Bed Pillows or CPAP pillows.

[sumzzzs]

Hello all, I'm relatively new to CPAP have 4 weeks under my belt, trying to find right mask still but my latest hurdle is finding a new bed pillow strategy. The pillows I have are rather soft and don't allow me to side sleep with the FFM I began using. I believe I spend most of my time on my back, do those CPAP pillows for sale benefit any of you? If so how?

[AshSF]

I sleep on my sides. I use a Resmed Airfit F10 or a Resmed Quattro Air. I have used multiple types of pillow (soft, hard memory foam, firm foam, thin foam pillow). I have no trouble with any of them. And I have no major/large leak most nights as reported by SH or the machine. I run an APAP on 7-15 pressure and some nights, my pressure goes up to 14.

I suggest you tweak your mask settings/tensions so that you can play "rough" with it. Test it by wearing it, switch on the machine, and dig into the pillow and see if you can do this on each side without causing a leak. And then you can sleep on any pillow.

[herbm]

Some people swear by their "cpap pillows".

I have no need for them (and I am a pillow connoisseur ) -- I use an Airfit P10 but have also used other masks for side sleeping with no real issue.

The main trick is to AVOID 'scrubbing' your cheek and the strap when you place your head on the pillow and snuggle into it.

OR learn to reverse the scrub slightly to remove the (usually pulling) pressure on that side of your head.

The other issue is "body pillows" (which I use) -- had to move them DOWN the bed about 4 inches to avoid impinging on the mask swivel (P10 has a VERY minimal connector and very flexible hose so other masks may need a bit more clearance.)

I have enough trouble finding the perfect (feel) pillow without also having to do with only CPAP pillows as choices.

[eviltim]

I have one mega soft pillow sitting on two normal pillows. This worked well when I used the old school nasal pillows but now that most masks are starting to have the diffusive 360 vent (not sure what exactly to call it), it really doesn't matter all that much.

[PaytonA]

I tried several "CPAP" pillows when I was using my first full face mask. I could not keep it from developing leaks during the night and waking me up. Out of desperation I tried 2 different CPAP pillows without detecting any improvement in the leak situation. The leaks would wake me up because invariably they would direct a jet of air at my eyes. That is what would awaken me.

I am now using a different full face mask and I can literally use any pillow that strikes my fancy. My therapeutic pressure is 20 cm/H2O with an exhalation pressure of 16. I had an occasion just recently to achieve a max leak rate of 0 liters/minute. My feeling is that the mask makes a lot more difference in containing leakage than any pillow does. On the other hand some people swear by the CPAP pillows. Absolutely YMMV.

Best Regards,

PaytonA

[trish6hundred]

Hi sumzzzs,
WELCOME! to the forum.!
I use a buckwheat hull pillow, and really like it. It is firm and yet, I can adjust it for when I sleep on my stomach so that my mask hangs over and the pillow doesn't block the vent.
Google Pur-sleep and you'll find more information about them there.
Much success to you as you continue your CPAP therapy and good luck finding a pillow that works well for you.

[sumzzzs]

All valuable advice and input from each of you, I now will plot my sleeping strategy for tonight!

[PaytonA]

Welcome to the forum sumzzzs. (Don't know if I got enough z's in there)

First it would be helpful if you would correct the mask data in your profile. You list your mask type as Nasal Mask and your specific mask as a Mirage Quattro. The Mirage Quattro is a full face mask. If your mask is a nasal mask maybe it is a Mirage Activa, Mirage Micro, Mirage FX, or Ultra Mirage. The names are confusing and even looking at the pictures of the masks can be confusing.

Buckwheat Hull Pillow

I tried one well before I went onto CPAP-so maybe 8 years ago. They may well have improved since then but here are the reasons that I am not still using one. I tried several at the time.

I am a side sleeper and found that no matter how I shaped the pillow to keep my head in line with my spine, I invariably woke up with very little buckwheat hulls under my head so my neck was angled downward fairly severely. Seemed to me to defeat the purpose of the pillow.

The second problem I had with the buckwheat hull pillow was the fact that i am a side sleeper puts one ear right against the pillow. With any slight movement the filler would make noise as it moved around and since it was right against my ear it sounded pretty loud. Didn't bother me once I was asleep but bothered me trying to get to sleep.

The pillow that I prefer right now is the "Scrunch Pillow" made by Serta. It is shapeable like some other pillows but tends to hold the shape better than any other I have tried. It makes no noise (except a dull thud if someone smacks me with it). It does not make my head sweat.

Well that is my story anyway.

Best Regards,

PaytonA

[sumzzzs]

Welcome to the forum sumzzzs. (Don't know if I got enough z's in there)

First it would be helpful if you would correct the mask data in your profile. You list your mask type as Nasal Mask and your specific mask as a Mirage Quattro. The Mirage Quattro is a full face mask. If your mask is a nasal mask maybe it is a Mirage Activa, Mirage Micro, Mirage FX, or Ultra Mirage. The names are confusing and even looking at the pictures of the masks can be confusing.

Buckwheat Hull Pillow

I tried one well before I went onto CPAP-so maybe 8 years ago. They may well have improved since then but here are the reasons that I am not still using one. I tried several at the time.

I am a side sleeper and found that no matter how I shaped the pillow to keep my head in line with my spine, I invariably woke up with very little buckwheat hulls under my head so my neck was angled downward fairly severely. Seemed to me to defeat the purpose of the pillow.

The second problem I had with the buckwheat hull pillow was the fact that i am a side sleeper puts one ear right against the pillow. With any slight movement the filler would make noise as it moved around and since it was right against my ear it sounded pretty loud. Didn't bother me once I was asleep but bothered me trying to get to sleep.

The pillow that I prefer right now is the "Scrunch Pillow" made by Serta. It is shapeable like some other pillows but tends to hold the shape better than any other I have tried. It makes no noise (except a dull thud if someone smacks me with it). It does not make my head sweat.

Well that is my story anyway.

Best Regards,

PaytonA

That was an oops I edited my profile. Payton. A little success last night in sleeping on my side, built a body pillow so to speak. Having problems with mask leaking as I get into morning, which I might ask for advice in another thread. Not sure I'm a buckwheat pillow kind of guy either after researching them. Going to check out the "scrunch"

[PaytonA]

That was an oops I edited my profile. Payton. A little success last night in sleeping on my side, built a body pillow so to speak. Having problems with mask leaking as I get into morning, which I might ask for advice in another thread. Not sure I'm a buckwheat pillow kind of guy either after researching them. Going to check out the "scrunch"

When your mask leaks in the morning, what do you do. Do you adjust the leak out and go back to sleep? Do you take the mask off and go back to sleep? Do you just give up and get up?

When you have put your mask on before going to bed, do you grab the lower straps and move them forward and backward to put more tension on one side of the mask and then the other. This is done to ensure that there is no tension bias one direction or the other and the same for the upper straps (this is my own little insurance move but I think it may be important for some people).

Best Regards,

PaytonA