Ive heard that many people can not lay down when they get home from the hospital. I've seen that people sleep in their recliners for 2 weeks to be comfortable. What has your experience been? Should I be investing in a new recliner?

Hi, I had no problems sleeping other than sleeping on my side the first week was not possible due to incision sites. Week 2 I could sleep semi on my right side and now week 5 I can sleep on both.

I am not sure what the recliner sleep is about but it could be people's size/comfort, indigestion (never had as I take fast tab lansoprazole daily) ingesting more than the tummy holds so feeling uncomfortable possibly.

In any event, don't expect poor sleep as the norm because it isn't ....pleasant dreams.

Lay night was my first night home after surgery. Tried sleeping in my bed but woke up a few hours later in pretty crazy soreness so I moved to the couch and slept in an elevated position. My neck and back kinda hate me but my stomach wasn't really sore when I woke up and I was able to sleep longer. I wish I had a recliner. I feel like that would work wonderfully

I was sleeping on my back for the while I was at the hospital and hated it since I am a tummy or side sleeper. I use pillows on each side normally since I tend to cross my arms around my chest (ptsd) so after I came home from surgery, I would lay on my side and hold the pillow on each side gently. I have been noticing that when I lay on my back now to watch tv during the day, I feel a very weird sensation in my belly. I also tend to feel gas moving around in my stomach more when I am on my back rather than sides.. Strange.

On 11/15/2011 at 8:40 AM, Free2B said:

I am three weeks post op today. I was unable to sleep anywhere but my recliner the first 15-16 days or so. I am a "side sleeper" and found that lying on my side caused pulling inside that was uncomfortable. That pain is now 99% gone. It did help, as I transitioned back to my bed, to hold a pillow against my tummy.

I am 9 said post op and my experience is the same thing.

i sleep like a log

I am 8 days post op, and I pretty much lived in my recliner until last night. I tried to sleep in my bed because the doc took my drain and staples out. I napped alright in my bed, but I didn’t get much more than four or five hours of sleep overnight. I’m on my way back to the recliner for another REM cycle.

Trying to sleep on my left side hurts much more than my right, which doesn’t make any sense to me. My left side doesn’t have the largest incisions. I do see a lot of people talking about holding a pillow to their tummies while sleeping, and I wonder if that might help me too. In fact, I wonder if I should give the binder a try again.

I came looking for this topic for hints and tricks, hoping there was something I could do to keep myself comfy in bed, but I agree that this is a very individual issue. Try out different sleeping positions and listen to your body. It will tell you what works and what doesn’t.

I slept in my recliner. It was much more comfortable than lying flat.

I sleep on my right side, it works the best with my CPAP.

My only problem is eventually my right hip gets sore and wakes me up. My stomach just feels like a good ab workout.