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Permalink Reply by Mary Z on May 19, 2010 at 8:52am

Michael, you're a lucky man, or just an adaptable man. Many of us have trouble accomodating the mask with the pillow. Besides, we love our gadgets in all forms, hardware, software, and pillows (not to mention a million other comfort measures like Pad-a-Cheek, Rem Zzzs, hose covers and hose hangers).

Michael F. O'Brien said:

Pillow? No one has told me about having a special. I still use the two that I have used for years. Different pillows, but two pillows. I have adjusted easily to my CPAP. I sleep on my back and on both side. A couple times I have slept on my stomach.

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Permalink Reply by BeeAsleep on May 19, 2010 at 9:22pm

I love my Oxygen Pillow. It provides just the right amount of firmness for sleeping on my side. It is made to gently force your face slightly away from the pillow and it comes in different sizes depending on how much you weigh. Makes for a great nights sleep with a mask. Got my pillow from apnealife.com, love it. bee

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Permalink Reply by Mary Smith on May 20, 2010 at 11:15pm

Hi Claude. Well...someone already answered your question about what a Neti pot is, so I won't repeat. I am also too lazy to use one, although my sinus specialist recommended it. Not sure what the source of your stuffiness is - there are many reasons and the answers will vary based on the problem. If you were always stuffy even before CPAP and/or if you have allergies, then you may find that saline nasal rinses help. I use hypertonic saline spray (3% - Simply Saline) when my allergies act up. The extra saline concentration tends to draw some of the fluid out. One thing that helped me prior to CPAp was Vick's vapo-rub. Now I put a tiny dab on either side of the bridge of my nose before bedtime. Seems to help me a lot.


Claude said:

When we bought our intelligel mattress several years ago, we invested in the intelligel pillows to go along with it. By invested, I mean they were very expensive. When I went to a full face mask, I was worried about the pillow not being right and that I would have problems. To my surprise, it works great. The pillows actually have an adjustable air chamber, surrounded by a high quality foam, and the intelligel layer on top of that.
When my head hits the pillow, I'm usually out for the night, no leaks, perfect fit, and curves just right for total comfort. I'm a side sleeper, and haven't even tried anything else because I got lucky, I guess. By the way, it was here that I actually got advice about going to a full face mask, and I am ever grateful for that. I appreciate the help I get here on the sleep apnea forum.
I do have a question though: I see quite often talk about a 'neti-pot' (not sure on spelling). What is that and would it help me with stuffiness? Thanks.

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Permalink Reply by RL on May 22, 2010 at 12:34am

As a side sleeper, I was using two pillows even before cpap. I have a firm flat one that goes on the bottom for a little lift and support. On top of that, I was using a medium soft polyfill pillow, but with the cpap, I find it can puff up around my head, making it cover the air vents on my nasal pillow mask. I can usually tilt my head a little to solve this but am not sure if I maintain this position while asleep. I wanted something different, and as I have neck pain issues, I wanted to have better neck support.

Not prepared to spend a lot right now, I am trying a memory foam pillow I got at Costco for about $20. It has a "neck roll" shape on each edge, with one side larger than the other for personal choice. The firmness of this pillow is an improvement over the polyfill pillow, and the neck support is good, but the memory foam does squish down if I don't get the edge under my neck, defeating the purpose of the neck support shape. The memory foam does somewhat absorb the shape of the side mask straps going around my ears and cheeks. Even with that, I find the pressure of the straps between my face and the pillow can be uncomfortably distracting and even painful in a way that makes it difficult to fall asleep. I am going to try the Swift FX mask soon and I wonder if this will be better.

I believe my head discomfort and pain is sometimes related to a migraine aura in which my head is generally very sensitive to touch or pressure, making me more sensitive than most people to the pressure of the straps on my cheek bones and ear area. I am usually so tired that sleep wins out despite this discomfort, and it is not a problem every night. I was recently reading about the trigeminal nerve which goes from just above the ear and spreads out over the cheek and face area. This nerve, on both sides of the face is highly active, sensitive and sometimes painful during a migraine attack, and it seems virtually impossible to have mask straps that would avoid it completely. While cheek pads soften the effect of the straps on the skin, this does not prevent the pressure of the strap thickness on the cheekbone. Maybe you would have to have migraines yourself to understand what I am talking about. It is an extra thing to deal with for me, and maybe others have experienced this extra sensitivity too. I have wondered if a specially shaped pillow would help, but I don't think it would help with the upper cheek bone and ear area; just the area where the mask extends from the face.

So I'm still working on this issue.

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Permalink Reply by gordon on May 22, 2010 at 2:05pm

The pillows are everything for me. I use 2, both made up of 2 standard (older) DOWN pillows, put into a x-large pillow case, side by side, so its a pillow about 2 ft wide, 2 deep. (4 pillows) I don't have a lot of hair, so the straps from the chinstrap/mask are easily felt. This way, they sink in. I put the open pillowcase side on the machine side, where I have a nightstand about 5-6in above the top of the mattress. I have a piece of glass on the nightstand and it's in a corner, I push the glass a little flush with the 2 walls , so this acts as a barrier for the tube... it can't slip down behind the nightstand, it hugs the cornered space.

I can push down on the end of the pillow and flatten it. (open end on that side) I have a small "tap-on" lamp, and I loop the tube (in a felt cover preventing rain-out... fyi, I tried Resmed's zippered one but returned it, it is stiff)
around the lamp and to the machine on a chair where it sits about 12-14 inches lower. This gives me a level "platform" from my pillow>nightstand and looping it around the lamp gives me exactly the amount of slack in the tube to sleep on either side, but I usually face the nightstand on my left side.

I use the Swift Mirage I mask which connects on (left) side.
I tried the Mirage II, I found the venting slotted mouthpiece does not vent as readily, it was created to be more quiet which it certainly is maybe 50% quieter, but I know my exhaling was not as good with it. (Tried LT too, went back ).

I went into detail a lot, I know, but if your situation is similar, the boxing-in of the tube is key, I just happen to have a corner, but if not, I would put up sides around the top of the nightstand, it controls the "feed" or slack of the tube. I tried it in front laying on the blanket, but over my head to one side really works for me. (Years of experimenting)

Good luck all, and take your pillows when traveling :~)

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