CPAPtalk.com

Guest,

As you might deduce, I tried just about everything before having a sleep study because I thought maybe my back was keeping me up at night. Since I didn't want to spend thousands for a mattress, I ordered the 3" visco elastic memory foam topper from Overtstock. I have to say, I don't know what the full mattress feels like (I can only imagine, like a cloud), but I love the topper.

If you don't want to spend a fortune on a mattress right now, like we didn't, try the topper. I think I only paid $99, which was a great price, at the time. Overstock charges next to nothing for shipping, like $2.99. I got it free and so can you perhaps by going to http://www.couponcabin.com and searching for a free shipping coupon by searching by store name.

Enjoy.

Sleepless, you have it right, let me know if it helps. it takes awau the strap lines because it changes where they put pressure on your face.

As far as mattress topper, no it's not as good as getting the bed but it's better than mattress alone. Tempurpedic is the standard in the industry, there are several others that are excellent, such as King Koil, Restonic, and Englander which I sell wholesale among many other furniture items. Density of the foam makes adifference, don't accept anything less than a 5.

R&R:

I don't know how you do that. I tried rigging up the hose to both the side strap AND the top strap and I can't get it to go behind my head any way, shape or form. What am I doing wrong?????

Hi Lori,
I've been messing around with the tube too and I'm going to try running it up the right side of my face but also kind of toward the front of my face. I got the hose to lay next to the outer edge of my right eye and up to the top of the head gear. I don't know if this is really going to work while I'm sleeping but that's what I'm aiming for. R & R also said that he wears the headgear kind of loose but that definitely didn't work for me last night. I kept getting leaks so I looked in a mirror today and saw that when I have the tube running downward, it pulls on the right side of the barrel slightly dislodging it so there is a leak (I start sleeping on my left side so that's why I had the tube running downward on the right side of me).
I also made a prototype "pillow" for the side of the gear (hopefully this will eliminate the swoosh lines). I'll let you know if they work.
You sound a bit stressed today...breathe
Amy

Amy,

Thanks for caring. No, I'm really not stressed. I'm doing fine. I had an AHI of 0.7 for 10 hours sleep last night, so how could I be stressed with that figure?

I took my headgear apart, taped up the slit under the sliding bar and it did quiet it down. I am also going to try the large sleeve tonight. Made the straps totally different. We'll see if this can help.

If I can't figure out what R&R is telling me, then I am going to try this. In the worst case scenario, I am going to put the mole skin on the inside of the straps. What else can I do? My face looked so bad this morning, it took over an hour to go away (not my face, the indentations ).

Let me know how you do...

rock and roll,

It is wonderful having an expert to turn to! So, if price is no object, do you suggest a Tempurpedic mattress with a density of 5"?

Also, to throw a wrench in the works, if this bed is going to be used by someone suffering from incontinence (meaning it will forever be encased in a waterproof mattress pad), does that negate the benefit of the foam? Does the mattress naturally yellow with time? Does it absorb odors? Can it be cleaned?

Thanks.

I think R&R is talking of running the hose neither up nor down but straight back along your cheek and under your ear to curve up at the back of your head.

I tried that this afternoon (not sleeping, just lying down to see) and I can see it would work for side sleepers but not back sleepers. I do both so I'm hosed (pun intended)!

Sleepless,

Just wondering, how long is your hair? As you can tell from my picture, I don't have much thus maybe that makes adifference in getting the hose out of my way. I connect the hose above the V in the headgear aqnd the hose if I am sitting ujp will fall over my ear on to my shoulder. If I am laying, it goes towards my headbgoard.


Guest.

Not 5" but a density of 5. Though a 5 inch pad would be very nice if you go that route. They come in a breathable stretchy ticking on the foam on the tempurpedic and if price is no object, it is the leading brand and the one we all aspire to be. It will absorb liquids but if put in a sealed mattress bag you are fine. I recommend buyiing the one Tempurpedic sells called Protectabed and if anything ever gets through they will protect the mattress. If you can't find let me know as I sell them to and I will try to find a store in your area for you. Mine are Ultra Shield Brand and have a ten year warranty. HAPPY to answer any questions on this for you.

R&R writes:

Sleepless,

Just wondering, how long is your hair? As you can tell from my picture, I don't have much thus maybe that makes adifference in getting the hose out of my way. I connect the hose above the V in the headgear aqnd the hose if I am sitting ujp will fall over my ear on to my shoulder. If I am laying, it goes towards my headbgoard.

R&R. my hair is past my shoulders, but not that thick. Now, you are connecting the hose just above where the straps V's off from the side to the top, right? I can't keep the hose next to my face along that side strap at all without feeling like I'm laying on a lump, unless I'm doing something totally wrong because everyone seems to think it's easy to be a side sleeper and keep the tube in the up position. I can't, for the life of me, figure how you can do that without having the hose under your face? If it's along a strap that lays on your cheek, and you're connecting it to that strap, you have to lay on the hose, too, no???

R&R, you can give up on me, it's okay. I can't keep taking all of your time with this. You have tried to explain this to me, but I'm just not getting it.

There is an image on cpapman.com, under the Swift section (tried to paste it but it won't work) of a woman sleeping on her side with the hose curved forward. Maybe that would work? I don't know...wish I could see what you're doing so I could try it. How do you insert a photo; do you know?

Thanks Rock and Roll,

You are very helpful! I googled Protectabed and found that there is a store called Matress Giant that sells it near me. It is a zippable mattress cover, right? But what is Ultra Shield Brand? I googled that and got an insect repellent for horses.

I have a tempurpedic bed and the mattress is encased in a zippable cover. You can unzip it and throw it in the washing machine. Drying it is a real problem though. It's kind of a spongy material and you're not supposed to put it in the dryer but it's soaking wet when you pull it out of the washer. I tried drying it on "low" but that didn't help at all. I then tried air drying it by draping it over several chairs...but it was so heavy it pulled the chairs over. I finally gave up and stuck it in the dryer. I was very lucky that it didn't melt. I don't know what to do if I ever need to wash it again.

R&R:

This is the link to the photo I saw earlier where the woman sleeps with the tube to the front of her face on her side. Is this the opposite of what you do? Have you tried it this way???
http://www.talkaboutsleep.com/sleep-dis ... _swift.htm

yawn,

That's what I'm afraid of. My mom is in pain and I really think a Tempurpedic bed is the way to go, but she's incontinent so I need to protect the mattress. Initially I thought maybe a waterproof cover would be made of a material that would be so thick/stiff that it would negate the purpose of the comfort of the foam. I will undoubtedly need to wash this zippable mattress cover on a regular basis. Do you know if the one on your bed is called Protectabed or possibly Ultra Shield? Maybe this isn't going to work after all....

Personally I would not machine wash it, I would dry clean it. When you dry it you destroy the moisture barrier.

Ultra Shield is a brand name of fabric protectors, mattress protectors, wood and leather protectors and furniture care products. One of the many companies I market. I broker every kind of home furnishings products. Unfortunately for family and friends, I sell wholesale in large quantities from factories all over the world and not one at a time or I would offer my services. But there are many good protectors out there. The cover that comes on the Tempurpedic is a nice cover but is not a protective cover with a total moisture barrier that is warranted. I have one of these covers over a glass of coke upside down that has been upside down for six months now with out the coke leaking through so I am sold that they work.

Sleepless, just keep experimenting with it. If you had a good visco foam of a 5 density pillow, you could sleep on top of the cpap and not feel it. I don't know what brand you tried but you might take your mask to the store with you and try it. Brookstone actually keeps huge objects on theirs to prove it.

Sleepless,

That picture is exactly what I do and as you can see, she is not on it at all, it is on the pillow,over her ear and toward the headboard.


Yawn and guest, your plan with the Tempurpedic is very doable with the Protectabed type product. They are made to wash. Just put your washer on hard spin to get more of the water out. This type mattress is the best for anyone bedridden, it was invented for the Astronauts to sit and lay in for extremely ong periods of time.