For me, it'e easiest to fall asleep lying on my left side. I get into bed, lying on my right side for a while, then I roll over and it "feels right". What is being sensed where, and processed where, remains a mystery. There must be some data on whether people can learn to change their preferred sleeping position. Easy to change, or difficult, or almost impossible?
Needing to lie flat
- Thread starter Jonathan Edwards
- Start date
That reminds me of a vehicle (popular American brand?) that would prevent starting if a rear brake light (maybe other lights too) was burned out. Who thought that was a good design decision?
The developing brain probably makes some random connections that turn out to be a bad "decision". If it's obviously bad early on, it may get pruned out. If it causes problems decades later, it may not get pruned out, especially if it has some benefit. Are phobias completely bad, or did they have some evolutionary benefit for some people?
I still wonder about the possible evolutionary benefits of strong irrational beliefs.
For the past 20 years "needing to lie flat" has been my mantra
I've been taking high blood pressure medication for many years. Recently I discovered that without blood pressure medication I'm 120/80 most of the time lying down, but 150/100 pretty much all the time I'm upright.
I've said for years that orthostatic hyper(!)tension is not easily diagnosed. It fits with fainting and tachycardia responses. I also note it is a cerebral perfusion technique. Most doctors take blood pressure when a patient is in the office sitting (after a long wait/trek) to the doctors office. Even when a cardiologist looks for orthostatic issues, they are often looking at the shift from sitting to standing.
Also, only the end result is measured, ie, the blood pressure. Often the levels of aldosterone on renin are not measured. My renin levels have been measured multiple times at 10x the normal upper limit. Kidney stones ruled out, doctorly shrug. I point out that if the renin levels are pinned high, but aldosterone is normal, then it is likely the signal is being ignored and the body is compensating using backup systems.
My greatest successes with supplements and the ones that I continue to use, have been ones that reduce blood pressure. My current regime of lowering blood pressure and being careful about glucose spikes has given me a huge amount of energy, both physically and mentally.
I've been taking high blood pressure medication for many years. Recently I discovered that without blood pressure medication I'm 120/80 most of the time lying down, but 150/100 pretty much all the time I'm upright.
I've said for years that orthostatic hyper(!)tension is not easily diagnosed. It fits with fainting and tachycardia responses. I also note it is a cerebral perfusion technique. Most doctors take blood pressure when a patient is in the office sitting (after a long wait/trek) to the doctors office. Even when a cardiologist looks for orthostatic issues, they are often looking at the shift from sitting to standing.
Also, only the end result is measured, ie, the blood pressure. Often the levels of aldosterone on renin are not measured. My renin levels have been measured multiple times at 10x the normal upper limit. Kidney stones ruled out, doctorly shrug. I point out that if the renin levels are pinned high, but aldosterone is normal, then it is likely the signal is being ignored and the body is compensating using backup systems.
My greatest successes with supplements and the ones that I continue to use, have been ones that reduce blood pressure. My current regime of lowering blood pressure and being careful about glucose spikes has given me a huge amount of energy, both physically and mentally.
I started going to sleep on my left side many years ago after talking to my GP about treating serious acid reflux, and he pointed out that the entrance to the stomach does not sit in the middle top of the stomach but to one side (the right). So if you have the entrance facing upwards, by sleeping on your left, it helps control reflux through simple gravity.
So I tried it and it does help.
That said, it was the Omeprazole that did most of the lifting in dealing with the reflux. But I still go to sleep on my left side to this day, and far as I know spend most sleep time there, especially during maybe the first 2/3 of sleeping.
I used to be a front sleeper, (more a kind of three-quarter position really). As soon as I got ME I switched to being a side sleeper, with a little bit of back sleeping, and with no intentional input from me, it just happened. Now I cannot front sleep at all. One of the weirder changes brought about by the disease.
Would be interesting to know if others have experienced a change in sleep position after getting sick.
CorAnd
Senior Member (Voting Rights)
Since becoming ill I need to prop up my body with pillows and blankets all the time.
Even though I lie down, I feel as if I am falling, and I need stuff around me to keep my body in a fixed position and give support. It’s definitely something to do with Me/Cfs, as I didn’t feel that before. I can no longer sleep on my back, for instance, because I feel I am not supported. I need to sleep on a side with pillows all around me.
I think I should buy a weighted blanket, see if I can tolerate it.
What helped me most with acid reflux since becoming bedbound is lifting the head of the bed. Sleeping on the left side helped a little, but not enough. I no longer have acid reflux thanks to lifting the bed.
For a long time I slept in "Superman flying pose". Any pressure at all caused tingling after about 5 minutes, so that was the pose with the least pressure anywhere. Even the hands had to be flat.
In the improved better days I could sleep on my side, but often there I kept having a sense of falling over, as if the muscles were too tired to support being in that position.
It has always helped to start side sleep with the currently active nostril on top. They alternate so generally one is in use while the other is clearing.
I still have regular occasions where there is a stitch in my right side just under the ribcage. Gallstones have been ruled out. Since the dull pain is stronger based somewhat on fatty meals, I suspect an irritated gall bladder. When this happens I find sleeping right side up is uncomfortable but sleeping on my right side, which applies pressure, works.
I also have lots of persistent itching, mostly in the arns, the kind where almost a single pain sensor is expressing its displeasure every few seconds for days on end. I find sleeping over top of the itch with a bit of pressure often calms it
In the improved better days I could sleep on my side, but often there I kept having a sense of falling over, as if the muscles were too tired to support being in that position.
It has always helped to start side sleep with the currently active nostril on top. They alternate so generally one is in use while the other is clearing.
I still have regular occasions where there is a stitch in my right side just under the ribcage. Gallstones have been ruled out. Since the dull pain is stronger based somewhat on fatty meals, I suspect an irritated gall bladder. When this happens I find sleeping right side up is uncomfortable but sleeping on my right side, which applies pressure, works.
I also have lots of persistent itching, mostly in the arns, the kind where almost a single pain sensor is expressing its displeasure every few seconds for days on end. I find sleeping over top of the itch with a bit of pressure often calms it