Sleeping

Had a good wound check appointment today. Mild bruising, but now the itching begins. I was told a little cream around the area will help that. 

This was a two-week checkup, and I also got to check my bp machine against the one at the doctors office and got an ekg. All okay  

I take one Tylenol in the evening to help ease any pain from sleeping on my back, but mostly to help get to sleep. I’m not used to sleeping on my back and have felt discomfort in the last couple of days briefly trying to lay on the side of the PM. Is it safe to sleep on my side or stomach now? So far, I’m doing okay keeping my arm at my side during sleep. 

Thanks!

L

 

 

5 Comments

Recliner

by El Gordo - 2018-10-18 09:51:58

I'm a "swimmer" when I sleep and I had a hard time getting comfortable on my side. I used a long body pillow to prop and position myself, but sleeping was difficult. I should have slept in a reclining chair. I use OTC no name gravol to help me get to sleep. It's cheap and effective.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm a "swimmer" when I sleep and I had a hard time getting comfortable. I used a long body pillow to prop and position myself, butYou might want to try sleeping in a recliner.  

 

 

Sleep on right side....

by BOBTHOM - 2018-10-18 12:39:43

I used to always sleep on my back.  As my condition progressed I started coughing to much and being short of breath so had to switch to the side.   I came across an article that suggested if you have left ventrical issues sleeping on your left side could make it worse since you have the weight of the heart pressing down on itself and it suggested sleeping on the right side.  So I had already trained myself to sleep on the right side before having the ICD put in.   Not sure how accurate it is but I know I can't sleep on my left as my ICD starts poking me and if I sleep on my back I start coughing so for me it's the only option, though I supposed a recliner would be OK as well.

Good luck!

Sleep

by AgentX86 - 2018-10-18 23:10:37

I get leg cramps if I sleep on my back.  I'm normally a stomach sleeper (swimmer?) but that was out.  I used to be able to sleep on my side but I'd flip from side to side (not a good idea, either).  So, I just spent a couple of months in the recliner.  When I had my CABG, four years ago, I slept in a recliner for five months, while my sternum healed.

Sleeping with a pillow

by atiras - 2018-10-19 04:06:11

I can't sleep on my back -- can't breathe -- so I started sleeping on my right side the evening of the procedure, with a pillow in front of myself to drape my arm over for comfort and reduce the risk of putting too much pressure on the wound.

It's been 6-and-a-half weeks since the PM went in, and 2 weeks since it was repositioned, and I'm not needing that pillow any more. I have another procedure on Monday (AV node ablation) and they'll do a PM check at the same time -- if everything is OK, I'll try sleeping on my left side as well.

I do find I'm more restless at night -- not being able to turn onto my left side comfortably has made my dicey right hip more painful as I'm sleeping on it all night, so I'm still taking paracetamol for that.

Sleeping

by LCHinchey - 2018-10-20 15:52:43

Thanks for all your knowledgeable comments. Very helpful. Last night I ventured out and made a half turn on my right side. Used pillows, as was suggested, and did not feel the discomfort in the area of the PM of a few nights ago. Thankful for that. 

L

 

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