I find it very uncomfortable when I sleep on my left side. I feel much better when I turn onto my right side. Anyone else have this problem?

[PaulaS]

I've been told I have a slightly enlarged spleen, and was wondering if this was anything to do with it.

[Cllcanada Top Poster CURE Hero]

Probably... I have had this for years...

~chris

[mandn]

Just the opposite for me. I sleep mostly on the left side.

[Hidden]

I have a swollen spleen and liver and suffer no problems sleeping on either side.

Mike

[PaulaS Volunteer in reply to Hidden]

Glad to hear that, Mike. A good night's sleep is a wonderful thing.

[Hidden]

I have to sleep on my right side. If I don't, my wife tells me I snore in her ear.

[PaulaS Volunteer in reply to Hidden]

When my husband sleeps on his right side, he often snores in my ear. You and your wife must sleep the other way round to me and my spouse!

[roan]

My spleen becomes very large, in between treatments when I am coming out of remission, they have talked about removal, it can become uncomfortable, but not to the extent that I can't sleep on left side, find it more so when I bend forward. xx

[PaulaS Volunteer in reply to roan]

Sorry to hear that, Ann. It must be very hard not to be able to bend forward easily. And thank you for your earlier reply to a message from me, when I asked about the side effects you got from medications. Very interesting, though such a pity you got such nasty reactions. As you said, CLL and its treatments are strange and unpredictable things.

[PaulaS Volunteer]

Thank you everyone, for your responses. You all seem to have different experiences of this, so there doesn't seem to be a clear answer, but it was interesting to hear from you.

[Ragsgolf]

Yes, I've discovered sometimes the left isn't as comfortable. I am learning to stay on my back, which is probably better for me anyway. Interestingly, last night my right neck and jaw area was an issue. Apparently a flare-up of swollen lymph nodes there. Better today now that I'm vertical! Wow, that means I'm alive and breathing! Yea! Such small triumphs can make one's day! Seriously, though it is nice to hear that those aches and pains I endure aren't just my hypochondria out of control. Though I am learning that it is a good idea to listen to my body, I'm trying not to let it create inertia in my life. 'Cause it isn't over till the lady sings!'. Just couldn't put that other word in there!

[PaulaS Volunteer in reply to Ragsgolf]

Sorry to hear of the problems in your neck, Ragsgolf. Not sure which "other word" you didn't want to mention. I'd assumed it referred to the singing lady's size. Pkenn thinks it is your sense of correct grammar, not wanting to say "ain't".

[MsLockYourPosts Passed Volunteer]

Paula S. Do you have any cardiac issues or problems with acid reflux? It's easy to blame everything on CLL once we have a diagnosis, but sometimes there are other issues that cause symptoms. I always end up on my left side, but have no issues with lymph nodes or spleen. I do have a mitral valve prolapse and acid reflux. I don't know if that is the issue or ??? Fung Shui ????

[PaulaS Volunteer in reply to MsLockYourPosts]

Good point, pkenn. Since I've had CLL, I've tended to think every new symptom must be due to that, which of course isn't necessarily the case. I don't have any cardiac issues, but I have had problems with acid reflux in the past. In fact over the last month or so, I've been cutting down on my Lansoprazole medication (reduces stomach acid). Could be that my stomach is protesting (and nothing to do with spleen or CLL). Perhaps I'll try the Gaviscon before going to bed.

Or, as you say, maybe it's a Fung Shui thing, and I feel better on my right side because then I'm facing the window, and facing south!

Sorry to hear you've had a mitral valve prolapse, as well as acid reflux. I'm not sure how that would affect sleeping positions. Our hearts are on the left side and I think I once heard that if you have a swollen liver, it's better to sleep on your right side, to relieve any pressure the heavy liver might put on the heart. But you say you always end up on your left side, not right. So that was completely irrelevant. Oh it's all very complicated...

[MsLockYourPosts Passed Volunteer]

Ragsgolf - I wish I had a dollar for every time I said, "Ain't ain't a word!" Are / were you a teacher like me?

[Ragsgolf]

As a matter of, I am. Hopefully retiring after 48 years at the end of this month. I say hopefully, but really mean, possibly, since I am quite reluctant to leave a job I love. But wise people keep urging me not to waste what relatively good years I have left. So far, no chemo. I see my oncologist on Tuesday, so I'll see if there is a big change. I was DX in 2005, and other than the usual fatigue and sporadic swollen nodes and spleen have done pretty well. But numbers keep climbing I'm very diligent about hygiene to the annoyance of many who don't understand the fear we CLLers have about infection. And since a classroom full of students isn't known for being a "clean" environment, I reluctantly acknowledge it is time for me to retire. I have been waiting for my husband, who is younger than me, to be Medicare eligible. That is this month. So no more excuses!

[swiftbrook]

My step brother Rob Bullock and his partner Rosie live in Sheffield, your partner might know them?