tell me how you sleep at night
January 19, 2020 8:03 AM Subscribe
I'm having some purely positional difficulty sleeping since my spinal surgery and I was wondering if anyone else has solved a similar problem for themselves.
I had a 4-level ACDF in September 2018 that was extremely successful in a number of ways, primarily in that it ended most of my chronic pain and nerve damage-related disability. Yay! Unfortunately it has severely limited the positions in which I can sleep without instant pain or pain on waking up. Boo!
Right now I can only sleep flat on my back, which is super for my neck but suboptimal for the herniation at L5 which I cannot currently have repaired (but ideally can some time in the future). Under extremely rigid and unyielding conditions, I can sleep on my left side only, which is suboptimal for the creaky scrapey awful labral tear in my left hip, and also causes neck pain if I remain in that position for a full night's sleep. Sleeping on my right side is extremely and instantly painful for my neck, and sleeping on my stomach will never happen bc boob.
I have tried the pillow under the knees thing and it seems to put MORE pressure on my lower back rather than providing any relief, as well as pulling uncomfortably on my hip if any part of my leg shifts from that position. Similarly, a full body length pillow for side sleeping doesn't mitigate either the eventual or the immediate neck pain.
The problem with side sleeping seems to be that I need as much support for my neck as I do for my head without disturbing the natural line of my spine, but rigid foam pillows that provide that support are horrible for the sensory issues I get with things touching my head, and softer moldable-fill pillows always come unmolded.
If you, personally, yourself in your current corporeal human flesh form, have had a fusion of your cervical spine, of 2 or more levels, what, if any, changes have you made to the way that you sleep that have been beneficial for you? Super firm mattress? Super squishy one? Sleeping suspended by wires? In a weightless tank? On the back of a majestic pegasus in flight? Please show us all a photo of the pegasus if possible.
Please try to resist answering this question if you do not have the direct personal experience of living with (and sleeping on) the cervical spine results of this specific kind of surgery. I absolutely appreciate that you want to try and help, but just tossing out random suggestions of things you've heard or things pertaining to different body parts that therefore have no bearing on my current reality will not in fact be helpful. Remember the bees.
I had a 4-level ACDF in September 2018 that was extremely successful in a number of ways, primarily in that it ended most of my chronic pain and nerve damage-related disability. Yay! Unfortunately it has severely limited the positions in which I can sleep without instant pain or pain on waking up. Boo!
Right now I can only sleep flat on my back, which is super for my neck but suboptimal for the herniation at L5 which I cannot currently have repaired (but ideally can some time in the future). Under extremely rigid and unyielding conditions, I can sleep on my left side only, which is suboptimal for the creaky scrapey awful labral tear in my left hip, and also causes neck pain if I remain in that position for a full night's sleep. Sleeping on my right side is extremely and instantly painful for my neck, and sleeping on my stomach will never happen bc boob.
I have tried the pillow under the knees thing and it seems to put MORE pressure on my lower back rather than providing any relief, as well as pulling uncomfortably on my hip if any part of my leg shifts from that position. Similarly, a full body length pillow for side sleeping doesn't mitigate either the eventual or the immediate neck pain.
The problem with side sleeping seems to be that I need as much support for my neck as I do for my head without disturbing the natural line of my spine, but rigid foam pillows that provide that support are horrible for the sensory issues I get with things touching my head, and softer moldable-fill pillows always come unmolded.
If you, personally, yourself in your current corporeal human flesh form, have had a fusion of your cervical spine, of 2 or more levels, what, if any, changes have you made to the way that you sleep that have been beneficial for you? Super firm mattress? Super squishy one? Sleeping suspended by wires? In a weightless tank? On the back of a majestic pegasus in flight? Please show us all a photo of the pegasus if possible.
Please try to resist answering this question if you do not have the direct personal experience of living with (and sleeping on) the cervical spine results of this specific kind of surgery. I absolutely appreciate that you want to try and help, but just tossing out random suggestions of things you've heard or things pertaining to different body parts that therefore have no bearing on my current reality will not in fact be helpful. Remember the bees.
I have had both a neck fusion and an L4-L5 fusion. Sleep is elusive. I now sleep flat on my back with a wedge under my knee and calf. The difference between that and just something under my knees is that my feet are parallel to the bed not on it and my back feels so much better. Adding a 25lb weighted blanket keeps me in that position all night long. I am happier the last two weeks than I have been the last two years.
posted by AugustWest at 10:46 AM on January 19, 2020
posted by AugustWest at 10:46 AM on January 19, 2020
Response by poster: i want the deluxe squishy just to own a thing called deluxe squishy
posted by poffin boffin at 11:31 AM on January 19, 2020 [6 favorites]
posted by poffin boffin at 11:31 AM on January 19, 2020 [6 favorites]
Neck fusion here. Post-surgery, I can't sleep on my stomach, due to both boobage and the fact that my neck doesn't really turn to the side anymore. So I've become a confirmed side-sleeper.
Mattress: So firm. So, so firm. I had a Sleep Number bed at one point, which was really useful for cranking up the firmness, but it died eventually, and now I just have some random thing we got at a mattress store. Extra tall, no pillow top, much firmness.
Pillow 1: Memory foam pillow as my main head support. I'm not sure if this is the same thing you mean by "rigid foam", but mine is not at all rigid. It's like sleeping on a very firmly supported cloud. It fills in the negative space along my neck to keep it supported, while also holding my head level.
Pillow 2: Secondary pillow is for keeping me sideways. If I'm on my left side, I throw my right arm over it. If I switch to my right side, I lean back against it. It's just a plain fluffy (non-allergy) thing that isn't as firm as the memory foam, but is supportive enough to keep me from falling over on to my back or stomach.
Covers: I don't yet have a weighted blanket, but I do find I toss and turn less in the winter when I sleep with two comforters. So I'm thinking a weighted blanket might be useful.
FWIW, I slept very poorly for about a year post-surgery. But eventually my back muscles kind of settled in, and my body figured out its new normal, and sleep became much easier and more restful. I hope that happens for you too.
posted by SuperSquirrel at 12:05 PM on January 19, 2020
Mattress: So firm. So, so firm. I had a Sleep Number bed at one point, which was really useful for cranking up the firmness, but it died eventually, and now I just have some random thing we got at a mattress store. Extra tall, no pillow top, much firmness.
Pillow 1: Memory foam pillow as my main head support. I'm not sure if this is the same thing you mean by "rigid foam", but mine is not at all rigid. It's like sleeping on a very firmly supported cloud. It fills in the negative space along my neck to keep it supported, while also holding my head level.
Pillow 2: Secondary pillow is for keeping me sideways. If I'm on my left side, I throw my right arm over it. If I switch to my right side, I lean back against it. It's just a plain fluffy (non-allergy) thing that isn't as firm as the memory foam, but is supportive enough to keep me from falling over on to my back or stomach.
Covers: I don't yet have a weighted blanket, but I do find I toss and turn less in the winter when I sleep with two comforters. So I'm thinking a weighted blanket might be useful.
FWIW, I slept very poorly for about a year post-surgery. But eventually my back muscles kind of settled in, and my body figured out its new normal, and sleep became much easier and more restful. I hope that happens for you too.
posted by SuperSquirrel at 12:05 PM on January 19, 2020
I hope I can answer this question by proxy as my boyfriend has a cervical spine fusion and deals with chronic pain and nervous system issues after breaking his neck almost 12 years ago. He's been through several mattresses and setups and finally has something he's happy with most of the time.
He sleeps on a Purple 1 mattress with an adjustable base. Most nights he sleeps on his back with his feet elevated. He really likes the Purple pillows as well (and the seat cushion--fully into the product line!) and uses those with a variety of other pillows available to put on top, if needed. Occasionally he'll sleep on his side with a body pillow. Before this, he slept on a Perfect Chair for almost a year, and he still takes naps on that.
posted by Fuego at 1:06 PM on January 19, 2020
He sleeps on a Purple 1 mattress with an adjustable base. Most nights he sleeps on his back with his feet elevated. He really likes the Purple pillows as well (and the seat cushion--fully into the product line!) and uses those with a variety of other pillows available to put on top, if needed. Occasionally he'll sleep on his side with a body pillow. Before this, he slept on a Perfect Chair for almost a year, and he still takes naps on that.
posted by Fuego at 1:06 PM on January 19, 2020
Response by poster: Secondary pillow is for keeping me sideways.
This is where pillows always fail me unless I have a wall or the back of the couch at my back, bc the rest of my spine is so inhumanly mobile that my hips end up perpendicular to my shoulders.
Every memory foam pillow I've ever tried has felt like cement under my skull after about 45 minutes but it's been a while since I've tried, if you have a specific recommendation that would be gr8.
I can't use weighted blankets bc of arthritis in most other joints and also sensory issues, alas. Sometimes even just regular lightweight down comforters are too heavy.
posted by poffin boffin at 2:23 PM on January 19, 2020
This is where pillows always fail me unless I have a wall or the back of the couch at my back, bc the rest of my spine is so inhumanly mobile that my hips end up perpendicular to my shoulders.
Every memory foam pillow I've ever tried has felt like cement under my skull after about 45 minutes but it's been a while since I've tried, if you have a specific recommendation that would be gr8.
I can't use weighted blankets bc of arthritis in most other joints and also sensory issues, alas. Sometimes even just regular lightweight down comforters are too heavy.
posted by poffin boffin at 2:23 PM on January 19, 2020
I had T10-T11 disc surgery. I rely on my trusty body pillow to provide all the pressure relief I need. I highly recommend one.
posted by Thorzdad at 4:56 PM on January 19, 2020
posted by Thorzdad at 4:56 PM on January 19, 2020
Full disclosure, I haven't had neck surgery, and it would seem I'm doing things in the opposite order as you. I had two L-5 discectomies in college (woo), and have never fully recovered, and just started therapy for a degenerating disc in my neck that I'd really, really like to avoid surgery on. I have had difficulty with sleep for about the last twenty years, needing to sleep mostly on my sides with a pillow between my knees.
With my neck, though, that's less tenable. I've got a sculpted pillow from ikea (sorry, not sure the name) that is quite firm with ridges on the long edge of the pillow for the neck, and a gentle curve in the middle for the head. One ridge is higher than the other. When I lie on my back, I use the higher ridge and it seems to give me more relief.
However, lying on my back flattens out my spine, which leads to deeply unpleasant pain that wakes me up. When I have to lie flat on my back, I either use a back roll (I have a firm foam back roll that I got from a McKenzie therapist about 20 years ago), or, if nothing else is available, a rolled up towel under my lower back to keep the curve in the spine while I sleep. The two together help to alleviate some of the symptoms and allow me to rest with less pain than in other positions.
I hope this helps, and I wish you well in your recovery.
posted by Ghidorah at 5:28 PM on January 19, 2020
With my neck, though, that's less tenable. I've got a sculpted pillow from ikea (sorry, not sure the name) that is quite firm with ridges on the long edge of the pillow for the neck, and a gentle curve in the middle for the head. One ridge is higher than the other. When I lie on my back, I use the higher ridge and it seems to give me more relief.
However, lying on my back flattens out my spine, which leads to deeply unpleasant pain that wakes me up. When I have to lie flat on my back, I either use a back roll (I have a firm foam back roll that I got from a McKenzie therapist about 20 years ago), or, if nothing else is available, a rolled up towel under my lower back to keep the curve in the spine while I sleep. The two together help to alleviate some of the symptoms and allow me to rest with less pain than in other positions.
I hope this helps, and I wish you well in your recovery.
posted by Ghidorah at 5:28 PM on January 19, 2020
Also, as far as the pillow under the knees, that might be that it's allowing your spine to flatten out, rather than to keep the curve that would help prevent pain. IANAD, but I have had about twenty years of trying to figure out how to stop hurting in order to sleep.
posted by Ghidorah at 5:30 PM on January 19, 2020
posted by Ghidorah at 5:30 PM on January 19, 2020
I've had ACFD on C4-5-6 and currently have a bulging disk at L5. The most comfortable way for me to sleep is a memory foam pillow, see SuperSquirel's #1 above. For me, I need to sleep on my right side and I need to have my left leg out in front of me with my knee bent. If you looked down from above it would look like I'm running. The pillow takes care of the cervical pain (which I still have 4 years post surgery) and the leg position puts my lumbar spine in a comfortable position. YMMV.
posted by Grumpy old geek at 10:32 PM on January 19, 2020
posted by Grumpy old geek at 10:32 PM on January 19, 2020
Best answer: Re: recommendation for a memory foam pillow. This is the one I have: Perfect Comfort Memory Foam Side Sleeper
I got it from Kohl's after trying several others from various places that just didn't have the right "head feel" for me. I recall actually lying down on the floor in the store with different pillows until one felt right. You can imagine how pleased the store staff were with that, but holy hell I hadn't slept comfortably in a long time and I was desperate.
posted by SuperSquirrel at 5:12 AM on January 20, 2020 [1 favorite]
I got it from Kohl's after trying several others from various places that just didn't have the right "head feel" for me. I recall actually lying down on the floor in the store with different pillows until one felt right. You can imagine how pleased the store staff were with that, but holy hell I hadn't slept comfortably in a long time and I was desperate.
posted by SuperSquirrel at 5:12 AM on January 20, 2020 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: ok squishy shall be mine
posted by poffin boffin at 10:36 AM on January 20, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by poffin boffin at 10:36 AM on January 20, 2020 [2 favorites]
Response by poster: TRAGICALLY the memory foam experiment was a failure, they do indeed continue to feel like a block of concrete against my innocent head. squishy is now my only hope. hurry up squishy.
posted by poffin boffin at 6:57 AM on January 25, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by poffin boffin at 6:57 AM on January 25, 2020 [1 favorite]
This thread is closed to new comments.
- The side sleeper pillow from Brookstone has made a huge difference. It’s literally designed for side sleepers and takes pressure off of my lower back.
- The Deluxe Squishy (DS) from Amazon (bonus! it’s called Deluxe Squishy!) is something I cannot sleep without. A dear friend gave me one after my surgery and I replace it every year or so when it gets tooooo squishy. Wrapping my arms around the DS and tucking my chin into it takes an enormous strain off of my back - so much so that I’ve had mini anxiety attacks when I’ve forgotten to pack it for an overnight trip.
- Depending on your access, I almost never sleep better than after I’ve spent time in a hot-tub. The hot water relaxes my entire spine in an ephemeral way.
Best of luck ... I truly hope you feel better soon!
posted by WaspEnterprises at 10:09 AM on January 19, 2020 [2 favorites]