I cannot sleep after hip replacement surgery.

[Purplecabbages]

I had hip surgery a week or so ago, and was told by the doctor that I cannot sleep on my side, which is my natural sleeping position. I have tried sleeping on my back, but am getting no sleep whatsoever. I have been told that I can sleep with a pillow between my legs, but I am worrying about hip displacement as the pillow keeps slipping out of place. Please help!

[LoftyLottie]

Can you somehow tie a rolled towel to the inside of one knee. I have also been advised to put a pillow under my knees. However, I haven't had surgery, just have dodgy hips, so please don't do anything that will aggravate it.

[Sqad]

No big deal. Place a pillow between your knees and slide onto whichever side that you sleep on the better. The main problem is adduction of the hips (crossing your legs)but following my suggestion, that will not happen.
Never seen dislocation of a replaced hip due to sleeping posture.
Don't worry.

[tacgirl]

I more than understand your problem! I had a complete hip replacement last November and although the operation went really well my main difficult, post-op, was sleeping. I was told that most people can sleep on their backs but what with the tenderness of the scar and general discomfort that went with it I found sleeping on my back was almost impossible.
After a week of trying to sleep on my back and getting no more than two hours sleep per night I began to understand the term sleep deprivation! This really was becoming the worst part of the ordeal. I was desperate to get back on my side in order both to sleep and to relieve the discomfort to your toes, heels and bottom that follows after enforced sleeping on your back. My physiotherapist told me to try pillows between my legs. These were a problem as they were not big enough to support knees and ankles and the lozenge shape tended to slide out whilst asleep. You can imagine worrying about this didn’t help trying to sleep.

So I decided to search the Internet to find something more substantial and to my surprise I found just the product. It’s called Slumber Support made by Relaxer Beds. It’s a large, ergonomically shaped pillow that fits between the legs. It is large enough to support the entire leg and ankle when slightly bent in a sleeping position. It’s thick enough to keep your legs at the right distance apart and has a retaining strap that you loosing strap around your waist. This discourages the cushion moving whilst asleep and makes you feel a lot more confident. The simple shape also allows you to move your leg vertically and horizontally without moving off the cushion – so you don’t feel your leg is trapped. There is also a handle at the top to let you adjust it whilst in bed. I found it a complete godsend and slept like a log!

[Sqad]

tacgirl...excellent advice.

[LoftyLottie]

tacgirl. I am going to order one. Thanks!!!

[daffy654]

I'm getting a bit paranoid in my old age. lol

I am suspecting an advert scam here as both the op and tacgirl joined ab today and tacgirl so handily could suggest a brand of pillow that would help the op with her problem. The only thing that makes me wonder if it is an advert or not is the lack of website link :)

[LoftyLottie]

Just posting the link for purplecabbages

http://www.relaxerbed...e7db42dffff4688b22044

[Sqad]

daffy....clever girl.

[LoftyLottie]

Purple is joining in other threads though. However, I think Daffy might be right. Should I order one Sqad. I have real problems with lower back pain and leg and groin pain (referred from my hip), especially when I first get up in the morning. It looks OK, but I'm now hesitant.

[Sqad]

Lofty.....but does the pain in your hips keep you awake at night.?.....if they do, then I can't see that this contraption will help.
If you don't have pain at night, then you don't need this contraption.

[daffy654]

It does look like a good product lofty, it is quite cheap too so you wouldn't be losing much money if it is rubbish.

[LoftyLottie]

No. Not pain, hey ache sometimes. But I am so stiff in the mornings and in paid that sometimes I just can't get down the stairs. The physio and the GP and the Rheumatologist and Occupational Therapist have all recommended the cushion between the knees, but is that contraption any better than an ordinary cushion?

[Sqad]

Lofty...I can't see the advantage myself, but as daffy says, it is cheap, so why not give it a try.

[daffy654]

http://www.betterlife...oduct.php?prodID=3732

A cheaper, smaller but similar product here lofty.

I have used this company many times myself and my oh knows the managing director personally (got a discount on my wheelchair because of it...shhh, don't tell anyone;))
In fact I just ordered an elbow support from them this morning.

[ethandron]

there's a product you can buy from one of those leaflet catalogues which comes with the sunday papers. it's a lump of shaped foam attached to a wide elastic strip which you wear on one leg and it's supposed to do exactly what you're needing. i can't comment on how good it is as i've never used one.
when i had my right hip done i followed the rules and slept (or rather didn't sleep) on my back for the required 6 weeks, had to resort to sleeping tablets from my gp in the end. also kept the TED stockings on for 6 weeks too, they're another nightmare. however, when i had my right hip done 10 months later, i took the stockings off as soon as i was home (4 days after op) and slept on my side with a pillow between my knees after a week. it's most unlikely the pillow will slip out of place enought to cause the hip to dislocate, and as long as you do a sort of eskimo roll to get on to your side you'll be fine.
any hip replacement patient will tell you the sleeping on the back thing is the absolute worst part of having a replacement. in the whole scheme of things, 6 weeks is actually not a long time and any discomfort is well worth it for the relief of leading an active life again. best of luck :)

[ethandron]

daffy's link is what i was trying to explain :)

[Sqad]

Once again....good advice from ethandron.

[redcrx]

lottie, how about a pregnancy pillow, like a dream genii? it helped support me when pregnant and was easy on my back and hips. http://shop.d2leisure...1247350265catno0.html

[bednobs]

hi, i found that after my hip replacement i had the same problem. Pillow worked fine for me and i have never dislocated (touch wood). The main problem was it hurt too much to have the operated hip as the top leg, so i had the operated leg as the bottom one and it hurt for a few weeks lying on the operation scar. However, i found this much easier to cope with than just lying awake on my back!

[ethandron]

have a look at 50plushealth.co.uk. they have them there for under a tenner.