tried to follow his advice.

I'm surprised by this advice too. On your back, the tongue is in the easiest position to fall back and obstruct your airway. On PSG testing, many (not all) people have much higher rates of apnea on their backs.

Do you have a copy of YOUR sleep study? Did they test you on your back and an your side?

The data may show that YOU may be one of those people who do better on their backs, but for the doctor to state that all or most people do better on their backs is simply incorrect, unless it's possible that you misheard or misunderstood him?

[RogerAN]

My sleep doctor stated very clearly that the "Best sleep position is on your back!" so I have tried to follow his advice.

I'm surprised by this advice too. On your back, the tongue is in the easiest position to fall back and obstruct your airway. On PSG testing, many (not all) people have much higher rates of apnea on their backs.

Do you have a copy of YOUR sleep study? Did they test you on your back and an your side?

The data may show that YOU may be one of those people who do better on their backs, but for the doctor to state that all or most people do better on their backs is simply incorrect, unless it's possible that you misheard or misunderstood him?

Hi, Janknitz

My doctor actually looked in my mouth and saw the narrow space between my tongue and the back of my throat and told me that I had sleep apnea even before the sleep test, and I was subsequently diagnosed with "moderate to severe" obstructive sleep apnea. And, yes, the tests did actually show fewer apneas on my back, surprisingly. He reminds me each time I see him to "try to sleep on your back!" so I got the message straight, and for me, it does seem to work. Different strokes...