how do any of you sleep on your sides??
 

when i did this i woke up really swollen in my arms. ive been forced to sleep on my back and i absolutely hate it. anyone have a similar experience?

been there
 

when i broke my shoulder i was forced to sleep on my back. I did it by using a foam wedge and turning my head to the side. i also cheated often taking the sling off, which aggravated my neck & shoulder.

another thought. one side may be better than the other, and you may need to prop the up arm on a very large pillow. try a fat pillow under the head to relieve shoulder pressure.

I remember others saying they use many many pillows to prop and support themselves for sleeping. Some even sleep in recliners during bad flare ups.

I had to wrap & pad my elbows for awhile as they were so sensitive to just the pressure from the mattress - and I trained my self to sleep on my back with arms straight at my sides at the time too.
That was during the most acute time of my injury {RSI/TOS} - luckily finally being off work & with some very good PT /DC care after a few months I could start slowly progressing forward and doing easy activities again.
I was just happy to be able to cook simple meals again.

But time wise it took me about 2.5 - 3 yrs to recuperate to a stage where I can do "normal" activities - but I have to really pay attention to how I'm feeling and be ready to have some down time to recover from certain heavy or intensive activities.


But I wonder if you might have some vascular /vein compressions happening with the swelling that you describe.
Or blocked lymph nodes?? that will cause swelling /puffiness in places.

sigh 2.5-3 years..is a long time :(

i think im gonna have to go back to sleeping with my arms completely straight again. i can tell the ENTIRE next day if ive slept in a "bad' position..as in more on one side, like today my entire right arm feels puffy and dead. i tried exercising and stretching but it's just been off ever since this morning. like im usually not in pain anywhere. just dead feeling.

im going to have to research lymph nodes/vascular tos more. its the worst in my triceps/arm pits and then goes to my elbows sometimes. ive told my chiro and different people this and im so skinny they look at me like im crazy.

Mspennyloafer the others have given some good advise to use pillows etc. Sleeping on your back all the time sucks, and so does a recliner, but you do what you have to. I find sleeping flat on my back causes my migraines to be worse.:mad: like it has been said, have a few pillows. With the use of a dense memory foam pillow I am able to sleep on my side holding it next to my chest for support for my body and arm. It is the only way to keep my arm from being dead. Hope this helps.

Is it worth it to buy a memory foam pillow. Can anyone recommend a specific one?

I love my contour pillow!

I got the contoured style and just the generic brand.
Some even have for small, med or large framed person.

Some also really like the husk?? - can't remember what those are filled with - but the rustling sound was too noisy for me - or those bead filled type pillows that you can kind squish around how you want it.

some of those have to out gas for awhile - they smell of plastic or Styrofoam at first.


here's a Amazon page for examples of what is out there - a lot of new types since I got mine.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/search/ref=...e8426009fb1a69

i have a buckwheat pillow but i think it's overstuffed. i really want my head to be flat, just the neck part that bugs me. maybe ill cut a hole in it.

http://www.amazon.com/Arc4life-Cervi.../dp/B0002RO3JU

wonder if that ones any good

grr im really petite so probably wouldnt fit right

No brand I can think of....Just bought mine at Costco. I have one of the contoured ones for my head, and one of the big dense ones to hang onto. Some Chiros sell other ones, but I dont think they are much different.