pillow talk

[BlueMahoe]

I have recently joined. I’d be interested in reading about suitable pillows for a person with past spinal fractures

[ROSModerator Partner]

Hi BlueMahoe ,

Welcome to our community, thank you for taking the time to join us here

Just wanted to stop by to let you know about our daily living information that talks a little more about sleeping comfortably: strwebprdmedia.blob.core.wi...

I hope some of our wonderful members can also offer some more ideas

Wishing you all the best,

Lulu

ROS Moderator

[tangocharlie]

I'm interested in replies as sleeping is the thing I still find most painful. I wake up in great pain in my lower back and stomach. Sometimes the pain even wakes me up, presumably as I turn over in my sleep and or stretch out. Initially I used to take some painkillers, lie on my side and prop myself in that positionwith a pillow and hot water bottle to stop myself turning over but I'd only get short bursts of sleep that way. The bed itself is comfortable so that's not the problem. I need a pillow that is not to high and not too low so there is no pressure on the neck

[BlueMahoe in reply to tangocharlie]

Thanks for your reply tangocharlie. yes it's so hard to find the pillow that's not too high or too low. Right now I have one which is lower. I had my first fracture in 2015, and two more later and 2 rib fractures. I had to teach myself to sleep on my back only, and I still do that. I keep an extra pillow handy in case the first one loses its shape ( from the weight of my head), because I've found that it's so important to keep my neck comfortable. Like you, I'm still looking for the perfect pillow.

[tangocharlie in reply to BlueMahoe]

Did you hae any osteoporosis treatment between the first and subsequent fractures?

Re pillows I've tried just about everything, including very expensive Tempur ones but the best atm is a foam one that is quite low and flat so doesn't extend my neck or push my chin down. I have a kyphosis in the upper back (thoracic region) so it is hard to lie flat or lean against a wall. When my fractures first happened I had to sleep in a chair for months a I couldn't lie down. Then I could ventually lie down but only on my right side and had to prop myself up with pillows so I didn't turn over in th enightwhich was uncomfortable. Now I can lie down in bed so long as my knees are bent but I wake up in pain or should i say the pain wakes me up and I don't know why. The pain is in my stomach and groin mainly and all of the pelvic bone area between waist to groin. Ince I get up and moving and take some pain killers it's a bit better. Stops me having a lazy lie in as it's not comfortable lounging in bed. The fractures must have healed by now as it's been over a year but it's still so painful. But reading the ROS book and talkng to the ROS nurses helpline this is very common.

[BlueMahoe in reply to tangocharlie]

Hi tangocharlie,

Glad you're finding some relief using a flatter pillow. Yes I had treatment in between the early fracture and later fractures. Unfortunately the first treatment disagreed with me. Later on, Due to incorrect advice I left it too long to restart treatment and that's when the others occurred.

Yes, though fractures heal, the pain can stay with you for a long time, but at least it's not as terrible as at the beginning.

[tangocharlie in reply to BlueMahoe]

That's true the initial pain was so excruciating I actually thought at one point death woud be better than this 24/7. I don't know how I got through those 5 months, must be made of strong stuff eh being a Yorkshire lass😆. The long-term pain is different but still very debilitating, and life-changing. Like you, I'm just doing what I can to get small improvements. The ROS have been amazing help, so many questions answered in the book or by the nurses. Especially the advice for post-fractures, I've found myself going 'yup, that's me' at the descriptions like getting in and out of bed, bending etc etc. I still can't understand why 2 physios and 2 GPs missed the symptoms ...