Update on my Pillow system for snoring / sleep apnoea / pregnancy etc. 

it's a pleasure. thank you for your comment

hopefully this will help, otherwise the sea of pillows sounds cool

I am not sure this will be that useful for you, but i'm glad you are interested. if you can already sleep on your side, i think you will find this an expensive treat rather than something that you need to have. once the final video explaining it with all the details comes out you can make up your own mind about it.

@@VikVeerENTSurgeon What would be useful for him other CPAP / Mouth taping? MAD?

​@@VikVeerENTSurgeon I, too, am a side sleeper, but I find it uncomfortable to sleep on my side. I'm currently doing physical therapy because of the shoulder problems that have been caused by sleeping on my side. So even though I'm naturally a side sleeper, I think this would still be helpful for me (and other "natural" side sleepers).

@@KayoEll well explained Kay, I have the same side sleeping shoulder problem, a softer mattress is helpful but comes with different problems around the back area but it’s been better since sliding a wooden floor board under the middle of the mattress to support the back area only, I'm hoping Vik can come up with a solution, it sounds good.

Hello Dr Veer. I have been commenting about my recent Inspire install (turn on date on July 24th!). I have been forced to be a side sleeper for 40 years (I'm 71) mainly because of hiatal hernia that I did not take care of properly but do much better now. I have creases in the skin of my hairless skull on the right side from this, but I have many of the issues that you mention. I only weigh 117 pounds or about 52 kg. I have a long neck which is easy to get sore from improper alignment (and 25 year ago diagnosis of fibromyalgia). The main problem is my ear gets smashed to my skull and hurts quite a bit. I have tried making a pillow with a hole or indentation for my ear to relieve the pressure but could not get that to work. I now use an old piece of memory foam topper and an old thin regular pillow to approximate the right alignment for my spine and therefore less pressure on my ear. It works pretty good but does not last all night. I recently discovered that I need to make sure my entire long neck is under the pillow. I have always used one or 2 pillows between my legs (which are quite bony as you might imagine at my weight). I now use 2 pillows to prop up my left arm to stop the chest compression. Works quite well. Right now there is still a lot of pain from the surgery and possibly leftover mis-alignment of my jaw from wearing those awful oral appliances for the jaw. I had a prescription one custom made and used it for 8 months and stopped about 5 months ago and since then the pain became less and less until the Inspire operation, so not sure how much is intertwined between the 2. The pain is in my ear and in my skull behind the ear as well as a little at the base of the tongue where the wire is form tongue , so sleeping has been a real mess. Can't do the right side, snore terribly on my back and l upset the hiatal hernia if l sleep on my left side which messes up my day making it more difficult to eat properly. My ear is the main culprit now. I only last about 2 hours on the apap and have terrible scores every night. I also have bruxism but it hurts to wear the custom mouthpiece which usually is no problem and have been using successfully for years. If you need a beta tester in the States I'm your willing subject. I have found just recently that if l turn all the way over on my left side and point my head down and rest slightly on my stomach like you mention in this video that that is a reasonably comfortable position with less pressure on the hiatal hernia which l think is a similar problem internally to the heavily pregnant woman and a cut off of blood flow. Also sleeping on my left side can work for a few hours if my stomach is completely empty so light dinner and no eating for at least 5 hours before bed really helps. My shoulders used to get sore from being scrunched but raising my left arm higher and sleeping on a slightly softer mattress (no problem since l weigh so little) has eliminated shoulder soreness although I do get occasional numbness like you also mention in this video. I have figure out that propping the 2 pillows for my left arm in a certain way by pushing the ends together can create a tunnel for my right arm which is quite comfortable. Looking forward to seeing what you come up with!!

the little details make all the difference.

I really hope it will help you. one day i hope to have it freely available on the NHS.

thank you! - it is taking time, and i am experimenting with different methods to make it accessible to all different body types. it makes it more complex, but i hope a good video about it will explain how to use it correctly when it is eventually available for purchase.

thank you, I want to bring something useful to the field. I hope it'll work for you.

I will need to set up pre orders to pay for the first batch. please sign up to the newsletter.

I hope this will help you more. let's see how it goes.

once I have something to sell, I will reveal all.

that would be amazing. you do need this sleep to function correctly. thanks for the comment.

I will keep you informed as much as i can. anything in particular you want it to achieve?

​@@VikVeerENTSurgeon I think you've already thought of most the things someone like me would want. I guess the key things are keeping my mouth from opening, jaw from collapsing and resulting tongue collapse from happening while still being comfortable? Traditional side sleeping doesn't really seem to help me (maybe it would be worse if I slept on my back?) but I'm intrigued by the recovery sleeping position you've discussed. I don't think I'd be able to achieve sleeping in that position without neck pain if I didn't have a special pillow set up like you're designing.

I'm hopeful this will help you. fingers crossed

thank you !

I hope that this pillow helps with this as well.

I suggest you research inclined bed therapy

let's hope you think it'll help you. I hope it does.

don't bother with private. I can't bump you up the list as it is against the law but I hope to see you soon.

@@VikVeerENTSurgeon Thanks for your reply and yes hope to see you soon 🙏🏻

I haven't seen this. but sounds interesting.

you should tell everyone your invention as it sounds cheaper than mine.

Please share your 4 pillows system 🙏

Of course! I sleep in my left side. Cervical pillow under my head. I embrace a normal pillow with my arms. Legs bent and with another pillow in between them so that the knees don’t touch each other. Finally, a fourth pillow on the bed touching my back that will remind me not to roll and finish face up. After a year of trial and error this happens to be the best option to me. The biggest inconvenient is, if you travel a lot….you will have to pay extra charges for the luggage 😂😜

probably this pillow isn't the best thing for you then. need to work out why you are like this and focus on that.

I'm going to sell with a 10% profit to cover my expenses. I have no idea how expensive it will be, but I'm afraid it won't be cheap. I've put a lot into this design and the factory have already spent 30k.

I tried that but sadly the hole in the mattress pushes your jaw back. sorry

hopefully I will surprise you. I'm sorry if it doesn't work for you.

I'll let you know as soon as the factory are ready.

No idea. waiting to see what the factory will charge me. then i need to know how much amazon and delivery charges are. then i will add 10% for myself so i can make preorders. i have no idea how much this will all cost. sorry.

Hopefully you can get enough pre-orders to allow scale of manufacturing to make it cheaper. Seems like that's the main advantage of Kickstarter campaigns as a form of marketing even if you don't need any money to help in the development it. Though still wondering why early birds are always pay less and get the product first and not pay a bit more and get the product first and pay less and get it later. Both can be above your margin to not lose money but be cheaper then final price because placing a large order for everyone at one time and drop the price.

thank you. I'm trying to be through.

at the moment memory foam is the only thing that is working, is there a natural version I can consider? all the natural one change shape with time and don't give the support that i'm looking for. I doubt however that i've tried them all. let me know so i can trial it.

@@VikVeerENTSurgeon I'm not sure to be honest. Perhaps latex. Good luck with the product it sounds good.

​@VikVeerENTSurgeon maybe something with a gel inner (mainly for the head area) as being too warm with no way to absorb/disperse the heat may lead to some people trying to do the midnight pillow toss/flip to find a cool spot 🤔😁

This sounds very promising, Vik! I’m in Australia …. Will the pillow be available for overseas purchasers? It sounds like the pillow system will be quite large to accommodate all the areas requiring support so shipping o/s might be cost prohibitive?

@@VikVeerENTSurgeon Thanks for your interest in developing a pillow system! I’ve had sleep issues for decades, so I’ve tried many types of pillows. My impression is that we each have our own health issues and preferences, so it maybe you could offer several options or customization. For example, in my case I have mild sleep apnea, plus cervical spine issues, fibromyalgia and allodynia (a type of hypersensitivity to touch). So I end up using a selection of different pillow types. Another commenter mentioned latex, but for me latex pillows don’t conform to my body and end up worsening my pain issues. One I’m using currently for the main pillow is shredded memory foam, which allows people to customize the fill. It has compressed over time, but I can add the extra fill to my comfort level. I got it on US Amazon, but here’s the product description: “Sidney Sleep Pillow for Side and Back Sleepers - Comfort for Neck and Shoulder Pain - Adjustable and Customizable Shredded Memory Foam Filling - Queen Size - Additional Foam Fill Included.” Best wishes.

I have a pillow that should help this. it should keep the pressure off the hip and avoid scissoring.

It will take months apparently - they are making alterations to the the design from the last prototype.