sleeping on my back with apap ?

[greenfx]

Before using cpap (apap) I used to sleep on my stomach or sideways. Is it okay to sleep on my back with apap on ?
I feel sleeping on the back is natural while sleep on stomach has to be learnt. The technician told me to sleep sideways
but with the tube I find it best to sleep on my back. I guess the apap's air pressure should take care as and when required ?

[usmccop]

Also, when you sleep on your back, without treatment, it make it increases apneas.

[greenfx]

That we all know. Now, I want to sleep on my back.

[elena88]

lets see, I read around here that over fifty percent of people can have positional apnea..

if your sleep tech told you to sleep on your side, you might be one of them..

did you get a copy of your report, it should note what positions you had the worst Ahi..

that being said, if you LIKE to sleep on your back, the machine should chase after all the events you have, but you might feel a lot better if
you can get a cpap pillow and sleep on your side without disturbing your mask..


I was almost darn sure that I didnt have any apneas when I slept on my stomach one night, but I cant be certain because I wasnt using my
apap..

[BleepingBeauty]

Before using cpap (apap) I used to sleep on my stomach or sideways. Is it okay to sleep on my back with apap on ?
I feel sleeping on the back is natural while sleep on stomach has to be learnt. The technician told me to sleep sideways
but with the tube I find it best to sleep on my back. I guess the apap's air pressure should take care as and when required ?

The usual advice is to sleep on your side(s) or belly, if you can. Sleep techs will often tell the study subject to sleep on their back for some of the time so that a worst-case scenario can be recorded. But this thread indicates that about a fifth of the forum members who responded are getting effective treatment while sleeping supine: viewtopic/t54175/Poll-re-Sleeping-Supine.html.

As with every aspect of this therapy, what works for you is what works for you.

[sleepmba]

I say give it a try. The APAP should take care of it. Also, your sleep tech should have fixed you when you were on your back.

Anyway, give it a try for a few nights and see how you feel. Good luck!

[rested gal]

I say give it a try. The APAP should take care of it. Also, your sleep tech should have fixed you when you were on your back.

I agree.

greenfx, if you find that your AHI increases when sleeping on your back, or if you don't feel as rested in the morning, I'd increase the minimum pressure on the autopap another cm or two. But I'm not a doctor.

If you do increase the minimum pressure, you might as well increase the maximum pressure while you're at it. But it's really the minimum pressure that will be the more important of the two pressures to set right. "Right" meaning...the minimum pressure should be set high enough so the machine will prevent most apneas right from the get-go.

[Muse-Inc]

I'm having to sleep on my back while my shoulders heal. My APAP range is currently 8-15. My 95thcentile and max pressures are increased but leak is up too; I tightened my mask a little bit and that has helped. My AHI average was 1.2 and now it's up between 4-5 mostly hypops 'tho I am having apneas (10-20 sec) which used to be rare. Pain med reduced all the numbers.

All in all it's not been too bad sleeping on my back (not as scary as the first night a wk ago, I haven't sleep on my back since tentative diagnosis April '07)...pretty good when I think about my PSG AHI . While I would never have recommended anyone with apnea sleep on their back in the past, with an APAP I'm siding with RestedGal in at least trying it then reviewing how you feel and your numbers.

[greenfx]

All in all it's not been too bad sleeping on my back (not as scary as the first night a wk ago, I haven't sleep on my back since tentative diagnosis April '07)...pretty good when I think about my PSG AHI . While I would never have recommended anyone with apnea sleep on their back in the past, with an APAP I'm siding with RestedGal in at least trying it then reviewing how you feel and your numbers.

seems like I am writing those lines in bold

[Patrick A]

I have been on c-pap/bi-pap for over five years now. I have mostly been sleeping on my back. Here lately I have been sleeping on my side. I am not sure why but I have been going to sleep better on my side than when I am on my back. I have been waking up on my side since about Jan, of this year. I had a new sleep study done in December, I got a new machine but it's the same machine I had before. (same model same make the settings are the same) I feel like I have lost some weight but, I don't trust scales.

[Hawthorne]

Unless you find that you feel worse on your back (old pre-cpap symptoms returning) and your data is good, there is no reason not to sleep on your back. That's my opinion.

Even if you have more apneas and feel like pre cpap symptoms are returning, as Rested Gal says, an adjustment to your pressure(s) should take care of it.