Any tricks for survival for a face down sleeper

[turbosnore]

I wonder if you people here have some tricks for a person who sleeps face down.
Both kinds of tricks are welcome: learning not to sleep face down and
learning to sleep face down with mask on.

[teresamichele]

I had this problem!

What I do now is sleep on my side, sort of leaned forward, and I put the pillows (I use two), sort of far back on the side of my face, so that my face can lean forward just a bit, but the pillows keep it from dislodging the mask.

Actually, when I was trying to sleep on my back, my leak rate was so high and it wasn't till I started sleeping in a way that was more comfortable for me that my leak rate got down to where it was supposed to!

Good luck!

[Rustyolddude]

A good discussion & photographs by Dr. Falcon midway down the page. viewtopic.php?f=1&t=36738&st=0&sk=t&sd=a&start=15

[rested gal]

viewtopic.php?p=337473#p337473
"Attention Stomach Sleepers" - topic started by travismcgee - Jan 7, 2008


Julie's description of cutting a trough in a mattress topper:
Re: Stomach sleeper and mask advice?
viewtopic.php?p=397923#p397923

[turbosnore]

Thank you all a lot.

Rustyolddude: As a kid I used to sleep in exactly the same position that Dr. Falcon shows.
The pictures are very good.

teresamichele: The use of the pillows is also a good trick.

RG: I seem to have lousy search criteria because I didn't find the "Attention Stomach Sleepers"-thread.
Thanks for digging it up for me. I'll go through it at once.
I already received the Julie's idea via PM.

[Spirit]

I alway's slept on my stomach, face buried in pillow. I sleep on my side now, with face on edge of pillow, took 2-3 weeks, to adjust, but works great for me now.

[DarkSideOfTheMoon]

I am a face down sleeper and it's probably the biggest cause of my problems. It's just so hard to break the habit!!! I love my boomerang pillow...it helps. I used to get them at Mervyn's until they closed. Not sure where I will get them now. I also use a neck roll pillow to prop up my chin. The falcon position doesn't work for me since I have big boobs. Would love to see a modified falcon for the ladies. I still get leaks and have to adjust my mask for stomach and side sleeping.

My new thing is to fall asleep on my back. At least I get SOME hours of good quality sleep before I move. I think when I had untreated apnea that sleeping on the back was impossible so it's just a retraining of the body to be ok on the back. Stomach sleeping was probably saving my life back then. I also use a mask that JUST fits over my nose and also doesn't stick out from my face. It's a petite F&P mask 406. I'm going to switch to a nasal pillow and see if that helps. If I could just sleep comfortably on my side and stomach, life would be so much better. Good luck and let us know if you find success.

Cheers,
Cathy

[Uncle_Bob]

I wonder if you people here have some tricks for a person who sleeps face down.
Both kinds of tricks are welcome: learning not to sleep face down and
learning to sleep face down with mask on.

I was thinking about sleeping face down yesterday when i went for my monthly massage. Why not try a massage table ?




A pillow with a hole in the middle means you can wear a mask and your head would be kept in position.

[pnw guest]

I slept in no certain position (all positions were for me ...changing every few minutes and all over the entire surface of the mattress) for my entire PRE XPAP existence.
However, now that I have my wonderful "friend", I find that while I do fall asleep on my right side, I wake (nearly every time) face/belly down.

I also do not sleep with pillows...I usually have two or three large bath towels at my head - so they can be positioned as needed (if on my side or on my stomach).

I did try to restrain myself from tummy time but you know - I will just roll right over what is in the way or it gets kicked out of bed or I finally get so ticked it gets thrown across the room....I like a smooth bed no major wrinkles & no impingements!

How I start my sleep out is to take one large bath towel and roll it (long edge roll)
Then I loosely place another towel/soft blanket atop that towel. Then I dig in reserving the last towel for filler.

Its a process but hey...I figure you have to be comfie to sleep well ...

[dodgette]

I have been using the Nasal Aire II Prong CPAP Mask with Headgear all summer and it allows me to sleep on my stomach without any problems. the prongs actually fit up inside the nostrils and stay in place with movement. Very little protrudes from the face and I'm able to rest my face on the tubes without discomfort. I did buy a couple mask strap covers to cover the tubes so they don't make me sweat when it's warm.