3-Weeks Post-op - Sleeping

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M

mpulsv

Happy New Year everyone. I'm now three-weeks and tow-days post aortic valve replacement and things are going well. I've been experiencing the soreness that others have commented about, but nothing too serious. I'm walking about 45-minutes twice per day and feeling good. I am listening closely to the messages my body sends relative to fatigue and the need for rest. So far, I'm doing much better than expected.

My question has to do with sleeping position. I find that I can only sleep on my back. Occasionally, I can rest on one side or the other, but not for long. I'm curious about others' experiences with sleep and how long its taken you to finally be able to spend some time sleeping on your stomach. Once I'm asleep, no problem (getting out of bed was a real challenge for the first two weeks).

Any thoughts/experiences would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Mike
 
Sounds like you're right on target in your recovery. Sleeping positions are such an individual thing. I can only sleep on my side, and really didn't get any sound sleep until I could get back into position. I found a soft pillow or blanket against my chest allowed me to lie on my side without falling forward, and it cushioned the incision. I sometimes was uncomfortable while trying to fall asleep, but once you're asleep , everything loosens up, and you feel so great when you wake up. It gets easier every day!
 
Hi Mike -

Glad to hear you are doing so well! Side-sleeping can take awhile to be comfortable again, it can take more healing. Then the right side will be more comfortable than the left. I think the heart is a little squished or something laying on the left side and I had some extra beats early on and the new valve is much louder and steadier than my old worn out valve was. It won't be long and you won't notice any big difference, though. Like Peg said, it gets easier all the time.
 
Hi Mike,

It took me a few weeks, probably 4 to 6, if I recall correctly, before I could sleep on my side again. I slept on a large couch for a few weeks and I found that helped especially getting into and out of "bed". Getting up from a regular bed was extremely hard for me so sliding off the couch onto my butt on the floor and then turning onto my knees was my way of getting up.

I also used to get a pulsing sound in my ear when resting my head on a pillow (no, I don't have a mechanical valve) but the doctors said that was normal. That went away after a couple of weeks.

Speedy recovery to you,
Stan
 
Same as stan here, about 4 weeks before i could sleep on my side and then only really on my right hand side, sleeping on the left felt weird as susan said, felt like the heart was squished.

I spent a couple of weeks in a recliner since i don't like sleeping on my back i was able to prop myself into some kind of angle where i felt comfortable.

I managed to sleep on my left side for a little while from about 5 weeks onwards but it is only to give my right butt cheek a rest for 1/2 an hour :D

As for sleeping on your stomach...not my thing but i'd think it would be very unlikely until about 5-6 weeks...i wouldn't like to do it now as i'd assume you would have your hands above your head tucked under the pillow.
 
MANY OHS patients find sleeping in a RECLINER more comfortable for the first few weeks.

Other options include inclined (wedge shaped) pillows for a regular bed or Body Pillows (I've never seen one...not sure how it is used).

After my first surgery, i could feel a slight movement in my sternum if I tried to sleep on my side so I discontinued that option until my sternum became more rigid after a few weeks.

After my second surgery, I suspect the surgeon wired me 'tighter' and was able to sleep on my side after only a couple of weeks.

'AL Capshaw'
 
I could sleep on my right side about 6 weeks out, but I had a new incision below the rib cage to drain fluid at week 3 that needed to heal so it might had been sooner if not for that. The left took longer, although that is my preferred side, as they really did a number on my left shoulder (felt like they dislocated it or something when they twisted me like Gumby). I can sleep on the left side now. That said, I've found since my surgery I still sleep on my back more often than not even though I almost always slept on my left side before. I still haven't been able to sleep on my stomach though as pressure on the chest is still uncomfortable (I'm 10 months post-op and my incision is still quite tender and itchy), not that I did that too often anyway.
 
I found propping pillows all round helped. Try different positions of the pillows - front, back, etc. Getting out of bed was a trial. OUCH! When I was finally able to sleep on my right side I had to lay my left hand on top of my left side. It hurt to put it in front of me onto the bed. You will get there. We all did. Experimenting all the way.
 
Hi, Mike. Sounds like you and I had our surgeries just about at the same time. Mine was 12.11.

I've been venturing to my sides to sleep for a few nights now. I was very cautious abot it at first, but now it's quite natural. The only thing different than pre-op for me is that I'm much more comfortable now if I curl up against a pillow, wrap my arms around it, and pull it close to my chest while I'm on my side.

This seems to serve two functions: Keeping my arms supported and tension off my sternum, and inspiring a night of the most remarkable dreams about various famous actresses/super-models who have magically appeared at my bedside to nurse me back to health... :D
 
Like everyone else, sounds like you are on track. I could not sleep on my side or tummy for about two months. But then Kazam!! no problem. I never did sleep on my back so when I got back to my normal position it was heaven!!

Keep up the good work.

Cooker
 
I was surprised to be able to sleep on my left side -- while in the hospital!
Previously, it was extremely uncomfortable. Also, I'm right-handed and perhaps that's a factor in why I have always slept on my right side.

I do not have a recliner and did not discover vr.com until 3-4 months post-op. Thus, I didn't think of sleeping in my parents' recliners while staying there for 2 weeks post-op. I did frequently sleep reclined on a sofa in their den, with a bank of pillows at my back and sides.
When I slept on my back, I often clutched a king-sized pillow and used it to roll out of bed.

Last December my husband fractured his sternum in a head-on car crash. He benefited from my experience from my OHS recovery. :D :D :D
 
Stomach Sleeping

Stomach Sleeping

Hi,

I had my surgery about 4 weeks ago. I hate sleeping on my back, so by a few days post-op I was sleeping on my side in the hospital and have been ever since. At heart though I am a stomach sleeper. Today, I am a 4 weeks post-op and last night was the first night I was able to sleep on my stomach. I was only able to do it for about an hour or two, but it was like heaven. I put a pillow underneath my chest and that helped some with the soreness. Your normal ways of sleeping will come back soon., don't worry.
 
StretchL said:
Hi, Mike. Sounds like you and I had our surgeries just about at the same time. Mine was 12.11.

I've been venturing to my sides to sleep for a few nights now. I was very cautious abot it at first, but now it's quite natural. The only thing different than pre-op for me is that I'm much more comfortable now if I curl up against a pillow, wrap my arms around it, and pull it close to my chest while I'm on my side.

This seems to serve two functions: Keeping my arms supported and tension off my sternum, and inspiring a night of the most remarkable dreams about various famous actresses/super-models who have magically appeared at my bedside to nurse me back to health... :D
Click to expand...

LOL, Stretch! As the wife of another valver, the only famous actresses/super-model you are suppose to dreaming about is Noni- that wonderful woman who has put up with you all these months prior to surgery and is now nursing you back to health!:D I'm sure at times she is a "super actress" too!;)
 
I'm a go-to-sleep-on-my-stomach-ALWAYS person and then turn on my left side or back (can't sleep on my right side because of my broken neck - it hurts too much).

So I was worried about being able to sleep post surgery. I've been sleeping elevated with four pillows behind my back putting me at about a 45 degree angle since my surgery. I'm sleeping like a rock. Past 4 days or so I've been sleeping on both sides as well as my back on this "pillow ramp". Position of the "high side" arm is pretty import to assure comfort but overall I'm sleeping great.

I have not slept flat yet nor have I slept on my stomach yet. I figure the pillow ramp is giving me great sleep so why mess with it.
 
That's the key....pillows, pillows, pillows.....:D

I'm a side sleeper and couldn't even do that very well for a few months. Certainly not without my 5 or 6 pillows I was most comfy in my newly purchased recliner and felt obligated to use it!! Slept all night in the recliner for 2 months. At 8 months now I've napped on my stomach, atop a squishy pillow, but it always seems to make me ache under my chin for the next day or two so I avoid my stomach.

Sounds like you are doing great. Good job!!!

Take care. Marguerite
 
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