Sleeping stuff

In article <4a65cdcc$0$23744$bbae4d71@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>,
"MaryL" <stancole1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

I'm stepping in here because of your question about sleeping on an incline.
I was my mother's caregiver for five years (and then she was in a nursing
home for almost another six years). During the time she was with me, she
was diagnosed with acid reflux. She had terrible heartburn and also had an
incredible about of phlegm that she had great difficulty bringing up (or
down). Originally, the doctor had us try three things: remain upright for
an hour after eating, chew one or two Tums before bedtime, and *always* have
the head of the bed raised. The thing that worked best was keeping the head
raised. In fact, I posted a notice about that above her head in the nursing
home because aides kept "forgetting." The doctor said to start out by
raising it exactly 4 inches, then add an inch at a time if necessary. Four
inches worked well for her. Some people put a bolster between the mattress
and box springs, but that was not comfortable for her. I found some
concrete blocks (meant for garden use) that were exactly 4 inches deep.
They were also wide enough and coarse enough (coarse to prevent the legs of
the bed from slipping around) so that the bed could not slip off the
supports. Later, someone made some blocks for me where the legs were in a
hollowed-out area--but still at the 4" height--and that made it even more
secure.

I know that when I have sinus problems, sleeping with the top of my body
reclining on a pile of pillows really helps my breathing. It lets
things drain *down* rather than pooling in my head or throat. Makes
sense that acid reflux could be treated similarly.

On a tangent: I have been having problems with one of my shoulders, and
lately I've found myself wanting to hold a pillow in my arms when I
sleep. Somehow that positions my shoulder so it doesn't hurt. My whole
body seems to like encircling something soft but bulky at night, so,
since it would take a whole lot longer to find a breathing body to fill
the job (plus that would bring on all kinds of other effects -- good and
bad), I bought a body pillow. It arrived yesterday, but I'm letting it
out-gas downstairs before I try sleeping with it. I'm allergic to
formadehyde, and bedding sometimes needs to air out before i can sleep
in it without effects.

PP
.

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