Should I or shouldn't I?

[D.H.]

Maybe you want to try a different type of interface than you were using before!

As in?????

Perhaps a mask (either nose only or full-face), rather than nasal pillows.

[MaxINTJ]

A herniated disk doesn't come out of the blue. It's the result of an injury of some kind and sometimes can be age related. IMHO using your mask may have been the straw that broke the camels back, but it didn't cause it.

The disc was obviously herniated before cpap and could be the very reason he slept in this position.

I am a front sleeper who is 90% on my front with my face mostly facing down.

Is it not possible for you to learn to sleep on your side? Keeping your neck and back in alignment?
I used to sleep face down before cpap and now sleep very well on my side, pick one side or use both.

The thing is, I never had neck pain until the disk gave out - then obviously a lot of swelling pressing on the nerve. I seriously doubt it was herniated before - there could very well have been decades of stress on it, but it didn't herniate until the change in sleep position.

As for side or back sleeping, I tried during the 7 days I used CPAP, but anytime I woke up I was on my stomach again.

I tend to go through all 4 positions in the course of a night, although from my sleep study, not much time at all was spent on my back or sides.

[MaxINTJ]

Maybe you want to try a different type of interface than you were using before!

As in?????

Perhaps a mask (either nose only or full-face), rather than nasal pillows.

How would that help - in your opinion? They seem like they would get in the way a lot more. I have only tried a nasal pillow for my titration and then got a Dreamwear with my CPAP machine.

[MaxINTJ]

herniated disks take time to happen
you do notice them like its out of the blue when they hit
but the cpap did not cause it
it just showed you that it was time to realise it was there
that disk was ready to go anyway

The setup for such a thing normally needs time to weaken the disk, yes, I agree. But also, when the correct stress is then put on it, the herniation happens instantly (or very close). That's why a lot of injuries caused by lifting incorrectly are immediately felt and frequently end up as ER visits.

Puhleeze, I am not saying the mask was 100% responsible - what I'm saying is that it may not have ever happened (or it may have) without it. Call it the final straw, the trigger, whatever... It's just very disheartening to be trying to get used to something new and very intrusive, only to have it trigger an unrelated fairly major issue - which in turn prevents using the something new.

In any case, it's now been 4+ months without a single night of decent sleep (and before that, sleep was merely OK) and I almost fall asleep driving home most days.

[jim22]

I think you and your doctors need to weigh the risks and benefits of CPAP for you. I imagine you are limited in sleeping positions and comfort even without the CPAP due to the injury. I'm not sure how you might be able to prevent flipping over while asleep. Im suprised you can turn without enoihh pain to wake yourself up. At any rate, a little delay until you can speak with your doctors isn't the end of the world.

[Guest]

I tend to go through all 4 positions in the course of a night,

So you can sleep on both sides then.

[MaxINTJ]

I think you and your doctors need to weigh the risks and benefits of CPAP for you. I imagine you are limited in sleeping positions and comfort even without the CPAP due to the injury. I'm not sure how you might be able to prevent flipping over while asleep. Im suprised you can turn without enoihh pain to wake yourself up. At any rate, a little delay until you can speak with your doctors isn't the end of the world.

A sensible post and more along the lines of what I was looking for. I was hoping to hear from the doctors today, but now it won't be until Monday at the earliest.

As for the last 3 weeks, I have been able to sleep on ONE side, in ONE position for several hours. I would end up end changing position and that would cause enough pain I had to get up (2:00-3:00 AM), apply heat, and take tablets. It would take 2 hours for the pain to become somewhat bearable and by that time it was too late to go back to bed. I did go back one day for an hour and was 10 times the zombie I normally am - felt 10x awfuller all day.

So yes, I *can* fall asleep in a different position, but even the excruciating nerve pain was not enough to stop me changing position while asleep.

[MaxINTJ]

I tend to go through all 4 positions in the course of a night,

So you can sleep on both sides then.

I *can* even sleep on my back, but my normal behavior always puts me back on my stomach.

[GBMES]

I tend to go through all 4 positions in the course of a night,

So you can sleep on both sides then.

I *can* even sleep on my back, but my normal behavior always puts me back on my stomach.

So what is the problem then?

[Goofproof]

I suggest you get one of those inversion table, and hang from your ankles all night long, thus obviating the need for a pillow.

To the Batmobile, or if you are in California, Hang Ten! Jim

[palerider]

I suggest you get one of those inversion table, and hang from your ankles all night long, thus obviating the need for a pillow.

Would it make me taller?

reportedly, yes, though over time gravity will reverse the effect.

[kteague]

I can't begin to know whether you should risk trying CPAP again, particularly in the same sleeping position that set this episode off, but since you asked... No. I've had neck troubles. A few months ago I was trying a mask that necessitated me sleeping with my neck in an awkward position. Had to give up on the mask because the neck pain is a very big deal. We settle in to certain positions because they work for us. I'd just like to suggest maybe part of your stomach sleeping was because it is generally thought to be the better position for untreated OSA. A friend of mine was told by their sleep doctor that their stomach sleeping was probably what saved his life, because the severity of his OSA was scary. Maybe since you do sleep in other positions, if OSA was at all a part of your inclination to stomach sleeping, with using CPAP you may do just fine eliminating stomach sleeping from your nights. In the same way we suggest a backpack to avoid back sleeping, maybe putting a backpack in front, one could help insure avoidance of stomach sleeping. It would be hard for you to appreciate any benefit from use of CPAP if your sleep is disrupted by pain. I would suggest you only try again if you can sleep on your sides or back. Just the opinion of one who is nearly obssessive about preventing the kind of neck pain I've had in the past.

[MaxINTJ]

I can't begin to know whether you should risk trying CPAP again, particularly in the same sleeping position that set this episode off, but since you asked... No. I've had neck troubles. A few months ago I was trying a mask that necessitated me sleeping with my neck in an awkward position. Had to give up on the mask because the neck pain is a very big deal. We settle in to certain positions because they work for us. I'd just like to suggest maybe part of your stomach sleeping was because it is generally thought to be the better position for untreated OSA. A friend of mine was told by their sleep doctor that their stomach sleeping was probably what saved his life, because the severity of his OSA was scary. Maybe since you do sleep in other positions, if OSA was at all a part of your inclination to stomach sleeping, with using CPAP you may do just fine eliminating stomach sleeping from your nights. In the same way we suggest a backpack to avoid back sleeping, maybe putting a backpack in front, one could help insure avoidance of stomach sleeping. It would be hard for you to appreciate any benefit from use of CPAP if your sleep is disrupted by pain. I would suggest you only try again if you can sleep on your sides or back. Just the opinion of one who is nearly obssessive about preventing the kind of neck pain I've had in the past.

Thanks for the opinion.

I'm not sure what to do. I heard back from the sleep clinic and they can't provide any drugs I would need if it happened again so still waiting on my PCP to come back with something stupid (again - when I said I couldn't sleep because of the pain she suggested I take benadryl - WTF?).

The clinic has offered a different mask if I need one, but I'm not sure how that would help - a full face mask would cause me to get in even more awkward positions, I think.

[kteague]

Not sure why you would choose to risk pain when the option of using CPAP in another sleep position seems an easy solution. If you can sleep only on your stomach that would be another story, as changing a lifelong sleep habit can in itself be a sleep buster. But since you also sleep in other positions, why not go for a simple effort to start off with? If you cannot sleep in other positions, then decide your next course of action. Big fan of simplicity when it's an option.

[MaxINTJ]

Not sure why you would choose to risk pain when the option of using CPAP in another sleep position seems an easy solution. If you can sleep only on your stomach that would be another story, as changing a lifelong sleep habit can in itself be a sleep buster. But since you also sleep in other positions, why not go for a simple effort to start off with? If you cannot sleep in other positions, then decide your next course of action. Big fan of simplicity when it's an option.

I can, and always have (as far as I know) slept in all 4 positions most nights, but 90% or so is on my stomach - as was recorded during the sleep study. I wish I could just fall asleep in my chosen position and stay there, but that seems fairly unlikely given the even during the peak of the pain from my neck, I would change from a left side position (the only "comfortable" position for my arm and neck) to another and wake up with excruciating pain. I did it every night for 3 weeks, and if that wasn't enough to stop me rolling over, I don't know what would be.