CPAP Pillow - opinions?

Hey there - aside from likely being on my way to using a CPAP machine myself (just had my 1st sleep study!), I'm also a DME vendor in Ontario. We don't have our ADP license for Respiratory Devices just yet, but I'm looking at bringing in some accessories. One such accessory is the "CPAP Pillow", which has been shaped to accommodate a facemask.

Anyone using one of these? If so - please share your opinion! If these are garbage and gimmicky, I'm not going to bring them in. If people have found them beneficial, I'll be pleased to sell them.

Thanks!

Oops. Forgot to post a link..

2nd product on page.

http://www.independentneeds.com/catalog ... oom&page=3

I have been using a PAPillow for a whole week now, only my first week on xPAP. I have been trying out a Hans Rudolph 7600 Series V2 Full Face Mask, so no forehead thingie. I have also tried it one night with a Zzz-Mask Full Face Mask. So, I have a few nights experience, but that's about it.

I have found that when I do sleep on my side, the space in the pillow for the FFM helps to keep from getting leaks that would otherwise occur with a regular pillow, as the mask doesn't get shoved aside by the pillow as easily. Not sure how it would do with a forehead pad, but suspect it would still be an improvement over a regular pillow.

I have also found that now on xPAP, I am mostly sleeping on my back, something I could never do before therapy, so am beginning to to question the wisdom of a $70 pillow for sleeping on my side. On the flip side, with this pillow, on the occasion I do want to go to my side, I can with relative comfort, so that's worth something ...

Peace

I haven't tried the pillow you linked to, Chris, but I do use this one (PAPillow) which is a completely different design:

https://www.cpap.com/productpage/papill ... illow.html

I've been using the double-edge PAPillow for several years. I like it very much.

I use one but its not as space age as the one in your link.

I don't have a cpap pillow. I have one of those memory foam pillows that the center is lower than the top part and the bottom is lower than the top but higher than the middle. It's the standard curced memory faom pillow that is sold at places like walmart or target. I actually have two one for home and one for the firehouse. The firehouse one isn't as good as the other because it compresses more and doesn't give as much support but I love em both.

I have the pillow, as shown on your link. For me, when I roll to my side, my face is tilted down, not straight to the side, as the man in the picture. That bump that is at his chin, hits my mask and makes it leak immediately. I have tried shaving off those two neck bumps with an electric knife, and still found the pillow to be very uncomfortable. I keep it in the closet and every once in awhile when I have forgotten why I don't like it, I pull it out to try again. Back into the closet.

That's just me.

Bev

I have the pillow shown in your link. I do use it every night although it has some shortcomings. One of these days I may try something else but at least it has helped a good deal. When I roll onto my side my mask doesn't get knocked off.

The downside: the pillow is quite small and seems flimsy and fairly thin. I prefer a thicker pillow.

Mindy

I bought a kingsized sidesleeper pillow of artificial down. (Can't use real down; I'm allregic to feathers.) I put a standard side sleeper pillow on top of it. That way, I had "ledges" for my mask, and plenty of space if I shift to another position. Although since I got these pillows, I'm waking up in exactly the position I went to sleep in, except on rare occasions when I have to get up and hit the necessary.

And ghods I hate whatever changes they made to the software....!

Thanks for the feedback, Mindy - just an update on these pillows. I've sold a few to positive reviews.. and, more importantly, no one tried to return them. Despite what people might actually say, the proof is in whether they keep the product or not!

As a retailer, sure, you should carry all the toys.

As an end-user, I tell people not to bother with buying one of these. Buy a $12 memory foam contour pillow from Big Lots or other retailer, and learn to sleep with your face on the edge of the pillow, with the mask hanging off.

If you really want a "divet", buy a $2 electric carving knife from Goodwill, and carve your own divet.

HOWEVER..... If I had not already owned a memory foam pillow that worked well with my cpap masks, I probably would have bought one of these fancy high-priced pillows in the beginning. In the beginning, when I was exhausted from sleep deprivation, the concept of hacking up my own pillow was beyond me. I was very much in favor of paying others to do it for me.

I am in favor of anything that helps. And we're all individual, and need different solution. I am also willing to share my knowledge of how to do it cheaper, when I can.

Good luck with your therapy!!!!!

BTW, I'm running a free mask test drive for the Nasal Aire II mask, and I have one circulating in Canada. If you're interested, check out the links below in my signature line, and them PM me with your snail mail addy, and I'll put you on the list.

Cheers,
Barbara

Great offer, Barbara! I don't even have any equipment yet (waiting for 'second sleep lab') : how far in advance should I put myself on the list?

PM me with your info now, and I'll make a note that you don't have your machine yet. You keep in touch with me and let me know when you get the machine.

Right now, if you had your machine, you'd probably see the mask in about 3 weeks. So see, it might all work out smoothly.

Cheers,
Barbara

Chris - I have that pillow, the one in your link. The DME I bought it from said their clients really like it - no returns.

Pros: it fits my mask better than my alternate pillows. I hardly wake up at night, so it must "work" in the sense that my mask does not get knocked off. I can sleep on either side readily (I am a committed side sleeper!).

Cons: the smell - it will take a while for the foam smell to dissipate. The feel - this is not a soft, cushy pillow...it is kind of a hard foam pillow. And also - FWIW - the price. I paid $75 and, while I don't regret the purchase, the price point is kind of high. My previous pillow was a non-memory-foam ObusForme foam cervical pillow.

Feel free to PM me with any more specific questions!

I use a memory foam pillow and love it.

Yet, I asked to be in sleepguy's trial of a new pillow he is developing and was accepted. I am awaiting the delivery of my buckwheat hulls to fill it (hope they arrive today). Will post on it once I have tried it out.