First Full Night of Sleep

[jmstallard]

I keep trying different things to make me sleep through the night, and I think I finally found it: on the couch, with my torso propped up at roughly a 30-35 degree angle. I'm not sure why it works, but if you still can't find a good way to sleep, you might try this.

 

[Duffey]

Congrats on your first full night of sleep post-op! I remember thinking I'd never sleep through the night, and when I finally did, it was cause for celebration!

 

[dg_moore]

I keep trying different things to make me sleep through the night, and I think I finally found it: on the couch, with my torso propped up at roughly a 30-35 degree angle. I'm not sure why it works, but if you still can't find a good way to sleep, you might try this.

We have a big, comfy sectional in our den with electric powered recliners at each end. I'm not very comfortable sleeping on my back, but with the recliner I can get into and out of bed easily without help.

One issue I'm having is shortness of breath a lot of the time. I have been doing my spirometer exercises and am able to produce 2250 ml or better consistently with no difficulty, but when I'm trying to sleep I feel that no breath, no matter how deep, is satisfying my need for air. My O2 monitor shows my levels to be above 92 or higher all the time. I'm hoping this is transient and will pass, along with all the other stuff.

 

[jmstallard]

One issue I'm having is shortness of breath a lot of the time. I have been doing my spirometer exercises and am able to produce 2250 ml or better consistently with no difficulty, but when I'm trying to sleep I feel that no breath, no matter how deep, is satisfying my need for air. My O2 monitor shows my levels to be above 92 or higher all the time. I'm hoping this is transient and will pass, along with all the other stuff.

I have the exact same issue when I'm lying flat on my back, so today I'm going to look into how to easily make, or buy cheaply, a wedge pillow. I can sleep on the couch, sure, but she doesn't want to leave me, so she sleeps on the floor next to me, and I don't want her to do that.

 

[Heather Anne]

My friend who had this surgery two years ago swears by the wedge pillow, and she's kindly given me hers. (Surgery is tomorrow.) She says that during the day, she used it vertically, and at night slept on it horizontally. She also put regular pillows under both of her arms and another under her knees. I am swiping pillows from all the other beds in the house and stockpiling them for when I come home.