Sleep tips?

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TFBruce

Active member
Joined
Dec 5, 2008
Messages
42
Location
Austin, TX.
Am I the only one who desperately misses the ability to lay on your side and roll around a bit in bed? Laying on my back is starting to kill my back. I feel like a zombie in bed.
Any tips out there?
 
I sleep on my side too. After AVR, I had to sleep on my back. I hated it but did not have any choice. I could not sleep on my side for about a month and then it was hard for me. Everyone is different, but that is how it was for me. Best of luck, I know how you feel.
 
I cannot sleep on my back either, and in the hospital I just about never slept. When I got home I slept on my side, but turning sides was a challenge! I think I used muscles in my back I had never used so as not to strain my chest. However, in taking my time to turn, it worked, and I was able to sleep (the first week home I kept waking up at 4:00 a.m., but after that I adjusted).
 
I was able to sleep on my side as soon as I got home from the hospital, however, rolling over was always not the most comfortable. You may try and prop some pillows under one side so that you are slightly laying on your side, but not enough to put pressure on your chest. I also always had a heating pad in the bed with me to help with my back.

Kim
 
I remember being fine once I got on my side, it was the LYING DOWN that was such an operation in itself! You are not even two weeks out, just do everything nice and slowly. I would sit on the side of the bed, cross my arms, and then just use stomach muscles to lean over very slowly. I was so much more comfortable on my side than on my back. Reverse process to get out of bed. I used my little heart pillow to remember to keep arms crossed against my chest. Accidentally using arms hurt like hell and I bet you've discovered that already! Good luck. Aren't you glad the worst is over? :)
 
The first night home I slept in my bed. My husband put a lot of pillows behind me and took one out at a time. It looked really goofy but it worked. I had bought two body pillows and he put one on each side of me. That way I could grabe one of them and turn on my side a little bit. I am not a back sleeper. After a while I literally hugged the pillows. They were a life saver as far as sleeping. I had worked in a hosptial so I knew how to get people up from the bed. You lean down and let the patient put their arms around your neck and you move up real slow. It works everytime! Then you move one leg at a time to side of the bed. The patient again puts their arms around your neck and befor long they are standing.
 
Try using a pillow under your knees to take some strain off your back. Though normally a side-sleeper, I didn't feel right on my side for weeks after surgery. I also used a wedge (GERD) pillow and basically slept semi-reclined (in part because of a cough that always seemed to start as soon as I was nearly asleep). When I did start sleeping on my back, I felt like my arms were pulling on my incision, so I put small pillows along my sides to prop up my arms. Sound sleep without Ambien eluded me for several months, so it seemed even more important to be comfortable.

Hope you can work out a comfort combination soon.
 
Right....don't load up on liquids for a couple of hours before bed time.
I still needed to get up around 3 a.m. for a bathroom visit and I had to wake up hubby each time.
That went on for several weeks....I heal slow.
I slept on my back with a small pillow under my knees. I still do this, I just got used to it I guess.
 
Not right away but soon after, I used a pillow in the front like the heart pillow, but bigger, to prop my arm up since it was the scrunching of the skin on my chest that really bothered me. This took some of the weight of the arm off from the sternum and stitches. Although I do remember having to completely shift the way I slept.
 
I did the pillow thing also. I can't sleep well on my back either. I used a wedge and alot of pillows. Eventually, you'll find a good position on your side. Take it slow and try not to pull and move around to much for awhile. Good Luck with your sleep, get it when you can!
 
I am also mostly a side sleeper. It drove me nuts to have to stay on my back the first few weeks after surgery. I was really cautious about my sternum and so I avoided rolling on my side until sometime between weeks 5 and 6; although, others didn't have as much trouble as I. I suspect it really depends on how you're built and how your body's combination of skeleton, muscle and fat support you when on your side. I also used (and continue to do so) Ambien, sometimes combined with one benedryl, to sleep. My upper back (trapezius muscles) hurt constantly for weeks; I actually don't think that was related to sleep position, but rather, unconciously holding a head-forward, hunched-over posture while awake. I slept for the first few days in a recliner so I could get up more easily. When I moved to my bed, I used three pillows to maintain a propperd-up position, whick was most comfortable for me, especially being in the middle of the night pee club.
 
Hi Bruce,

I couldn't sleep on my side for a few weeks. What I did was this: I gave myself some back support with three pillows..two on top of each other in back of me and one in a vertical position in front of them to provide a solid area for my back. I sometimes used another pillow for my neck and head if it was needed. I also found a pillow under my knees essential for relaxing my lower back. I tried not to nap a lot during the day. I think I used to go on the treadmill for 15 -30 minjutes, shower, eat something, and take a two hour nap.. and then stay up for the rest of the day so I could fall asleep night. If I was in pain, which did occur at times, I would take a pain pill to help me get a night's sleep. Everyone's recovery is different. Talk to your doctor if you are having significant problems sleeping. Bruce, it does get better. As I'm typing this, I just recalled how I was able to lay on my side . One day, to my surprise, I was able to put the weight of my upper body on a sturdy pillow as I moved onto my side. That was an amazing moment!
Give yourself time, Bruce. Your body will let you know when it is ready to put weight on your sides.
Allan
 
Bina,the pillow under your knees is a good idea. I learned that years ago from one of my many doctors. I have so many pillows,it would be difficult to see me when in bed.


:p Chris
 
I just bit the bullet and propped myself up with lots of pillows, and slept in an almost sitting position for a few weeks. It almost killed me, as sleep is precious to me, I need a lot of it at the best of times, and when I am sick, I usually just sleep until I am better. I also took LOTS of naps ! It seemed like eons, but was probably only a few weeks, until I could comfortably get into that foetal position, wrapped in blanket (oh, what bliss it was!)

My surgeon insisted that his women patients "bind" their breasts, he felt that the weight of them, and the movement, could cause stress on the wound. I am on the large side of normal, and wore a sports bra (and still do often) for sleeping in, and hanging around the house.
 
I had a lot of back pain even in the hospital. I might have proposed to one of the nurses for her backrubs if it weren't for my girlfriend's great massages as soon as I got out. Massage can work wonders. Brian
 
I can't believe that after 17 replies, NO ONE has mentioned Sleeping in a Recliner. I thought that was Standard Operating Procedure and usually recommended for the first few weeks following OHS.

Other alternatives include using a Wedge Pillow or even renting a Hospital Bed from a Medical Supply company.

Body Pillows and /or lots of regular pillows have already been discussed.

'Al Capshaw'
 
ALCapshaw2 said:
I can't believe that after 17 replies, NO ONE has mentioned Sleeping in a Recliner. I thought that was Standard Operating Procedure and usually recommended for the first few weeks following OHS.


The little movie that we had to watch prior to discharge from the hospital mentioned the recliner for sleep, but mostly for naps and rest. They encouraged the patient to try to ease into a normal routine, including attempts at sleeping in bed. As a matter of fact, the physical therapist came daily to assess Chris' movements and to see whether he could go up and down stairs and get into and out of bed correctly. He couldn't leave the hospital until he was able to demonstrate proficiency at all his ADLs.
I often recommend the recliner to my OB patients with a slight tilt to the left; all is supported, and a flip of the lever gets you to a sitting position without a struggle. That's pretty important when you have to get up every hour to pee!

Chilly now in Idaho,
-Laura
Click to expand...
 
I like to sleep on my back, but I do lay on my left side better sense my OHS. If I lay on my right side my heart seems to pound away and is louder! But I have measured my heart rate and it is not any faster maybe I just hear it more on the right! Good Luck! I do prop myself up a little bit still! I lived in my recliner the first week home, then I had enough of that moved to the couch, then to my bed all proped up! It was strange being in my bed! And I love it so so much! LOL! I am fine now!
 
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