Is it possible to sleep on your side with a full face mask?

[madmoe]

Due to knee surgery I've been sleeping on my back mostly, but am now trying to go back to sleeping on my side, but my mask keeps slipping when I do. Is there a trick to this (special pillow, or something)?

[RetiredMechEngr]

Simple answer: definitely, yes.

My ComfortGel FFM/headgear is very similar to your Quattro. It took a little practice doubling and tucking my pillow under my head so the mask sticks out over the folded edge of the pillow. Also, you can buy ($50-$100) contoured pillows specifically for CPAP users with indentations, cutouts, etc. to accommodate FFMs. One other thing about the face mask 'slipping' -- be sure the contact surfaces of BOTH your skin AND the FFM are cleaned with soap prior to bed each night; facial oils create 'slipping'.

Best wishes.

[snuginarug]

I wear a Fisher and Paykel 432 and sleep well on my side with minimal leaking. I use a Padacheek anti leak strap and will be buying a mask liner from them too. Karen (the amazing lady behind Padacheek products) told me if I exerted gentle pressure on the elbow of the mask and that fixes the leaks, an anti leak strap will probably help. I am buying a mask liner because I want to use night cream on my face and that would make everything waaaay too slippery to get a seal.

Other Fisher and Paykel users I have talked to report easy side sleeping too.

If it is facial oils that are causing the slipping, a vinegar solution to clean the mask every couple of days helps. The vinegar gets it really squeaky clean. Or the mask liner i mentioned above.

Padackeek also sells buckwheat pillows that some swear by for side sleeping. (Never tried them myself, regular pillows work fine for me.)

Check out her site at:

http://padacheek.com/

Oh, also, try turning on your side and adjusting your straps from that position. Sometimes that helps.

[squid13]

I wear a Fisher&Paykel Forma full face mask and I sleep on my side every night and I also use a cpap pillow. Like the previous post says make sure your mask is clean and wash your face before you go to bed to get rid of facial oils.

[Janknitz]

I do it every night in my Quattro.

I"hang" my mask off the edge of the pillow. Since I sleep primarily on my right side, I've slightly loosened the straps on the right side just a bit, while tightening them just a bit on the left side. That gives the mask a little play if the pillow pushes against it.

And when I spring a leak, I just snuggle my face in the pillow and that seals the leak.

If I happen to roll over on my back (almost never), I get more leaks.

[LSAT]

I do it every night in my Quattro.

I"hang" my mask off the edge of the pillow. Since I sleep primarily on my right side, I've slightly loosened the straps on the right side just a bit, while tightening them just a bit on the left side. That gives the mask a little play if the pillow pushes against it.

And when I spring a leak, I just snuggle my face in the pillow and that seals the leak.

If I happen to roll over on my back (almost never), I get more leaks.

My situation is exactly like Jans...I've been sleeping on my side with my Quattro for 3+ years.

[nanwilson]

Me too.....I have never slept on my back, always my side or my stomach. If I'm on my stomach I just turn my head slightly to the side and mush 1/2 my face into my pillow.

[Bobby269]

I switch from one side to the other. I use a buckwheat pillow and have it less than full. I can adjust the pillow by hand so that my head and mask fit into the indentation that I can make in the pillow. I seldom if ever have any leaks.

[Denial Dave]

my 1st few days on the machine, I laid frozen on my back out of fear of leaks, pulling the machine off of the night stand, etc..

by night 3, I was rolling over onto my side again without even thinking about it.. But the slight feeling of the mask being pushed sideways on my face by the pillow causes me to wake up slightly...

I bought a Papillow and will be trying it tonight to see if I can sleep more comfortably on my side.

[ycartf]

I am the same as Jan and LSAT, staying on my right side. For a while I would roll onto my back regularly. I had to train myself to stay on my side with a "hump" on my back (fanny pack full of tennis balls around my chest). It might be about time for a refresher course now that I think of it, as I have found myself rolling onto my back once in a while again.

[zoocrewphoto]

I sleep mostly on my side, more now that I am using a cpap machine. I have more apneas on my back, so the pressure goes up, and then my leaks go up. I use the quattro FX, and most nights it does great without any leaks. I am on vacation right now, and we did a 9 hour hike yesterday. We went to bed exhausted at 9:40pm. I woke up about midnight for a bathroom break, then slept until almost 8am before getting restless. My back was hurting from being in bed too long. I finally got up at 9am. I was aware of only one leak, which was after 8am, and I just smushed my mask into the pillow.

Most of me leak problems are when i first put it on, getting it fit correctly. Most nights I get it it right in the first 3 tries. Some nights, something is not quite right, and it takes multiple tries. I think those nights, i probably need to clean the mask, my face, or both. Or maybe I cleaned it to recently and need to let it dry longer.

[madmoe]

I wanted to thank everyone for your replies. I think I'm still in the "why me" stage of using the BiPap machine. I'll give it a try again and see what happens. According to my machine, my AHI has dropped from 50 to 25, which is an improvement, but not where it needs to be.