Waterbeds and Apnea

[quietmorning]

I did a search for this, and found the waterbed post - and it seems that quite a few here really love waterbeds - but I didn't see the answer to my question, so I'm going to ask it here.

My husband had a waterbed before we got married, but because I was fairly fresh from having my spine put back together, there was no way I could sleep on it. Before we got married, we purchased a very good mattress - and a beautiful bed to go with it.

He's really having a hard time with the current mattress - getting up very sore and stiff every morning. He wants to get another waterbed. I'm not convinced that I can sleep on a waterbed as far as my back is concerned - but we'll go to a store and try a few out - which will prove whether I can sleep on a waterbed as far as my back goes fairly quickly.

What won't be apparent is whether a waterbed will effect my breathing at night.

I'd like to get a softside water bed so that we can keep our bed - he wants a hard side. . . **visions of 70's retro yick**

I don't know if there is a difference in sleep with either - so if you have a water bed, or have slept on a waterbed with apnea - could you please let me know if there was any issue with your AHI?

Thanks!

[Julie]

Hi - two suggestions... one is to try the Sleep Number beds - each side of a king (or smaller) bed can be different... one soft, one hard, etc. The second thing is - have you tried Memory Foam mattresses? They're great, also come in diff. firmnesses (if that's a word ) and you can get good ones cheaper than Tempur Pedic by quite a bit as long as you know to look for any at or above 5 lb. weight (it's what they call the method of gauging not just density but other features - as if they were talking about types of coils, and/or durabiity.

[chunkyfrog]

I would suggest you stay overnight in a motel with a waterbed, then you will know.
I suspect that if your back is not bothered, it should be OK, unless you are one of those people who can NOT
stand a water bed! We slept on waterbeds for 20 years--everything from full motion to a matted soft side.
The warmth is nice on aches and pains--the sag may not be.
If anyone is heavy, they could "bottom out" when trying to sit.
Try it; if you hate it you're only out one night's room rate, not doomed to years of misery.

[zoocrewphoto]

Hi,

I have a waterbed, the free flowing kind, and I have had it for over 20 years, longer than I have had sleep apnea.

I don't know how it affects my ahi. I can tell you that I snore in my water bed, and I snore in hotel beds. My sleep study was done in a bed with the sleep comfort system. I confess I forgot to experiment with it before bed, so I never changed the settings. Don't even know what it was set to. My ahi at the sleep study was 79 with a little over 2 hours before being moving on to the titration phase. I don't know if it would have gone higher had I actually reached REM sleep or a full night to see how much I naturally sleep on my back.

I know my sleep apnea was horrible in hotel beds since I got lots of complaints about my snoring. I am also bad when propped up in bed, as I will wake myself up with snorting. And before treatment, I had lots of gasping and choking events at home in my waterbed.

With my cpap machine, I am rarely over 2 for ahi, and that is same for home and travel. Often below 1.

Honestly, I don't think the type of bed makes much difference for sleep apnea.

Now, I do have bursitis in my hip, and if I don't take medication, it hurts like hell to roll over or move sideways, which is harder to do in a waterbed.

[stage0]

Good question....i did some surfing and came up with couple more apnea sites that have this topic.

http://www.apneasupport.org/search.php? ... 6a1f2d45c4
http://www.apneasupport.org/waterbed-t13041.html

I have slept on a waterbed, but w/o any OSA. I cannot see where a waterbed would make OSA worse. Logically, it would seem that the bed would force the body to breathe worse due to the lack of suppoer; but I do not remember this. The support for the airway is the same.

[quietmorning]

Hi - two suggestions... one is to try the Sleep Number beds - each side of a king (or smaller) bed can be different... one soft, one hard, etc. The second thing is - have you tried Memory Foam mattresses? They're great, also come in diff. firmnesses (if that's a word ) and you can get good ones cheaper than Tempur Pedic by quite a bit as long as you know to look for any at or above 5 lb. weight (it's what they call the method of gauging not just density but other features - as if they were talking about types of coils, and/or durabiity.

Hi, Julie, have two very thick layers of memory foam on top of our pillow top mattress. He's a pretty big man, and I think the memory foam just smooshes too much. I've asked him about the Sleep Number beds - as I see that as a perfect option, but he wants a waterbed as it is tried and true. I can understand that, he's rather go with something he knows will work than spend a huge amount of money on a 'maybe'.

I think he's pretty sold on getting the water bed. . . lol. . .but us practical women. . .know. . .better. . .

[quietmorning]

I would suggest you stay overnight in a motel with a waterbed, then you will know.
I suspect that if your back is not bothered, it should be OK, unless you are one of those people who can NOT
stand a water bed! We slept on waterbeds for 20 years--everything from full motion to a matted soft side.
The warmth is nice on aches and pains--the sag may not be.
If anyone is heavy, they could "bottom out" when trying to sit.
Try it; if you hate it you're only out one night's room rate, not doomed to years of misery.

Awesome idea! Thanks!!

[zoocrewphoto]

Have you considered getting a frame that will hold a king size bed and then having two separate mattresses inside? One can be his waterbed and one can be your bed of choice.

Lots of people put normal mattresses inside a frame intended for a waterbed, so you should be able to fit two smaller mattresses in side by side.

[Julie]

Oh... toppers are not much good at all, especially on a 'regular' bed, let alone under someone 'big' and let alone that they are usually only of 2 lb. 'weight'! You must try MF beds on their own, and if necessary, a somewhat firmer one. Don't ever judge by a cheap topper on something else - cheating yourselves!

[quietmorning]

I would suggest you stay overnight in a motel with a waterbed, then you will know.
I suspect that if your back is not bothered, it should be OK, unless you are one of those people who can NOT
stand a water bed! We slept on waterbeds for 20 years--everything from full motion to a matted soft side.
The warmth is nice on aches and pains--the sag may not be.
If anyone is heavy, they could "bottom out" when trying to sit.
Try it; if you hate it you're only out one night's room rate, not doomed to years of misery.

**laughing** Well, I suggested that we find a hotel that had a waterbed and stay for a night or two. . . he said he has a waterbed in storage - I guess we'll try one out here at home.

[quietmorning]

Oh... toppers are not much good at all, especially on a 'regular' bed, let alone under someone 'big' and let alone that they are usually only of 2 lb. 'weight'! You must try MF beds on their own, and if necessary, a somewhat firmer one. Don't ever judge by a cheap topper on something else - cheating yourselves!

I will talk to my husband about it, maybe we can find a store that carries them that I can lie down on. The last time I went to a store was RIGHT after my surgery when J. was still alive. . as he wanted one. I've often wanted to try one again to see if I could tolerate it now that my back is healed.

[quietmorning]

Hi,

I have a waterbed, the free flowing kind, and I have had it for over 20 years, longer than I have had sleep apnea.

I don't know how it affects my ahi. I can tell you that I snore in my water bed, and I snore in hotel beds. My sleep study was done in a bed with the sleep comfort system. I confess I forgot to experiment with it before bed, so I never changed the settings. Don't even know what it was set to. My ahi at the sleep study was 79 with a little over 2 hours before being moving on to the titration phase. I don't know if it would have gone higher had I actually reached REM sleep or a full night to see how much I naturally sleep on my back.

I know my sleep apnea was horrible in hotel beds since I got lots of complaints about my snoring. I am also bad when propped up in bed, as I will wake myself up with snorting. And before treatment, I had lots of gasping and choking events at home in my waterbed.

With my cpap machine, I am rarely over 2 for ahi, and that is same for home and travel. Often below 1.

Honestly, I don't think the type of bed makes much difference for sleep apnea.

Now, I do have bursitis in my hip, and if I don't take medication, it hurts like hell to roll over or move sideways, which is harder to do in a waterbed.

Medication for bursitis in your hip? Could you please pm me and tell me what you take? I'd like to talk to my doctor about it - maybe there's help for my hips that I didn't know about.

Concerning your waterbed - this sounds encouraging as far as apnea is concerned. I was afraid that my neck and shoulders would bow in. . . I suppose that has a lot to do with how it is set up?

[quietmorning]

Have you considered getting a frame that will hold a king size bed and then having two separate mattresses inside? One can be his waterbed and one can be your bed of choice.

Lots of people put normal mattresses inside a frame intended for a waterbed, so you should be able to fit two smaller mattresses in side by side.

We looked at the hard side separate mattresses - they are too large to fit together for the room we have, but the softside does this, and it will fit the bed we already have.

This is my preference. . .there looks like there's a lot of very nice softside waterbeds out there that would go well with our bed . . . he got sticker shock when he saw the price tag, though. (Understandable) . . . but it doesn't make sense to buy a whole new bed to buy the less expensive hard side. . .it's a wash in the long run. We'll spend about the same either way.

[quietmorning]

Good question....i did some surfing and came up with couple more apnea sites that have this topic.

http://www.apneasupport.org/search.php? ... 6a1f2d45c4
http://www.apneasupport.org/waterbed-t13041.html

I have slept on a waterbed, but w/o any OSA. I cannot see where a waterbed would make OSA worse. Logically, it would seem that the bed would force the body to breathe worse due to the lack of suppoer; but I do not remember this. The support for the airway is the same.

Thanks! I'll look at these when I'm off of work this afternoon.

[jencat824]

I have a waterbed, the bed its self is the 70's style (hardside bed), but the sensa sack & mattress are made especially for back support and are "new bed" technology. The sensa sack has a pillow top, and the mattress is a Strobel 1800 motionless with back support. I would not give up my bed, we recently moved the bedroom around and had to drain & fill. Yes that is a PITA, but its worth it, to us. If your hubby truly is a waterbed lover like me, you might be able to compromise on something that works for you both. Before moving the room around, we considered getting another mattress & layed on the Tempurpedic & the Sleep Number beds & hated them both. The closest to the waterbed was the Sleep Number.

Below are links to the Sensa Sack & the Strobel Mattress like I have. It is cheaper than a new mattress & you can get a softsider bed, they can be just as comfortable. We kept our bed & would have kept it with any other type of mattress, but that was because we both like the bed with drawers under & a huge headboard with lots of storage. If you get a softside you can keep the bed you like too, then you both get something you want. I would order my bed online if it were me, the price difference makes it worthwhile, as long as you feel comfortable with assembly. If he previously had a waterbed, he should be OK with assembly & knowing the in's & out's of waterbed set up & fill procedure.

http://www.abcwaterbed.com/pads9.htm
http://www.waterbedland.com/sensa-soft-side/
http://www.strobel.com/waterbeds-hydro.htm
http://www.thewaterbeddoctor.com/strobe ... Mgod_n4AfQ

Waterbeds are not for everyone, I think the Denver Mattress Co (part of Furniture Row) has waterbeds. so you could lay on one there & get an idea of how it feels. I disagree with Frog's suggestion to sleep on one in a hotel, only because if you find one, they are usually full wave and with your back you should not have a full wave, it has no support. Also, it would be hard to find a hotel now that has a waterbed.

Good luck & let us know how it turns out. PM me if you have any questions I didn't answer here.
Jen