I also use the nasal pillow mask. With my beard and mustache the regular masks never sealed properly.

Since losing so much weight my apnia is not as bad as it used to be. I can sleep on either side without it. But not on my back.

I have been on a cpap machine now around 35 years (and I was slim back then, not over weight). Had to travel to Kansas City for the sleep study because at that time it was the only one in the regional area. I realized when I first started using it I had sleep apnia since I was a teenager, and just did not realize it or know what it was at the time. I would think I was never getting to sleep at night thinking I was going to be tired the next day at school. Yet I would notice the time on my bedroom clock has advanced by ten or fifteen minutes that I could not account for. I was just falling asleep and waking up many times during the night but it seemed like I was never falling asleep.

The night of the sleep study when they adjusted the pressure on the machine, when they woke me a few hours later and was discharged went to the motel where my wife was saying and she thought they had me on drugs. She said I had more energy in me than I had in quite some time. Only on a few hours sleep but it must have been a lot more than I was used to getting.

Sleep apnia is a real thing. And it can lead to long term health/heart problems if not addressed.

John