Hello,
Would a contour memory foam pillow (such as Tempurpedic) be helpful in reducing apnea due to repositioning of the head?   I notice my husband's apnea is worse when his chin is tucked closer to his chest while sleeping.

I read this in the FAQ section:

<<The US Food and Drug Administration has approved one pillow for snoring and mild sleep apnea; it is meant to position the neck so the airway is more likely to remain open. >>

What pillow is this?  

Thanks.

Berry

Hello ...

Pillow Talk

I hope the discussion in the thread link pasted above helps you.  You might be able to re-spark the discussion to find the information you need.


_________________
Success Nourishes Hope

Thanks for the link (Pillow Talk) Anhelo.  The thread kinda/sorta but not really answers my question (LOL).  

There may be some positional factors at play here (in addition to sleeping on back).  My dh's apnea is most noticeable when he's on his side AND his head is tucked downward, as its apt to do with a traditional pillow (its also pronounced on his back).  The *contour* memory foam pillow helps lift his chin and in the past I think it might have been helpful.  Recently he replaced his 11 yr old tempurpedic brand with a memory foam pillow that is traditional shaped.  His apnea is back full strength.

So right now I'm looking to buy a contour pillow, one that is a size larger (taller).  

He hasn't been formally diagnosed.  I'm a psychologist and am 99% sure this is what's going on, as I've had some training in it. He's planning to see a specialist soon to confirm.  

So again, my question is whether anyone has had success with a contour neck/pillow alone (without the CPAP machine).

 We're trying to avoid all the problemmatic issues involved with a CPAP.   It seems some of the people responding to the Pillow Talk thread were mentioning it as a means of helping them avoid the discomfort of the CPAP apparatus.

berry, I have a tempur pedic contour pillow (lowest one).  I find I sleep better with it than a regular pillow when I am on my back.  I have no scientific evidence, but even before CPAP, I noticed a way better sleep and my girlfriend said that I snore less and stop breathing less with it.  I think no pillow is even better.

I think the best solution for me would be something that goes under my next only (like a 4 inch tube of tempur material) and kept my head straight to minimize the possibility of airway closure.

Remember CPR?  Tilt the head back and the airway opens?  I think the concept is the same for OSA and snoring.

Back sleeping is one of the worst positions for the majority of people with OSA.  I would recommend you NOT back sleep, with or without this pillow.  A sleep study is the only way to know the severity of your apnea, and what treatments will work.
The sleep study may also show you evidence of the positional component of your own apneas.  If your apnea can be treated positionally, I suspect side sleeping will be the preferred position.

This is a clip from research on the pillow positive, in treatement of snoring and apnea, although they are stating improvement, I think you can see, it is very minimal and a  very small sample group.

The researchers evaluated the RDI for 12 subjects with mild to severe sleep apnea, first while sleeping with their regular pillow and then with the specially shaped foam pillow. The average RDI for the three subjects with mild symptoms decreased from 14.7 to 10.5 after shifting to the new head support. Patients with moderate to severe symptoms showed no significant improvement in their RDI.
A second study examined fifteen new subjects with mild sleep apnea and found a significant decrease in average RDI from 15.3 to 11.6. The airway caliber of eight of these patients was also measured; each subject showed significant improvement.

http://news-service.stanford.edu/news/1999/june9/apnea-69.html

I don't think any research exists for the tempurpedic pillow you asked about, but this is similar enough, I wanted to share this.