Third time that I have rolled over in bed & spent the rest of the night choking.

All from rolling & swallowing at the same time. It's a reflex & evidently I inhale at the same time...voila....instant choke!!

So, here I sit, typing (and correcting like crazy), trying to calm my nerves. Would sooo much rather be sleeping right now. Between the daytime fatigue & the nighttime choking; I'm a wreck. I actually got all teary-eyed at the DH this afternoon & bawled about the "woe is me" thing. Like my body is somehow going to start listening to me & act normal again.

What is "normal" anyway?

Any ideas on keeping this from happening? I bought a memory foam pillow & have used it for the last four or so months. Sleeping on the couch. DH quit smoking, so I moved back to the bed...and now this is going on. I had a couple good nights.

Normal? NORMAL?? Hahahahaha, good one!

Sorry, that really wasn't "laughter", it was borderline bitterness. Borderline--I TRY not to be bitter, but every once in a while it slips out.

I've been sleeping in my recliner for months. If I sleep in the bed (WAH, I want to sleep in my bed), either my legs spasm or I slide off my carefully constructed pillow pile and can't swallow, or both.

I tried a knee pillow (helped some, after trying--and spending $$--about six different sizes) but it really only worked while I was still awake and shortly after. Once I was asleep, I'd get out of position, and wake up in pain. That gets old really fast, huh?

Probably my best bed (and likely yours, too) would be an adjustable hospital-type bed. Hard to roll over if your head and shoulders are elevated. There are also contraptions (pillow-type) in health/medical supply catalogs that can help keep you from rolling over.

I'm actually very comfortable in my recliner, once I get my leg pillow and various other things adjusted. I have no idea how it's affected my back, neck, whatever in the long run, but for now it's working. Hope you find a solution soon!!

Wow. I can’t believe it. I didn’t realize that other MS people have bedding issues similar to mine. I have used an adjustable bed for years now. When I have to sleep in a hotel, I use an air mattress, and prop up the upper portion by putting my suitcase and pillows under the air mattress.

I have a pump under the head of my mattress that I can use on choking days. it can be pumped up a little or to the full sitting position. it was a cheap easy alternative to buying an adjustable bed, and Amazon.com carries them. LOVE mine! I can sit up to watch TV and lay half way down or go flat if I want.

I just cant get comfy enough to sleep in a chair unless I am completely exhausted. I dont rest well, and I dont recover enough energy unless I can stretch out.

I sleep on the couch with head and shoulders elevated. I sometimes wake up choking, if my head changes positions. I think may die that way.

Sad to read these stories of woe. I didn't sleep much last night, and had some trouble breathing, which is usually due to eating not-so-good food (I ate some canned spaghetti, and this morning I gave the rest of the cans to charity, no use me trying to eat them). I don't choke, but I do have this breathing impairment which I believe is mild bulbar paralysis. Eating low fat carbs at 3:30 AM helped me finally get some rest. My legs spasm and jerk all night unless I take magnesium, but last night even my usual dose didn't do it.
Bad food probably. What would I do in some "independent living" place, would the food have me doing this most nights?

Dejibo, TENNIS BALLS?? Sounds like the start of a bad joke!

it used to be reccomended for husbands that snore as a way to keep them from rolling onto their backs. I would be livid if my wife sewed tennis balls onto my PJs. Desperate wives used to try anything to keep him from staying on his back and sawing wood.


http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/0...n-cut-snoring/