Sleeping after surgery

[cub2007]

hey,
i had the surgery two summers ago and i have noticed that since then, i can only sleep comfortably on my stomach. i used to sleep on my side, but i now find that it is uncomfortable. has anyone else had the same problem???

[Gail]

Hi Alicia,

For 42 yrs. I slept on my belly. Since surgery in Feb 2003 I have not been able to sleep on my belly. I now sleep on my side and back. I'm shocked that you can only sleep on your belly. Belly sleeping is uncomfortable now because it puts an arch in my back.

Gail

[vxsmith]

Have you investigated the memory foam mattresses. Seems to work like counting sheet for my son!

Vicki

[jc3]

i just bought the memory foam mattress today as a matter of fact for my daughter who is 5 months post op. She is still not comfortable sleeping in her bed and sleeps on the coach most of the time. I'll let you guys know how it is for her, she hasn't tried it out yet.

[susannajon]

Hi Jennifer, How'd that memory foam work? Susanna

[jc3]

do you believe my daughter doesn't like it. She says she doesn't notice any difference and she says it smells LOL. It definitely does not smell and my husband and i sat on it and thought it was great. She slept in her bed the first night we got it and then last night she went back on the couch. The couch we have is not a regular size couch it is very oversized and very wide and she just likes it better. I'm not happy, but what can i do.
Jennifer

[lrmb]

Hi Jennifer,

Sorry to hear your daughter doesn't like the foam. I didn't have fusion, but I also got a memory foam (mattress) a while ago. I have to say it took me a while to settle into it... but then I loved it. (Also, mine definitely smelled. That wore off after a few weeks.) Maybe if you keep it around your daughter might try it again some time....

Take care.
Laura

[jc3]

hi laura
that is so funny that you said that yours smelled. I thought she was just saying that because she'd rather sleep on the couch. I will then keep it around. I was thinking about returning it, but i won't. Maybe she'll like it after a while.
thanks so much for writing
Jennifer

[susannajon]

Hi Jennifer,

I should have warned you. They definitely smell when you first get them, and it takes a few days to go away. Put the pad over a chair so the air can circulate around it. Also, I should mention we doubled over a queen sized pad for my daughter, because she wanted a bed that was extra squooshy.

Susanna

[Theresa]

Jennifer,

My memory foam mattress topper also smelled. I would let it sit out for a few days then give it another try.

[Nanalulu]

I never heard of a memory foam mattress before being a member of this forum. Do they fit on top of the mattress or is it a mattress? Where can someone buy it and anything special to look for?

Lynn

[jc3]

i am laughing reading everyone's posts about the memory foam smelling. That is really funny. I really didn't believe my daughter. I will take it off the bed tomorrow and air it out. It has a cover that goes on it, does anybody else have that? I guess i should wash that now since the smell is probably on there, but i don't want it to shrink.
Susanna,
That was a good idea to get a queen size and double it. I thought it would be thicker then it is.
thanks everyone
Jennifer

[lrmb]

Lynn...

You can get both mattress toppers and entire mattresses, and a variety of kinds from "egg-crate" types to memory foam. Susanna and Jenn might be able to tell you what store they got theirs. I was desperate after a lot of pain and went straight to the Tempurpedic company. I have no idea if that company is truthfully better than others, but their customer service has been good. You can definitely get a lot of brands online or in mattress stores.

Jenn - my mattress has a cover, but I haven't washed it yet because I can't lift the mattress to get it off! Mine says it is _not_ supposed to shrink... but I am concerned about that too...

Laura

[Theresa]

Jennifer, I didn't wash my cover. Like Laura said it's so heavy to move and I just figured oh well.

Lynn, I got my memory foam mattress topper at Sam's. It was somewhere between $100 and $150. I know that I have also seen them at Bed, Bath, and Beyond and also Cosco's. We already had an egg crate but this is so much better!!!!

[susannajon]

Tempur-pedic pads are way too much money. There are a couple of good places online. Look for a pad that's at least 3 inches thick, and at least 4 lbs. density. Watch out for shipping costs. Here are a couple of places with good prices and free shipping:

http://www.absolutecomfortonsale.com/memory-foam-topper.htm
http://www.myrest.com/items.asp?Cc=TOP&Bc=

Susanna

[jc3]

thanks susanna for posting those sites and for saying how thick it should be, now i know why nicole doesn't think hers makes any difference. I didn't order mine online, i got mine in a department store and i thought it was a great deal. It was on sale for a twin size from $130 with 50 percent off and it was a "memory foam mattress topper", but after you said how many inches it should be i went and measured hers, hers is only 1 inch thick! No wonder she said it doesn't make a difference. I think i am going to return it and order one from online. The prices on those were good also. Should i get the 3 or 4 inch size?? What size did you get?
thanks for informing me, see you get what you pay for.
Jennifer

[Nanalulu]

I really appreciate all the good sites and advice on getting the memory foam mattresses or toppers.

I have a queen size bed. Will I need to get different sheets for them to fit with the new padding. This is not a big deal to me because I need a new set of sheets anyway, but I'd like to get the right ones.

What is the "smell" that is mentioned? I guess I've been "blessed" with a terrible sense of smell (that was helpful when I was raising my children). Is this smell something that will be offensive for other people or only for the person who is using the bed?

Lynn

[susannajon]

Hi Nanalulu, The smell is like a chemical smell and it fades after the pad has been out of the bag a few days. Not a big deal. No, you shouldn't need to buy new sheets, just give the old ones a couple extra yanks to get them over the corners of the mattress. You will need a good quality mattress pad with deep pockets, because you don't want to sleep right on the memory foam.

Hi Jennifer, I got the 3" for our bed several years ago, and we just got a new mattress, so we gave our old pad to my daughter. I doubled it over, because it's pretty old and it's gotten a little flat. I think I'm going to order her a 4" 5.3 lb density, and throw away our old pad.

Susanna