@johnhans -- Thanks for the tip about side sleepers should have the face partially off of the pillow. I thought I slept good last night but the AHI number jumped to 10.1 from 7.4 from Saturday night. I woke a few times and know I slept on my back for a large amount of the time which I usually don't do. I may look at getting a CPAP pillow even though the hose doesn't go off the side with the Dreamware full face mask. I'm using the Large nose and mouth mask cushion with the medium mask frame/tubing. I'm not sure how much bigger the large frame would be or if it would be better in my case. I like the mask when I first put it on. It's not too tight and seems to work OK most of the night. The pillow might be causing the mask frame to move on my head but I'm not sure.

I prefer sleeping on my side but lately my hip and knee bother me sometimes during the night and cause me to switch sides frequently.

John

It is not the hose that is the problem. It is the mask touching the pillow. The half off is approximate, as long as the part of the face closest to the mask is off of the pillow, you should be OK. A tip I was told to ensure sleeping on your side was to sew or attach something to the back of your top you wear to sleep so that it makes it uncomfortable to sleep on your back. A tennis ball was suggested. I have wondered though if the CPAP should not take care of the problem. It would be interesting to see since you have a machine that shows you your events, if keeping off of your back does lower the number of sleep apnea events.

I will try and see if sleeping on my side makes a difference tonight. I did plan to use a smaller pillow that I have before buying a CPAP pillow. My normal one is a ginormous My Pillow that I really like but it may be part of the problem with the mask.

@johnbishop It sounds like the CPAP causes a lot of changes in your lifestyle, other than just the mask and the equipment. It takes a real high tech mind and lots of advice to adjust to it all.

I really admire folks who have been using this for many years. By the way, is this small enough to take on trips or on a plane?

Teresa

Hi Teresa @hopeful33250 -- I might take it on a road trip but I'm not lugging it around on a flight. You can detach it from the humidifier to make it a little less cumbersome but I think I can go a few days without it. I admire folks that have been using one for a long time also. Just talked with a lady at the office whose husband has to use one. He hated it but she made it do it or she wasn't going to stay with him. She said she was not going to have him dying in bed from stopping breathing. Credits to him for sticking with it.

One problem I see in retrospect is that after you are diagnosed with CPAP it's all scary stuff and it gets pushed on you really fast. I think there should be some time when you get the RX to get the CPAP for a serious conversation on which mask type works best for you and some expertise in adjusting it, what to do when something is not working, etc.. You can't do this in a 10 or 15 minute session with a CPAP salesperson/rep in the Mayo Sleep Medicine store or any medical store. I guess that's where the on the job training comes in and we just have to learn as we go. I'm sure my deviated septum is not helping matters either. Right now I feel like I need to slow down and stop making changes so fast and take some measurements on each change that I make to see if it helps or not. Easy for me to say ☺

@johnbishop As I've been reading everyone's posts here that is the impression that I am getting. Adjusting is a process. This is not a one-size-fits-all sort of change. Hmmm All sorts of credit to you. I'm sure your persistence will pay off down the road!
Teresa

Thanks Teresa, I really hope so. I know it's a slow road. A few people I have talked with that I didn't know used a CPAP have told me it took them over a year to get full benefits of using it. I'm just impatient...I think my dear Mother should have named me Jimmy...gimme, gimme ☺

@hopeful33250; @johnbishop- As I mentioned in an earlier post I've been using C-pap for many years. I have always taken it along on vacations which was initially a real pain going through TSA at airports, but it seems now it has brcome much easier. It is part of my carry on and its funny now that it seems I notice many people carrying there C-paps through airports so perhaps that is why they have backed off how they dealt with them earlier on. They do sell smaller machines for travel as well as battery operated ones even for camping, but I have never felt the need to invest in any of these as yet. I too am a mouth breather and the best mask for me would be a full face type, but I just can't find one that fits so I've used a chin strap to deal with that. Even a 1/2 hr. nap with a C-pap makes a huge difference! Happy REM sleep to all. Jim @thankful.

@johnbishop Hi, John. I think the CPAP and BiPAP makers fail when they market the machines in a bag that is just big enough for the machine. If a person going to fly they often want the machine bag to be large enough to hold to hold whatever else they would take on the flight. Mine usually come in the small bag which i place under the seat in front of me, and operate the machine there. I would prefer a smaller machine I could take out of the bag which would go overhead then place it on my table to operate it. It could be round so I could wrap the tube around it.
Yes, it is scary, and my first couple months I took off the mask and threw it many times. Now after 31 years, I would not even think about going to sleep without it if I have a choice. It saves my life every time I put it on. My ECH tells that I have had many heart attack episodes, and I would bet most of them were from OSA.

Hello @oldkarl

You certainly are a testimony to the value of the CPAP. I am glad that you adjusted to this way of sleeping. After 31 years, your experience speaks volumes to those who are just beginners!
Teresa