Can you sleep on both sides but not your back?

[Xfimpg]

I've been with my CPAP for about 6 months now and things are slowly, almost very slowly, improving. What I've noticed is that my apnea events happen when I am sleeping my back, so I'm trying to find a way to sleep on my sides.

I've done quite a bit of research and so far what I've found for avoiding to sleeping on your back are the following:

body pillow
backpack with hard bottle
Rematee
buckwheat pillow long
tennis or whiffle ball taped to back of t-shirt
pillow between legs
chest strap with pipe on back
compression shirt with soccer ball
sausage pillow long
something attached to back of head?
carpet with alarm for sleepwalkers

If any of these solutions are helpful to keeping you on one side, what solution could there be if you need to alternate to the other side?

Suggestions are more than welcome.
Michael

[chunkyfrog]

I usually sleep on my side with no help.
Sometimes I wake up on my back, but my machine handles my events in either case.
My pressure may need to be a little higher, but as long as my Autoset can handle it, I'm good.
Can you put your equipment in your profile? Your pressure or pressure range might also help us help you.
Autotritrating machines are better at adjusting for positional differences.

[NightSky]

I don't know for sure, but I would give the tennis ball a try. Instead of taping it, I had previously heard of putting one in a sock and safety-pinning the sock to the back of the pajama shirt. My guess is that you can still roll over onto your other side with this thing on your back as it isn't so huge, but will discourage remaining on your back. It might take some getting used to where you really wake up at first, but then it eventually gets automatic that you roll completely over to your other side without really waking up. But I admit this is just a guess on my part.

[tqpannie]

I actually had to move to sleeping on the couch. It's the only way I will stay on my side for the entire night. I miss a bed. LOL!

[Xfimpg]

I usually sleep on my side with no help.
Sometimes I wake up on my back, but my machine handles my events in either case.
My pressure may need to be a little higher, but as long as my Autoset can handle it, I'm good.
Can you put your equipment in your profile? Your pressure or pressure range might also help us help you.
Autotritrating machines are better at adjusting for positional differences.

Just added my specs, thanks for pointing it out.

[Xfimpg]

I don't know for sure, but I would give the tennis ball a try. Instead of taping it, I had previously heard of putting one in a sock and safety-pinning the sock to the back of the pajama shirt. My guess is that you can still roll over onto your other side with this thing on your back as it isn't so huge, but will discourage remaining on your back. It might take some getting used to where you really wake up at first, but then it eventually gets automatic that you roll completely over to your other side without really waking up. But I admit this is just a guess on my part.

I tried the tennis ball but couldn't stand it touching my back even while I was awake and on my side!
So that's why I'm looking at another option, especially one that can allow me to change sides.
It sounds like I'm asking the improbable, but my research shows that are some pretty ingenious people on here so I'm hoping.

[Xfimpg]

I actually had to move to sleeping on the couch. It's the only way I will stay on my side for the entire night. I miss a bed. LOL!

LOL that is funny!
You're braver than me, no way I could live without my tempurpedic.
After 2 nights, I would volunteer myself to the funny farm.

[Thewino]

I have to sleep on my back. I've had a three level spinal fusion and it is too painful to sleep any other way. My sleep study showed I didn't move an inch after falling asleep on my back, no movements at all.

My Pops has restless leg syndrome and my Mom sewed a tennis ball to the outside of his pajama tops so he does not get to sleep on his back.

I chuckeled when I heard about this from my Dad years ago. Now, I get to wear an alien on my face at night.

TheWino

[DeepBreath]

I've been with my CPAP for about 6 months now and things are slowly, almost very slowly, improving. What I've noticed is that my apnea events happen when I am sleeping my back, so I'm trying to find a way to sleep on my sides.

I know you are asking about ways to keep you from sleeping on your back, but maybe consider the alternative... what can you do so you can sleep on your back.

Dumb question, but have you looked at your data to see what the pressure is while sleeping on your back? Do you hit your max pressure, or are you still short of it? If you want to sleep on your back, it might be worth a conversation with your doctor to see if you upper pressure needs to be increased.

I wasn’t allowed to sleep on my back (for very long at least) by my wife, prior to treatment. I found that I’m slowly spending time sleeping that way, and while my numbers jump slightly they are still very good. Unless your back numbers jump really high relative to your side numbers, it might make sense to just give yourself permission to sleep how you feel comfortable.

My $.02

[Pugsy]

It's tough to find something that acts as a blocking agent/wall to keep you on your side AND allow for you to switch sides during the night.
I know what you are asking...been there myself...I have never been able to figure out how to do that.
The blocking agent would have to be attached to you and not in the bed and that creates the problem.
Someone posted about a thingy to wear and it wasn't tennis balls but actually something that was supposedly comfortable. I will go see if I can find it. It's been a while.
I don't hold to the tennis ball thing myself. They would cause pain and discomfort and disrupt my sleep even worse. Besides difficult to wear when a person likes to sleep in the buff.

[Xfimpg]

Thanks everyone for your input.
I'm asking a lot, so maybe i'll just try to program my brain first and see what happens.

[Pugsy]

I can't remember the device I was talking about so that I can find it...it was discussed here on the forum a while back and someone spoke very highly of it. Mainly was some sort of pillow like contraption. It require a doctors RX...I remember that part.
Since I can't remember enough specifics I can't get a good search engine result without 20,000 hits and I don't want to look through all those hits.

[Pugsy]

Found it
http://zzomaosa.com/

But at a hefty price tag requiring RX..big hefty price tag at that.
for pictures and price ...cough, cough....$189.95
http://zzomaosa.com/buy-zzoma/

I think someone could possibly make something similar with some lab ratting. It still would present some sort of possible problem when going from one side to the other side but would seemingly be much less painful than tennis balls (which to me make no sense...my sleep is fragile anyway and sure don't want to add more pain to cause me to wake up)....

Good luck...if you figure out something that works...let us know. It won't be easy though. I have looked for what you are wanting and never could find anything that I thought might work for me. I would love to be able to sleep on either side and stay off my back because supine sleeping causes me a lot of back pain....but I haven't been able to master it unless I build a wall and stay on one side only. I have done that with buckwheat hull pillow because it won't move out from underneath me. Anything else I tried would move and end up on the floor since my preferred and starting out position is on my left side.