Sleeping on left side

Should I be able to sleep on my left side?  I get some pain in my ribs but there is no PM there...


7 Comments

sleeping on left side

by new to pace.... - 2024-01-08 23:15:52

Do not know why you have pain  in your ribs.  If it continues you might ask your doctor.

   I find i can once in a while  sleep on my left side. Mostly i sleep on my right, more comfortable sleeping on my right.                                                  I also sleep on my right side keeping my left ear  expose ,which does not hear, so i do not hear the storms.                                                     Also when i was younger was told not to lay on my heart.  Do not know why.

  While you are waiting for others to reply you can use the search box .  Click on what looks like a magnifing glass next to log out.  Ask your question as there are many who have replied to that question.

new to pace

Sleeping

by piglet22 - 2024-01-09 05:24:09

Rib pain might be coincidental.

I've never had pain associated with the pacemaker in over 18 years.

I'm constantly on the move in bed, rotating and occasionally falling out 

If you have a left side implant then there might be more of a tendency to be aware of the device sleeping on your left, especially if you tend to wrap your arms around yourself trapping the generator.

Fleshiness is another factor and I estimate that my device has no more than a centimetre or two between skin surface and ribs, so I am always conscious of it's presence.

On the whole, I don't give it a second thought and certainly don't let it interfere with sleeping arrangements.

I'm far more likely to roll onto the latest restoration project. Sewing machine parts are far more painful than any pacemaker.

left side

by akaDM - 2024-01-09 08:22:53

I mostly sleep on my left side. My PM is on the left. Wrap my arms around my head sometimes in my sleep. Never had a problem.

Not a Problem For Me

by DoingMyBest - 2024-01-09 11:37:02

I sleep on my left about 2/3 of the time without issue. Never have noticed my ribs.

After a biceps rupture and time with a physical therapist, I learned to change how I sleep. Previously, I was more on my belly  and extended my elbow (like a chicken wing) and slept with my head on my upper  arm. I was informed that this pinches off some vessels in the shoulder, causing poor circulation and potential problems. Now I stay on my side and keep my elbow tucked down.

I notice, now that I have a pacemaker, that the chicken wing position is more likely to cause me some discomfort around the pacemaker.

Left side

by Lavender - 2024-01-09 18:12:26

It took me about a year or more to feel comfortable lying on my left side. I still don't sleep long on the left. I have learned to lie on my right side and put a body pillow between my legs with a small pillow leaning into my pacemaker to make me feel secure. 

At about week 5 it gets easier.

by Shroselo - 2024-01-10 13:28:11

Got mine put in November 26th and was able to fall asleep on the left side, but after a while I wake up in massive pain but each week it gets easier pain wise, week six now and it's not very comfortable but hurts WAY less when I accidentally fall asleep on it. 

two weeks

by dwelch - 2024-01-25 06:17:09

on device number five.  I always sleep on my side, flip flop during the night, often on the left side.  your pain is unrelated to the pacer.  

After a new device, sure, night one no sleep, week one, not left side, maybe right side or back, maybe an hour sleep at a time, by week two or three maybe attempt left side.  After that sleep gets easier (sleep gets easier every night after the first night).  

Unless how you sleep or curl your shoulder pinches the device or causes it to move around in the pocket in an uncofortable way, sleeping on the left is just fine.  Ribs are unrelated to the pacer.

You know you're wired when...

You can take a lickin’ and keep on tickin’.

Member Quotes

I wasn't really self-conscious about it. I didn't even know I had one until around six or seven years old. I just thought I had a rock in my side.