Are PapPillows worth the money?

Babette wrote:I tried that last night. I think I'm too fat in the abdomen and my boobs felt squashed.

Might try it again sometime. I routinely lay with my legs like that, but on my shoulder - with both arms going the same direction away from me.

Cheers,
B.

Babs,

It did take quite a few nights before I felt comfortable that way. At first I was getting a pain in the neck because the mask was causing an unnatural posture. Then I figured out I can just turn the neck comfortably and let the mask press into the mattress. The exhaust vents are not blocked and the Hybrid mask is great about maintaining a seal even while being pressed into the mattress at an angle.

Regards,

rooster wrote:

Hose_Head wrote:

rooster wrote: If you sleep on your stomach, you need to use the Falcon position and no pillow. Dr. Eric Falcon is a member here and he explains how to sleep on your stomach at http://www.uarsrelief.com/sleeppositions.html .

I was not able to sleep on my stomach while wearing my Hybrid mask, until Dr. Falcon explained the proper technique.

Will wonders ever cease ?! My father slept in that position for years! I too used it for many many years, complete with the adaptation of the pillow against your chest.

I don't use it as much now as I used to because I've developed osteoarthritis in my knees. The position puts pressure on the knee of the leg that is kept straight-down and the pain wakes me up. Also, I find that I still need a THIN pillow to keep my nasal mask from being displaced by the bed. I've been wondering about the benefits of a pap-pillow in this case.

How do you position that thin pillow?

The pillow goes under my head! I just sorta hang my mask off the side of it. I've wondered if a PapPillow would help in this regard, but I keep choking at the cost. I'd also like to see one before buying. No sense in getting it if it's too hard, or too soft, or too thick, or too thin. Need to find one that's just right. Can't do that by mail order.

Does anyone know what Dr. Falcon's UARS secret is? He says you can read the book for free, but you have to give him an email address. I was just wondering if someone could summarize the secret here, if you know it.

LoQ wrote:Does anyone know what Dr. Falcon's UARS secret is? He says you can read the book for free, but you have to give him an email address. I was just wondering if someone could summarize the secret here, if you know it.

These two quotes pretty much sum it up:

I amazingly found that by simply taking a Claritin tablet (or other non-sedating antihistamine, such as Allegra-D or Zyrtec) at BEDTIME (the KEY is taking it at bedtime), I am able to breathe fully and deeply throughout the night, and all of my sleep-disordered breathing related symptoms are gone! .................. I then got a prescription for Allegra-D (which is Allegra, plus the decongestant 'pseudoephedrine', as you mentioned) from my doctor, and I found that it worked incredibly well at relieving my sleep-disordered breathing symptoms, by taking it at bedtime. I now alternate periodically between Claritin at bedtime and Allegra-D at bedtime.

See also these posts:

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=36483&p=319026#p319026

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=36738&p=319080#p319080

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=36738&p=319693#p319693

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=36738&p=320243#p320243

Note also his comments about nasal saline irrigation:

In regards to nasal saline irrigation, specifically, I also have found in my personal experimentation that performing this procedure in the evenings leads to increased nasal swelling and blockage at night time. I find it best to perform my nasal saline irrigation earlier in the day (preferably before 4pm).

Thanks, Rooster. You're a keeper.

Bearcat42 wrote:I sleep on my stomach and I am wondering if a PapPillow is worth the investment. And can you get a cotton pillow case that will fit one of these?

Did you look at Dr. Falcon's stomach sleeping technique? After trying it, he has convinced me that is the way to go for stomach sleepers. You don't use a pillow. The trick with CPAP is finding a mask that you can use comfortably in a stomach position without leaks.

Babette wrote:I tried that last night. I think I'm too fat in the abdomen and my boobs felt squashed.

Might try it again sometime. I routinely lay with my legs like that, but on my shoulder - with both arms going the same direction away from me.

Cheers,
B.

When you tried it did you have your arms in the Falcon position? It was surprising to me that the correct arms and legs positions took a goodly amount of pressure off of the stomach and chest. However if you have your arms in a 't' position, you will not get a good pressure relief.

As far as the good doc's antihistamine regimen, it sounds good to me. I think he must have had a very mild UARS case and was lucky that something this easy fixed it. I don't think it will be that easy for so many others.

I will not adopt the antihistamine regimen. I only have slight nasal congestion on a sporadic basis and I can never tell when going to bed whether or not the congestion will appear. So I would have to take a pill every night and only need it some nights. Seems like side effects and cost outweigh the benefits of having relief for only a few nights.