Not so new advice?

[PALady]

Reading a newspaper item about Tudor life, I was interested to see that in those days people were generally advised to sleep on their right side as this was believed to prevent indigestion which could lead to " palseys, apoplexeyes, falling down sickness and the like". That would seem to correspond with many forum users having said sleeping on the right side helps AF sufferers. Maybe the Tudors were on the right track.

[BobD Volunteer]

For goodness sake NO Leeches!

[Azbycx]

I don't know why ,when I go to bed thats when the fluttering in my chest starts and i have to get my body into every sort of position to get it to stop , my legs could be going one way my torso twisted in another way and i put my hand between my head and the pillow so I can't hear my heartbeat. My grandfather always said sleeping on your left side put pressure on your heart, wheather he was right or wrong I don't know , I can't sleep on my left side with this a fib.

[Hidden]

Don't mention leeches Bob. Got up one morning last week and there was what I think was a leech on my pillow, and a small patch of blood on the pillow-case. The thing was very thin (so had not eaten very much lately I'm glad to say). I can't see what else it could have been, sucker at one end and nothing else . Anyhow, if he did suck on me, he'll be full of Warfarin now .

I find sleeping on my left difficult or impossible, right-side only for me. I'd imagine the Tudors has discovered AF, just didn't know what it was.

Koll

[PeterWh]

I heard of an old lady in a local nursing home who had a bad and large weeping area on her leg which would not heal. It was in the summer and she kept on pulling open her dressing. Anyway when the nurse arrived one day and pulled back the dressing ther were loads of larvae ther and it had got much better. What must have happened is that a bluebottle must have laid some eggs on her leg and then with the moist and heat they had hatched. In this case they had not put on medical grade ones (or leeches)!!!!

[Kodaska]

Many years ago I found that sleeping on my left side prevented stomach aches. and promoted digestion. When on that side, the fundus (largest part) of the stomach is low, so the contents pool there, which also happens to be closer to the outlet to the small intestine. When on the right side, the stomach contents have nowhere to go unless they somehow move against gravity.

[Hidden in reply to Kodaska]

Thanks Kodaska that's very interesting.

I have had to avoid the left side like many others for AF reasons but have developed digestion issues and also poor sleep pattern.

In the last few days, I have tried eating earlier in the evening at 6pm and just soup and bread, followed by a piece of toast at 9.pm and sleep is much better.

It's early days but digestion and your explanation might just be the reason for waking up in the night and not being able to go back to sleep, which to date I have been blaming on a variety of other possibles.

[Kodaska in reply to Hidden]

Funny what happens when we just observe what's going on, isn't it?

[Hidden in reply to Kodaska]

I can only lie in my left side or back . If I lie on my right side it encourages acid reflux. Those who suffer with indigestion probs are better off not lying on right side !