Sleeping

I'm two weeks post op and things are going fine, any questions or worries that I have had you girls have been able to answer which is keeping me in a very positive mood, which is just as well because my first appointment to see my DR since surgery is not until Sept 27th. I agree with an earlier thread that I wish us girls in the UK had appointments at weeks 2 and then again at week 6, but it seems that we have the surgery and then just have to get on with it! if it wasn't for this site, I would have been on the phone to my DR every other day with a question, which since finding this site, I now realise are all normal things that would happen but had just not been explained to me.

Now for my question, I would like to know is want position you are managing the sleep? I like to sleep on my stomach, but, of course, because of the swollen tender belly I feel a bit frighten to do this, so at the moment I'm going from side to side. Since having back labour when I had my daughter (she's 22 now!) I cannot laid on my back for any length of time without it becoming very painful. I am getting some sleep but I keep waking myself up when I'm moving about which then makes me think that I must need to go to the bathroom. When I read that some girls still have a swollen belly months later, I just wonder if I will ever be able to sleep on my stomach again!

Best wishes

Hi Jackie!

I've have found that 2 body pillows really help. My favorite way to sleep is on my side but almost on my stomach. To lay on your tummy, put one of the pillows across your hips and the other one up by your chest, kindof curled around so that your arms are on the same level. This creates kindof a hole for your belly, it isn't touching anything, but you can still lay on your tummy.

This pillow trick also works if you can talk someone into giving you a backrub.


Melissa

Take heart! It'll get better soon.

I'm a belly sleeper too and I'd been sleeping poorly too. Around the 10 day mark I was able to sleep on my side (with a pillow against my belly).

Right now I'm at the three week mark and though I can't get on my tummy right when I go to bed (gotta give the swelly belly a little time to go away), I can do it after about two or three hours. So I start on my side and then am able to roll over to my stomach. (And I have an abdominal incision!).

Give it a little time and go slow - try different positions and using pillows to support yourself. Sleeping really is the best way to heal.

Take care.

I have a very soft twin size feather blanket. When you fold it all up it can be quite small and I would just prop it kinda under my belly and then I could kinda lay on my belly. But, for the first few weeks it was mostly on my side. So, anyway any kind of small blanket or pillow could be used.

Deanna

Well, I'm not a tummy person but I like to be half on my side and half on my stomach. On the day of surgery, I came up from the the PACU (recovery) and a couple hours later, the nurse came to give me a blanket bath. I asked her if I could go on my side, no problem she said and I sllllooooowwwwlllllyyy got onto my side. I used the small tummy pillow I'ed brought from home to support my belly. From then on, I got on to my side every day even if it was only for a short while. Now at 3wks p/o, I'm able to get comfy. This morning, I even woke up without any pillow for support and I wasn't in pain.

Happy days are here again.

4 wks post op. ,still on my back with pillows anxiously awaiting the day I can sleep in ANY other position!!

Hi Jacky,
I am 3 wks post op. I also sleep on my stomach and had a really hard time sleeping the first week. I have a body pillow which a positioned under my left side with my stomach resting on it and my leg across it. I know it sounds uncomfortable, but it helped get me off my back. After a couple of nights try easing onto your belly a little at a time. I finally just woke up already flat on my stomach and scared that i had hurt something. After I realized that I hadn't it was the best sleep I had had in 2 1/2 wks.
Hope it works for you.
Sweet Dreams
Tambo

Thanks everyone for your tips, I will give the pillows a try just while I'm waiting to feel comfortable enough to sssllllooowwwlllyyy lay on my stomach!! I have to keep telling myself that it's earlier days yet and that all things considered I'm doing fine and that it's just a matter of time.

best wishes to everyone on the journey to recovery xx