Is it ok to sleep on back with cpap??

[MaxDarkside]

You "found a way" to sleep on your side, apparently with not too much leakage. What "ways"? Are there any specific tips you can give us? How do you sleep on your stomach (or side) without jarring the mask, etc.? Thanks.

Heck, I don't know. More art than science. I have my redneck CPAP pillow (man's tie tied around the lower third of a good feather pillow) and sleep with my head / mask off the edge a bit, but I go to sleep by slightly sliding my face/mask up the pillow a bit to get my Quattro FX FFM to ride lower on my nose, I drift off and the rest is a mystery. I do roll over on my back during REM at times (confirmed with my IR camera, events -n- such) and I wake, I roll back to my tummy / original sleeping position.

Oh, I also use a soft cotton home-made cut-out mask liner so I don't notice the leaks. Really helpful.

Here's my leaks from last night. They are often, but not a lot.

[Pugsy]

Back when I was first starting therapy I elected to try to avoid supine sleeping to see if anything on my reports changed.
It is rather difficult to stay off one's back if one is used to tossing and turning at will to relieve various aches and pains.
I had the best luck (and the most comfortable result) with using a buckwheat pillow as a brace against my back when side sleeping. It is very comfortable to lean against (think support for lower back) and kept me off my back without sliding out from underneath me. Normal bed pillows or rolled up stuff and even a wedge pillow slid right out from underneath me during the night. So I gave the buckwheat pillow a try.
This happened to be the one I still use for my head pillow. I am a small woman and the small buckwheat pillow was sufficient to keep me on my side or mostly on my side but I suspect that a larger person might need a little bit higher "wall"..so perhaps 2 buckwheat pillows or a much larger buckwheat pillow like a king size or a body pillow.

I actually prefer to sleep on my side because supine sleeping just kills my back. I abandoned using anything to keep me off my back when I realized that there was no real change in any of my data with side sleeping or supine sleeping. My main culprit for increased events is REM sleep and I can't do anything about that so I just let the machine do its job in whatever position I happen to be in.

Lately I have been having a bit more lower back and pelvic pain...getting older and the old arthritis acting up more so I am thinking of doing the side sleeping thing with a larger buckwheat pillow for more back support. It is comfortable support and feels good and would keep me off my back where the back pain is more pronounced. I can't decide if I just want a king size buckwheat pillow or a body pillow.
Decisions...decisions.

[MaxDarkside]

I actually prefer to sleep on my side because supine sleeping just kills my back.

I have a blown L4/L5 disk that impinges on leg nerves at times. It has been getting better over the years, but it bothers me more when I sleep on my back as well.

[edm_msu]

The pillow you use is really important. The idea is to support your face without pushing the mask off to the side. Do a search for "bed pillow". I use the IKEA 365+ FAST pillow, http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/10131604/#
Some people likw buckwheat pillows. You can move the buckwheat around to conform to your face. It didn't work for me because I would get the pillow just right for sleeping on my side, then I would move around too much during the night.

[Snuffle-nose]

Helllo,

I sleep on my back quite often with my nose pillows and I always make sure the tube is above my head.....I haven't many problems with sleeping on my back or my side on cpap,I have been traveling a lot with my cpap with me. I have adapt to various sleep environments and where to plug my cpap in for the night. I know in winter I get rain out, condensation builds up and drips down my nostril!!!! I often have a tissue box by my bed and I grab a tissue and blow my snoz[nose] into it and it clears my problem. I think rain is worse nasal mask then nasal pillows!

[Hawthorne]

That's a very good point about sleeping on your back and your bed pillow. I use a contour pillow like the Ikea one that edm_msu suggested.

With the conotur pillow, your neck is supported and your head is tipped back a bit, which helps keep the airway open.

[Kody]

I was a total back sleeper, but have LOTS of events that way. I noticed if I force myself to sleep on my side, I have zero events, however as soon as I roll over on my back they start up. The reason I can't stay on my side is because it actually torques my back and hurts after a couple hours. Now I start out on my side, then end up on my back after about two hours. Now I'm wondering if the reason I have no events on my side is because it's positional, OR I'm not in REM because of being uncomfortable on my side? I also have noticed forcing myself to sleep on my side I'm a lot more tired feeling the next day, even though the numbers are better.

I do have another sleep study coming up soon, and will make sure I stay on my back to get treated that way since I have the most events on my back, and prefer to sleep that way anyway.
One of these days I think I'm going to pretend it's the 1970's again and buy another waterbed. Never had any back trouble back then, however it could be an age issue as well..