Head Pillow Recommendation

The topic is referring to the soft fluffy thing that you lay your head on to sleep. I know that asking for a recommendation for a CPAP pillow is like asking for a recommendation on a mask. Everyone is different and what works for some is a disaster for others. That said, I would like to hear what people like as a starting point for my decision.

Masks and leaks are the holy grail for cpap and I am convinced that my leak inconsistency is driven largely by my pillow. I am pretty confident my new Quattro will work for me if I can limit the pillow forces on the mask. 80% of my sleeping is on my side.

Okay, here's one recommendation for you.
The Regenisis buckwheat pillow. Do a forum search for it and you will find quite a bit of discussion.
I use it. I love it. It also is a great pillow for poor old arthritic cervical spines.

http://www.pur-sleep.com/products/prodD ... 200&pID=67

some discussion..
viewtopic/t45319/PurSleep-Regenesis-Pil ... eview.html

This subject comes up alot.

viewtopic/t45618/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=45143&p=403895

I was using the Chiroflow (or Mediflow) pillow for a number of years before I started on this therapy. There are actually quite a few people on this site who do or have used it.


Den

I use a buckwheat pillow. Have used one for years even before CPAP treatment , its gives you a lot of flexibility as well as support for not only your head but your neck too. It is also great in " have a little give" around mask area. There is a buckwheat pillow on the Bucky website that is really a great pillow its has buckwheat on one side and on the other it has these little microbeads. Some people have a little time adjusting to an all buckwheat pillow because for the first days or weeks buckwheat is a little crunchy sounding which is why the Bucky pillow is a good alternative.

I bought the Papillow about three weeks ago. I love it. It is just the right firmness without being too hard. I find it very comfortable, and it has improved my sleeping a lot.

I've got a bit of a dilemna. Prior to being diagnosed with OSA, I was diagnosed with chronic neck arthritis, and so have been using a tri-core pillow, which has an indent of a trapezoid in the middle, as follows.


This looks like the "Exact" opposite of the CPAP recommended pillows. which seem to bulge in the middle. Anyone out there with neck arthritis getting benefit from a CPAP pillow?

With the help of google, found this Contour CPAP pillow which looks like it may be what I am looking for.

https://www.cpap.com/productpage/CPAP-M ... illow.html

Is anyone familiar with this product?

I don't have neck arthritis but back and shoulder arthritis and need the right support for my neck. Back sleeping is my only pain free position. I, luckily, don't have postitional sleep apnea I guess, since my 90% pressure is 12 cm and my AHI is almost always below 1.

As for a bed pillow, the type I find best for me is the contour memory foam pillow, using the smaller side. I have never tried the cpap pillow but don't see how it would work for me.

I ended up with "side sleeper" pillows from Bed, Bath and Beyond.

One king size one which goes on the bottom. One standard one which goes on the top. THat was, I have a "ledge" on either side for my mask, and plenty of support for my head and neck.

GaryG wrote:Anyone out there with neck arthritis getting benefit from a CPAP pillow?

Yes, I find that it (Regenisis) seems to help my poor neck.
Bad arthritis. Degenerated so bad that I ended up having 2 of the vertbrae removed replaced with other bone and a metal plate from C3 to C6. The typical contour pillows are ok but don't quite conform to my personal neck curve (or lack of). I can make the buckwheats do whatever I want.

Hi Flylow

Basic background is that I use a Mirage Full Face Quattro, and sleep on my side 100% of the time (as far as I know).

I have a heavy duty solid pillow at the bottom, and a feather pillow on top. I scrunch up the feather pillow to get the right height for my head, and the mask just hangs over the edge, or can indent into the feather pillow if needed.

I had this combination before sleep apnea treatment, and it still works for me.

cheers

Mars

[quote="mars"] I have a heavy duty solid pillow at the bottom, and a feather pillow on top. I scrunch up the feather pillow to get the right height for my head, and the mask just hangs over the edge, or can indent into the feather pillow if needed.
/quote]

I might try your solution you suggest above. The mask that I have been given is the same as yours (Mirage Quattro). I am finding that it could be the cause of my red nose bridge possibly due to me sleeping on my side. These masks work great on your back but that not is a good sleeping position for me. Last night, I tried stacking two contour pillows but that was a little bit too high for me. I will try adding a feather pillow on top of my Costco contour pillow and see how that goes. Also will try adding moleskin inside the top of the mask to see if that stops my nose irritation.

I have been toying with the idea of ordering a sleepap pillow. However, I don't want to order a pillow online without being able to touch it first. Are there places you can order CPAP pillows locally?

GaryG wrote:With the help of google, found this Contour CPAP pillow which looks like it may be what I am looking for.

https://www.cpap.com/productpage/CPAP-M ... illow.html

Is anyone familiar with this product?

yep...slept on that pillow last night. i like it....i don't use it every night...but it works just fine. i tend to rotate around 3 different pillows...depends on my mood, i guess. i think the contour pillow will work for you...however, you may take a night or two to adjust to it....

Thanks for all of the replies. I am intrigued by the buckwheat pillows. In my minimal research on the topic I also see millet pillows and combination millet and buckwheat. What are the pros and cons associated with each with regard to cpap suitability?

My experience is different from most people's so take this suggestion with a grain of salt. I travel frequently, which makes me something of a pillow test platform. I found I liked big, fat, side-sleep pillows filled with ordinary foam. They are high enough to support my head sleeping on my side, and too high to be comfortable on my back, which I'm supposed to avoid. What I do differently, though, is completely avoid trying to hang my mask over an edge, or making a recess for it. I just nuzzle my face into the middle of the pillow like the old Quattro wasn't even there, and it seems to work for me. It kind of stabilizes the mask rather than knocking it out of place. I found a nice side-sleep pillow like this at Bed, Bath and Beyond, maybe the same one as Kiralynx, and it wasn't expensive. Again, I think I'm in a small minority on this, but if other solutions don't work, give it a try.