United Brachial Plexus Network, Inc.

For some time, I've had issues finding a sleeping position that doesn't cause me problems. When I was younger, I never noticed it, but as I get older and have more issues, I find it is really starting to be bothersome.
The main points:

- If I sleep on my OPBI side, my arm won't lay flat against the mattress; it's just kind of propped at the elbow and that ends up straining the muscles in my forearm and causing pain the next day. If I tuck my arm under me, more or less, it pulls my shoulder out of where it would be naturally and makes my shoulder hurt. I've tried putting a pillow under my forearm to help support it, but I usually knock it off the bed in my sleep, I usually tuck the sheets/blankets under that arm to create a makeshift "sling" of sorts to support my forearm, but if I shift too much in my sleep - or my husband pulls the sheets too far his way in his sleep - that falls apart. Both ways, when I wake up, my forearm is “hanging” again and it hurts. Also, lying on my OPBI side must compress a nerve in my shoulder, because my arm will "fall asleep" even if I can't!

- If I sleep on my other ("good") side, I aggravate muscles that are already strained from overuse. I've had impingement syndrome in that shoulder and it HURTS when I lay on it for very long. I also know that even if it doesn't hurt right then, lying on it will strain the muscle more leading to more impingement. I do not want that.

- I have never been able to fall asleep while lying on my back. Don't know why. Just can't. And now, if I sleep on my back, my cat will lie on my chest and "groom" my face. It's adorable - especially when she does it to my husband's beard - but not conducive to good sleep! (Don't suggest locking her out of the bed room.... her yowling would keep both of us from sleeping!)

- Due to a back injury 15 years, I can no longer sleep on my stomach.

Does anyone else have similar issues or has anyone come across with a comfortable sleep position that doesn't strain either your OPBI side or an overused "good" side? A good night's sleep is a necessity for health and I just don't feel like I've had one for years! I wake up sore and am tired all day long.

HELP!

i sleep with 5 pillows under my head... i know it sounds wierd, but im propped up and can fall asleep comfortably on either side. i cant sleep on my back either... i find it wierd... i tend to sleep with a stuffed animal and hug it in my sleep... when i sleep on my affected side, it keeps my arm of the bed.

I have the same problem. A torn rotator, bicept, carpal tunnel on the good arm and the BPI arm kind of just hangs there or just doesn't tuck umder in a comfortable position. I have tried propping a pillow under it, but it still pulls . I've never een able to sleep on my back and because of a spinal fusion at c4-5, can't turn my neck to sleep on my stomach. I've discussed this with my Dr. who doesn't seem to have any answers--although he will give me sleeping pills. Trouble is, they give me that hangover effect,so I won't take them. Consequently, I'm always tired and dragged out--I wake up stiff and sore.
If anyone has some good suggestions, I'd love to hear them. I wonder if some kind of flotation mattress like they use in rehab and nursing homes would help??
Pat

Hello !
I have the very same prblems and tried everything but sleeping with a stuffed animal...at one time..there is an another thread on this topic somewhere on here...someone once suggested sleeping with a body pillow. i haven't tried that yet tho'. i keep forgetting when i shop.
Carolyn J

I've tried the body pillows and ended up with back pain. I may have been wrapping myself around it too much though.

I am starting a new job in a week - after being laid off from a job I held for 11 years and being unemployed for almost a full year!

I doubt we could afford a sleep number bed for quite a while - they are pretty expensive - but maybe we can save up for a waterbed. My husband use to have one and said it helped his ex-wife's back problems quite a bit.

Sleep is a major problem for me. Left/right side either one ugh! Finally one of my PT's told me that I should NEVER sleep on my stomach. I've tried everything from a latex bed to bed pillow... Nothing works! Now I have a soft pillow that cradles my neck and prop my right elbow up so my shoulder is comfortable and my arm is across my midriff... I always slept on my stomach but he said the pain in my legs the spinal stenosis etc... made that a NO NO.

I twist and turn all night long and never slept more than 4 hours straight at a time. Then I'm up looking for a comfortable position. I've always been such a restless sleep but that is probably due to all the nerve damage. My older sibling told me that I never slept as a baby or little kid... so I guess I never will. I wake up moving all the time, I think I am so restless that I wake myself up.

Any answers would be great on this topic.

Proping my arm only makes it feel as if it's in the wrong,awkward position. I have tried a body pillow, but it limited my ability to wiggle around as my arms and legs frequently fall asleep. The problem is, with only a few hours of aleep at a time, I never feel rested or wide awake. I would like to just have one morning where I wake up refreshed and ready to go. Now with the bicep and rotator tear in the good arm and the erbie aches, I just feel miserable . I try to talk myself out of it and stay busy, but it gets downright depressing. WAH! WAH!
Definitely lets keep this topic going. Good suggestions are welcome!

i have my bed up against two walls, so i can sit up to fall asleep if i want to. I can fall asleep in some wierd positions, but i often wake up with a need to crack everything... like i said, my stuffed animal is my best friend! Build-a-bear!!

I have a worm pillow, it's one of those microfiber sort of ones that's really soft and squishy. They also make just long log looking ones. I put that under my BPI armpit, and I have a stuffed animal I sleep with that makes me more comfortable with how I position my arm. I've been starting out sleeping on my non-BPI arm, but due to pregnancy ligament pains I'm tossing and turning all night. So this techniches works really well even on my BPI arm.
What I think is funny is when Jack and I travel I have to remember my stuffed animals as well. I'm 31 and NOT giving them up.
I'll be the old lady in the nursing home with stuffed animals and I'm good with that as long as I wake up in less pain.

Traci

WHO cares, Traci? ...we continue to find our home-made solutions to everything!!! YAY!!!! for us BPIers.
THANKS for the stuffed animals idea & I WILL travel with one!!

Hugs all around your house. veggiebug MOMA!
Grandma Carolyn J