Medcline wedge pillow vs electric adjustable bed for acid reflux?

[lfmyth]

I noticed my reflux is worst in the morning and am aware of the importance of raising my bed. If money is not an issue, what would be the most effective in keeping the reflux down? I just ordered the Medcline wedge pillow which is designed for left side sleeping to better keep the acid down... it even has a hole for your arm etc... seems to be a step up from the more affordable wedge pillows on Amazon as it was designed by a dr and backed by clinical trials.

Is this good enough or would it be in my best interest to get an electronic bed where I could adjust the angle? i am only concerned with efficacy.

Sleeping in a recliner or chair is not really ann option as that could cause hip or knee issues from what I've read.

Would a bed be an elctric bed be better at protecting me from acid coming up at night?

[mjames1]

Money no object, you want an electronic bed with a true "tilt" function. This is not the same as what you've probably seen, where the head and foot simply move up and down independently.

I'm in the US, and there is only one electronic bed that does a true tilt. It's the Glideaway Motion 600 with Elevation Kit. That is two pieces and usually two separate purchases. There is another unit, a little less expensive, which is The Reverie r650 dual tilt model. Regardless of how they promote it, it's not really true tilt after 4 inches of head elevation, unless you do some rigging. I can help you with that as I have both models.

The problems with wedges is that most are too short which crunches up your upper body, which may be worse than no wedge. I also tend to slide off of them at night.

One option, which works as well as the true tilt beds, is simply putting bricks or books under the head of the bed. But it's not something you want to do every evening unless that's part of your workout

Jim

[lfmyth in reply to mjames1]

Thanks! I just received my medclinic pillow today so I will see how that works.

I am 4'11 and the wedge is not too short for me as far as I can tell. I can fit my hip and even my glutes on there, like pretty much half of my body. I'll have to sleep on it for a few nights to see what the fit is like when I'm sleeping. They had different size and I got the size S.

If it doesn't work out then I will check out the tilt bed. Thanks for the recommendations, never heard of those brands before. I was looking into nectar which isn't a tilt bed.

Does a true tilt bed actually work to remove acid away more effectively? Or is it more about comfort? How would a true tilt bed be more effective at moving acid away? Isn't moving the feet up slightly beneficial to avoid blood pooling in the lower extremeities?

Edited - Did some Googling and found this thread reddit.com/r/Mattress/comme...

Ok, so looks like a tilt bed like Gideaway is better for your neck and makes it so you can't tell you're on an incline. Interesting.

[mjames1 in reply to lfmyth]

With the normal adjustable bed you don't get a true FLAT tilt. That means even though your head is above your feet, you are still scrunched up to some degree. This is bad for reflux.

Think of it as water (acid) running down hill. With a true tilt bed, it will run straight down. If you're crunched a bit, it may get stuck midway, just where you do not want the acid to be. This can also happen with a wedge, if it isn't fitted exactly right, or if you slide while you sleep.

Yes, feet upward, can be beneficial for other things, but not reflux, so sometimes you have to take your pick A true tilt may also be better for the neck, because again, it's like you're sleeping flat as far as your muscles are concerned, just flat at an angle, if that makes any sense.

But again, you can achieve the exact same thing for free as you get with the $2,000 Glideaway. Just lift the head of the bed with books or bricks. It might be a good way at least to test if you like it, before investing a lot of money. That's what I did first.

Jim

[liz_crisp]

I find my electric bed perfect, you can get electric beds very reasonably second hand on the internet. Facebook market place, eBay, gumtree etc. also charity shops and second hand furniture stores also have them for sale. Foam mattresses are easy to get on the internet too. I just got my parent a double electric bed with individual controls and 2 New mattresses for under £300 and a double bed and mattress for my spare room for £350. Both Nearly new the one for my bedroom was less than 6 months old. Wedge pillows or bed supports a collapsible frame are great for travel. Or a gravity sun chair if camping. Not sure the left side is good if you have had the Ivor Lewis operation. As lying on your side encourages acid reflux. ( not Sure which side as haven't slept on my side for the last 13 years.) PSim in the UK

[lfmyth]

So I spent my first night on the Medcline and it was fine. Didn't have reflux in the morning but I did take Gaviscon the night before. I'll have to be brave and test it without it to make sure.

I didn't slide off it at all; there is also a hole for my arm in the pillow device which I think may prevent sliding down. I am very petite so I think even a smaller wedge (I already bought the smallest wedge) would still work for me. I rigged the body pillow by just placing my own silk pillowcase on top of it. I stayed on my left side the whole night.

I find the body pillow to be a bit thick as I am petite, but I am sure it would be fine if you are larger than me (which most people are).