Side Sleeping

SleepGuy · Post by **SleepGuy** » Tue Aug 05, 2008 11:29 pm

My first year on CPAP was a disaster. I had never slept past 2 am with the machine. Eventually I stopped using it altogether.

I convinced myself that I didn't have apnea when I slept on my side, so I stuck with that idea and stopped using my machine.

Well, two years later, after I was finally able to start using my cpap flat out every night and loving it, I fell asleep yesterday with my little girl. I was on my side, propped up with pillows, and she was sleeping in my arm.

My 12 year old son was so freaked out by my snoring that he came in quietly, woke me up, and asked me with big eyes to please use my cpap machine.

Now I know that for many people (maybe even most), sleeping position is a factor in apnea.

But I was wrong about sleeping on my side.

Snoredog · Post by **Snoredog** » Wed Aug 06, 2008 12:05 am

I can't sleep on my right side at all, if I do I'll have like dozens of those hypnic-like jerks but without the kick, feels like heart just stopped or some one has just slugged me right in the chest at the aortic arch.

I've thought it to be the vagus nerve possibly spasms, researched nerve disorders thinking that may be culprit as that same nerve in the neck sometimes spasms when I reach down to pick something up. Man talk about killer pain, all I can do is head for the kitchen and pop an Aleve where I can moan in peace, that pain lasts a good 15 minutes, last time it hit i had the phone darn near dialed 911.

track · Post by **track** » Wed Aug 06, 2008 5:19 pm

Snoring doesn't always relate to apnea. I snore on my side too but my apnea events are far fewer and of far shorter duration on my side. The amount of pressure needed to control the apnea on my side is much less than needed if I get on my back. I don't have apneas nor do I snore though when napping.

alnhwrd · Post by **alnhwrd** » Thu Aug 07, 2008 1:02 am

Out of the mouths of babes.....

What a great reason to keep using CPAP! Listen to your son. And thanks for sharing.

MikDee · Post by **MikDee** » Thu Aug 07, 2008 7:17 am

[quote="alnhwrd"]Out of the mouths of babes.....

What a great reason to keep using CPAP! Listen to your son. And thanks for sharing.

Wulfman · Post by **Wulfman** » Thu Aug 07, 2008 8:55 am

MikDee wrote:I Agree! By the way, years ago I heard a statement that "sleeping on your left side wears the heart out quicker". I don't know if it's true, or not? I'm a preferred right side sleeper, I'm most comfortable there, but i also sleep on my left, or my stomach, that's fine, but sometimes end up on my back, even though I'm not comfortable there.

I could swear that I read/heard the opposite.......that it's best to sleep on one's left side.......plus, it's supposed to cut down on things like GERD-related issues because it puts the opening to the stomach on the upper side. I dunno.
I've always been a side-sleeper and start out on my left side but switch several times during the night. One thing that I've noticed is that I seem to dream more when I'm on my right side. Maybe it's just a coincidence.

Den

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu Aug 07, 2008 9:03 am

My Ex - the health nut - swears it's better to sleep on your left side. He cited all that about GERD and the heart. We even switched bed positions so that when I sleep on my left side, our backs were together, which is more comfortable for me, because I'm claustrophobic. So, when he was here, I slept mostly on my left side.

Since he's been gone, I find myself sleeping more on my right side. I keep trying to sleep the other way, but I inevitably wake up on the right side. Yes, I've used pillows.

I CAN sleep on my back, I just find it difficult to FALL ASLEEP in that position. I have a set of positions I go through before falling asleep. Yeah, I'm a real fun gal to sleep with...

I have no idea what my AHI is in any one position. Since I'm not video taping myself and noting at what point in the night I switched from side to back to other side, I have no way of knowing. How do the rest of you do this? Just ask the spouse?

Cheers,
B.

JeffH · Post by **JeffH** » Thu Aug 07, 2008 10:01 am

My pacemaker nurse said that when she used to work in ICU that whenever they would start getting weird heart rates on the monitors in the heart station they would find the patient sleeping on their left side. My heart does weird things when I'm on my left side, and I have a pacemaker.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu Aug 07, 2008 11:44 am

OMG... Is that what's wrong with me? My heart is doing weird things?

The profundity of that thought is leaving me breathless.

In all seriousness, I DO believe the whole "sleep on your right side" thing.

But right now, I'm in a mischevious mood, and I can just see ALL SORTS OF POSSIBILITIES FOR HUMOUR in that concept.

Sorry. Reigning it in. Sorry.
Babs

jrfoster · Post by **jrfoster** » Thu Aug 07, 2008 7:42 pm

I do have to sleep on my right side since my left shoulder will not let me sleep on the left side without much pain!

I used to never be able to sleep on my back but since starting CPAP a couple of years ago I can now fall asleep on my back. (I know that is not the best position for an OSA pt, but it works.) When I wake up during the night (one of the 3-4 times) I turn over on right side and can go back to sleep until the shoulder falls asleep and the arm starts hurting...then it is back to the back, then back to the right, and then back to the back. Sounds like a dance step!

Jeff

sharon1965 · Post by **sharon1965** » Thu Aug 07, 2008 8:49 pm

according to my psg, my apneas are fairly consistent regardless of position or sleep stage

my preference is to sleep on my back, which i trained myself to do because of severe hip pain, and at my chiro's suggestion

but, my jaw consistently drops when i'm on my back, which i know because i inevitably wake up with dry mouth and air rushing out , so since cpap i now start out on my right side...of course, the hip pain kicks in after a few hours and i have to go to my left side, but for some reason, my nasal pillows leak like crazy when i lay on that side...don't know why...i think, if i could stay on my side, i probably wouldn't have mouth leaking issues...but that hip pain, it's pretty intense and i pretty much always end up on my back in the early morning hours

the whole things makes me nuts, that's the bottom line

jrfoster · Post by **jrfoster** » Thu Aug 07, 2008 9:06 pm

sharon1965 wrote:according to my psg, my apneas are fairly consistent regardless of position or sleep stage

my preference is to sleep on my back, which i trained myself to do because of severe hip pain, and at my chiro's suggestion

but, my jaw consistently drops when i'm on my back, which i know because i inevitably wake up with dry mouth and air rushing out , so since cpap i now start out on my right side...of course, the hip pain kicks in after a few hours and i have to go to my left side, but for some reason, my nasal pillows leak like crazy when i lay on that side...don't know why...i think, if i could stay on my side, i probably wouldn't have mouth leaking issues...but that hip pain, it's pretty intense and i pretty much always end up on my back in the early morning hours

the whole things makes me nuts, that's the bottom line

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Sharon,

Is it any wonder that people don't understand those of us on PAP therapy?
Leaky masks, red eyes, even redder and bigger bruises on the bridge of the nose, out of breath when upon arising, (not always), playing with hoses and pad-a-checks, PAP Caps, Pur Sleep, tape and the list goes on. I'll bet there are others who just wish they could join our special club!

Best to you,

Jeff

crossfit · Post by **crossfit** » Thu Aug 07, 2008 10:33 pm

OMG... Is that what's wrong with me? My heart is doing weird things?

babs - prior to Freud, Hysteria was thought to be only in women and its cause was that the uterus had lefts its place and was roaming around in the body.

So maybe that is what your heart is doing.

As for sleeping, I move a lot. I was told it was healthiest to sleep on my back by my chiropractor and I do find that when I succeed at that, I have less aches and pains. However, I am most comfy on my right side. It seems my apneas are more related to my rem stage sleep then to which side I am on. At least in my one sleep study that was the case.

Mask

Additional Comments: Equipment isn't correct, S9 ASV w/H5i