Sleeping on stomach with sleep apnea or still snoring

Has anyone ever noticed a difference in your sleep apnea when you're sleeping on your stomach or a difference in your snoring? I am a chronic stomach sleeper (been sleeping on my stomach my whole life) and I still have sleep apnea and still snore like crazy. I was wondering if this is an indication that there's still an issue with the throat muscles blocking the airway or if sleeping in this position can still cause snoring. The only way I understand why we snore is if our airway is partially blocked but how can it be blocked if we're sleeping on our stomachs? I have allergies and sinus issues (mainly sinus headaches) so I was wondering if that could be causing the snoring or sleep apnea even though I lay on my stomach. I know snoring can indicate sleep apnea but is it possible snoring could cause sleep apnea? Could "nasal snoring" or snoring from sinus issues cause sleep apnea? I've recorded myself sleeping and when I snore, it sounds nasal or it sounds like I'm trying to blow my nose!

you can snore in any position, snoring can be an indicator of obstruction, would recommend following up with your doctor.

I have snored on my stomach. Mostly gasping. Yes, even on my stomach. I think it’s my big fat tongue. I told my doctor, ENT, what I thought. I think he blew it off and nothing thinking much about it. Kind-of jokes about it. I haven’t heard much about the tongue and sleep apnea. Do you think a large tongue is the same for you? Just curious.

I can tell you that it is absolutely possible for your airway to obstruct while on your stomach. The precise mechanism which causes the airway to collapse is something which is the subject of much research because we don't really know. I know that a lot of people think about snoring as being in the nose, but in my many years of experience opening up the upper airway eliminates snoring in well over 99% of cases. In over 15 years I have seen fewer than 10 instances where people have still snored once their upper airway obstruction was eliminated, and in all of those that I can recall it was because we couldn't get the pressure high enough to fully eliminate snoring (but the snoring was still reduced). I attended a lecture by Dr Collin Sullivan (inventor of the CPAP machine) in which he theorised that snoring could possibly damage the walls of the upper airway over time and make it more likely to collapse, but I have seen no research to back this up. So, in short, there's no reason to think that snoring would cause OSA. Not everyone who snores has OSA, but most do and even in instances where someone snores but has no other signs of OSA, CPAP will still fix it.

Speaking from personal experience, when you have sleep apnea, you can have issues no matter what position you are sleeping in, and no matter if your mouth is open or closed. My worst apneas are when I am sleeping on my stomach, because my chin goes down into my chest and cuts off my airway big time! That's when I'll get suffocation dreams. If I sleep on my back, then my mouth is open and is still cutting off my airway, because my tongue is going back into my throat. It's like a no win situation. I do have a custom made dental appliance, which has helped some, but not completely. I am about to try a soft cervical collar to see if that will help to keep my airway open by aligning my neck. I'll use it with my dental appliance. Some people have had good luck with them, so it is worth a try. I also just read an article from a university medical center, that said do not sleep with a soft pillow, since that will really make your chin fall into your chest during sleep, and cut off your air supply, especially if you are sleeping on your stomach. From CPAP machines to oral devices to other gadgets and sleep positions, it's all a matter of trial and error.