New pattern of face sleeping

Hello all:

I haven't been too active on here for the last couple of months because of a move we made from NY to VA. Trying to sell one house while buying another, line up a new job, close out a job that I have been in for 10 years and actually make a move has taken it's toll on my free time.

The good news is that even with all this going on, I have far more energy than I did 10 months ago. I no longer get tired in the evening and feel better in the morning as well. However, there has been an issue.

I have always been predominantly a back sleeper, with occasional forays to the stomach. Before I started CPAP, my wife would beat me senseless every night to get me to roll over to help with the snoring and gagging (obviously what lead to my first sleep study). However, I have now developed a pattern. Sometime in the middle of the night, I find that I want to roll over onto my stomach for a couple of hours, and then finish up in the morning on my back again.

Only issue.....the mask. Right now I am using a Swift LT. I find it to be most tolerable for many reasons. However, EVERY mask that I own does not work well on stomach sleeping for one reason or another. I find that the Swift stays in place fairly well, but that the exhaust vent either blows on the pillow with a loud noise, or blows on my arm depending on how I position myself.

As a result, my level of therapy has dropped down to about 4 hours a night, as I will wake up, shut off the machine, pull off the mask, flip on my stomach and go back to sleep.

If this happens around 4:30 or so, that means I'm getting about 6 hours of CPAP, and on my stomach I do fairly well with sleeping, so I wake up feeling great, as I generally am up by 6:15 to 7:00 depending on week day or weekend.

Sometimes it happens between 12:30 and 2:00, which means not so much therapy and grogginess in the morning.

Any new masks that are better for face sleeping? Pillows? I had searched on this topic when I first joined back in the spring, but have not searched for anything lately.

Thanks!

Needs,

This doesn't answer your question, but see the description of the Falcon Position for prone sleeping: viewtopic.php?f=1&t=36738&st=0&sk=t&sd= ... a&start=15

I woke up last night with my mask off and in the Falcon position (I had read that post)
I do'nt think I've slept that way for years....but who knows...I live alone
Must have been the power of suggestion !


Luke

As a kid I used to sleep that way (about 40 years ago). I guess it's like NATO-position except that upper and lower
leg positions exchanged and the front hand is under the cheek? I'm not sure if the NATO-position is generally known by that name, but in it the lower leg is bent and upper leg is straight. This is how they teach the paramedics to turn patients. It's known to be one of the most relaxing position, and even unconscious person keeps on his/her side and cannot drown in his/her vomit/blood/whatever.

People who sleep on their stomachs have lower night time blood pressure
Sleeping on your stomach

Yasuharu Tabara of Ehime University School of Medicine in Ehime, Japan, noted that high blood pressure during the night can increase the risk of a night time heart attack, reports Patient Health International.

In the research, more than 270 healthy men ages 19 to 64 who were not taking blood pressure medication wore automatic blood pressure cuffs. They were first asked to lie down face up and later were told to turn over on their stomachs.

In almost all the men, their overall blood pressure dropped significantly when they were face down. And 25 of the men experienced an even more dramatic decrease of more than 15 points when they just turned over onto their stomachs.

In addition, systolic blood pressure, which is the force blood exerts on the artery walls when the heart beats, fell by as much as 15 mmHg in response to moving into the prone position, compared with the supine position, reports Patient Health International.

"These findings indicate that sleeping position could influence blood pressure," the researchers said. "Marked change in blood pressure during sleep by turning the position may need to be further studied as a possible cause of the cardiovascular events during the sleep."

http://www.flatseats.com/General/sleep_down.htm

I wonder if they checked them for sleep apnea? It could change the conclusions from the study.

Needsdecaf,

Ever try the Swift II? You may find the Swift II better for you than the LT, since the Swift II blows the air down toward your chest instead of forward. I use the Swift II, and was thinking of changing to the LT until I read your post!

I sometimes end up on my stomach toward the end of the night. The way I sleep on my stomach is by using a cheap foam pillow from IKEA that has somewhat squared-off edges. I push the pillow toward the head of the bed so that the portion of my face from the bridge of my nose to my forehead is on the pillow. That gives room for the nasal pillows between my lower face and mattress.

Do whatever it takes to keep that mask on all night.

jeff

jnk wrote:Needsdecaf,

Ever try the Swift II? You may find the Swift II better for you than the LT, since the Swift II blows the air down toward your chest instead of forward. I use the Swift II, and was thinking of changing to the LT until I read your post!

I sometimes end up on my stomach toward the end of the night. The way I sleep on my stomach is by using a cheap foam pillow from IKEA that has somewhat squared-off edges. I push the pillow toward the head of the bed so that the portion of my face from the bridge of my nose to my forehead is on the pillow. That gives room for the nasal pillows between my lower face and mattress.

Do whatever it takes to keep that mask on all night.

jeff

I started out with the Swift II. I found that the LOOOONG barrel and side exiting pipe were really bad for face sleeping.

I do that with my forehead on the pillow too.

Problem is that I can't sleep too long on my stomach, or my back will end up hurting. And I do sleep in the "Falcon Swastika" position, albeit with my upper arm cocked around my head more.