Need tips to stay sleeping on side

[Jason S.]

Hello,

I have tried the tennis ball in the t-shirt and a large wedge pillow, both without success. I have severe OSA on my back (AHI 22 with CPAP), but only mild on my side (AHI 5-10 with CPAP)

Would appreciate any tips to keep me sleeping on my side all night. Thanks.

[beautifuldreamer]

Hello,

I have tried the tennis ball in the t-shirt and a large wedge pillow, both without success. I have severe OSA on my back (AHI 22 with CPAP), but only mild on my side (AHI 5-10 with CPAP)

Would appreciate any tips to keep me sleeping on my side all night. Thanks.

Did you just use one tennis ball?
I have put several dryer balls inside a laundry bag and tied it to my back,
and that helped me.

[Pugsy]

You need to find something that keeps you off your back that won't move out from under you and is comfortable if you lean on it.

I have had decent luck using a heavy buckwheat hull pillow propped up against my back. It is heavy enough it won't slide out from under me easily and if I do end up sort of half on it the support actually feels good against the back.
Unlike the old tennis ball thing the goal is to stay asleep and not wake up repeatedly due to discomfort from laying on tennis balls.

I try to stay off my back as much as possible not so much from the OSA being worse but from back pain issues...my back hurts really bad if I lay flat on my back and not so bad if I can stay on my side.
Unfortunately staying on my side a lot has now buggered up my shoulders....geez...always something. I haven't yet figured out how to lay on my side and not have to use my shoulders in some fashion.

[Julie]

Stuff towels into a backpack...

The trick is to find a way for it not to slide sideways of course.

[MotherT]

I remember seeing a t-shirt that had a decent sized wedge sewn into it. The shape of the wedge looked like you couldn't roll onto your back. Good luck to you!!

[Miss Emerita]

Hi Jason, I know you didn’t ask about this but...

With CPAP usage, it’s reasonable to expect your AHI to stay consistently under 5, and indeed 2 or so. Do you have Oscar software? Can you post a chart or two for the experts to look at? It’d be great to see you having the health benefits of a lower AHI.

[chunkyfrog]

Sleeping on the side can be moderately effective-
-but shoulder, neck, and back problems can be aggravated by only sleeping in one position.
Pay careful attention to these areas of the body, and switch sides to prevent pain/stiffness.
No matter how effective, though, cpap is still the best treatment, allowing mobility in bed.

[rcobourn]

You need one of these. It digs it's claws into your side if you turn on your back, because he doesn't want to get smooshed. Highly effective.

[Jason S.]

Hi Jason, I know you didn’t ask about this but...

With CPAP usage, it’s reasonable to expect your AHI to stay consistently under 5, and indeed 2 or so. Do you have Oscar software? Can you post a chart or two for the experts to look at? It’d be great to see you having the health benefits of a lower AHI.

My sleep doctor said some people never get under 10, hypopneas which are less dangerous may be driving up the numbers. If I can remain on my side my OSA is at an acceptable level, but I cannot seem to do so.

[palerider]

My sleep doctor said some people never get under 10,

Your sleep doctor has absurdly low 'standards'.

[Miss Emerita]

Your doctor seems to be pretty far out of the mainstream.

I’m betting you can lower your AHI quite a bit and improve the quality of your sleep. As things stand, you have mild apnea WITH treatment, which is not good.

Could you download the Oscar software, import your data, and post some charts?

https://www.sleepfiles.com/OSCAR/

That way the experts here can give you advice about adjustments you or your doctor should consider.

[zoocrewphoto]

Hi Jason, I know you didn’t ask about this but...

With CPAP usage, it’s reasonable to expect your AHI to stay consistently under 5, and indeed 2 or so. Do you have Oscar software? Can you post a chart or two for the experts to look at? It’d be great to see you having the health benefits of a lower AHI.

My sleep doctor said some people never get under 10, hypopneas which are less dangerous may be driving up the numbers. If I can remain on my side my OSA is at an acceptable level, but I cannot seem to do so.

So your doctor is okay with your sleep being disturbed every 6 minutes? That seems really sad. Most people need to be under ahi of 2 to feel really good.

I would really recommend that you post your graphs and let the people here help you find the settings to help you get below 2. And if done well enough, it won't matter what position you sleep in. I had an untreated ahi of 89+ (I did a split night, so barely slept on my back or had much REM during the diagnosis phase; it would probably have been higher). With cpap, I rarely go above an ahi of 1.2. And I can sleep in any position.

[Muse-Inc]

To stay on my side, I draw the bottom leg up bending my knee to form almost a 90-degree angle. Might work for you too.

[Jason S.]

Your doctor seems to be pretty far out of the mainstream.

I’m betting you can lower your AHI quite a bit and improve the quality of your sleep. As things stand, you have mild apnea WITH treatment, which is not good.

Could you download the Oscar software, import your data, and post some charts?

https://www.sleepfiles.com/OSCAR/

That way the experts here can give you advice about adjustments you or your doctor should consider.

Thank you for your assistance. I downloaded the OSCAR software installed it. Then I inserted my SD card into the computer but I got the message that I did not have any Sleepyhead data to load into the program

[Jason S.]

Your doctor seems to be pretty far out of the mainstream.

I’m betting you can lower your AHI quite a bit and improve the quality of your sleep. As things stand, you have mild apnea WITH treatment, which is not good.

Could you download the Oscar software, import your data, and post some charts?

https://www.sleepfiles.com/OSCAR/

That way the experts here can give you advice about adjustments you or your doctor should consider.

Thank you for your assistance. I downloaded the OSCAR software installed it. Then I inserted my SD card into the computer but I got the message that I did not have any Sleepyhead data to load into the program

I figured it out. I have three images but I don't know how to post them.