Couple of questions

[duh_Mom]

Afternoon all - 20 days post op - and moving very slowly with foods etc due to my complications but a couple things I have questions about.
Post-op did anyone have trouble sleeping on their side for a while? I am generally a side sleeper but can't lay there long. Kinda makes my guts feel all crampy and bloated. I am healing from colitis so maybe that is it? It was 2 weeks before I could actually sleep flat in the bed so just wondering if this happens.

Also, I wake up in the ams and just want to jug liquids. I have to stop myself because I suspect it would be right painful. I am getting in my fluids everyday. I do have to work at it, but get at least 64 in .

 

[DBmom23]

hi duh_Mom, i had trouble sleeping on my side going back and forth from one to the other for the first 2 weeks. i don't like sleeping on my back so i was up every few hours adjusting or walking around to kind of get the kinks out. now that's better.

 

[Pacifica]

I had the same thing for the first week or so - I was dying to lay on my side, but when I did, it felt like my insides were just going to slide off onto the bed. That is definitely improving here at the end of the second week. Hope yours resolves soon!

 

[unavidanueva]

That inability to lay on your side, or to change positions in the bed, is common to all kinds of gut surgeries. After my c-sections, moving in bed was incredibly painful. Getting into bed hurt, getting out of bed hurt, don't even think about moving around once you are in there, you know? It did help to hug a pillow, though.

 

[GirlFriday]

Hey duh_Mom! I am side sleeper too. When I finally got home from the hospital all that I wanted was 23 hours of uninterrupted sleep which I didn't get because I couldn't get comfortable. After talking with my cousin (she is 4 years out from a DS and 280 pounds down) she told me to put on the abdominal binder that I got in the hospital and try it again. She was right, I was able to sleep on my side when I wore the binder. Per her advice, I wore a binder almost constantly for the first three weeks. I could walk more and with less pain, I could sit up for longer periods, and I could sleep better when mine was on.

That should say 2-3 hours of sleep. Although, at the time, I wouldn't have minded 23 hours of sleep either.

 

[brooklyngirl]

Yup, happened to me too. I had trouble sleeping for a long time after surgery, that being the main culprit. Felt like my insides were going to fall out! It lessens gradually over time, but you can try propping yourself on lots of pillows or sleeping on a recliner.

 

[unavidanueva]

Those of you who have commented on sleeping after surgery, I was just wondering if your surgeries were open or laparoscopic?

 

[duh_Mom]

thank you all for responding! Girl Friday, I did not think about a binder - did not get one in the hospital - may have to look at the local medical supply store. I have been sleeping on my back but usually end up getting up a few times then back in the recliner early in the am.

 

[brooklyngirl]

Those of you who have commented on sleeping after surgery, I was just wondering if your surgeries were open or laparoscopic?

Mine was lap

 

[GirlFriday]

Mine was laparoscopic with the DaVinci.

 

[Pacifica]

Mine was lap, and I picked up my wrap at Walgreens. Something about abdominal surgery wrap or something. Works well.

 

[southernlady]

Well, I was already a back sleeper...had to become one before my DS due to BACK surgery. So that wasn't an issue...what WAS an issue was my cats liking to sleep ON my stomach. I had to sleep with a pillow over my stomach.

 

[unavidanueva]

I had been wondering if the binder was just for people who'd had open surgeries, but from your comments it looks like it is also helpful after the lap DS.

 

[southernlady]

I had been wondering if the binder was just for people who'd had open surgeries, but from your comments it looks like it is also helpful after the lap DS.

I didn't have a binder. Mine was lap.

 

[duh_Mom]

SouthernLady, I understand about the cats! My golden retrievers don't understand why they can lumber thur the bed.