Top Surgery 4 Side Sleepers?

[TwoSpirit]

Hi All,

I've been lurking here for awhile and finally decided to join the ranks since I am scheduled for top surgery soon, and my middle aged mind is starting to freak out about the whole thing. One, I don't like going 'under'. Not under a surgeon's scalpel, and not under anesthesia, though there's no way around either. And really, who "likes" these things under any circumstance?
Anyway, I am notoriously sleep deprived, but when I actually do sleep, it has to be on my side. I've been told I will have to sleep on my back. I'm not sure how I will manage this, but if it's true that I will have to sleep on my back, does anyone know how long (usually) before one can sleep on their side again after top surgery?
Thanks TS

[cynthialee]

My sweety had a breast reduction, which is not exactly top surgery, but it is pretty close.
Ze is a side and front sleeper by nature but after the reduction ze had to sleep on her back for awhile. At first it was a bit of a chalenge but the body needs rest and eventually ze shut down and slept. (all the narcotics helped with that)
For about 2 months ze had to sleep on the back. Eventually ze started to sleep normal.
Will top surgery throw off your sleep? Yes. You wil adjust and eventually you will go back to sleeping like you want to.

It is worth the agravations for a short amount of time to live the rest of your life complete.

[Make_It_Good]

Im a front sleeper, so clearly I had to change my way of sleeping.
  Even in my sleep, if I went to automatically roll onto my side or front, my body just seemed to stop this motion, and keep me from the pain and discomfort. I think after 2 weeks I started sleeping on my side.
  It wasnt as bad as I thought itd be, sleeping on my back.
Im back to sleeping on my back again after lower surgery and propped up with pillows, its comfy enough.
I cant wait to sleep on my front though!

[Jesse7]

I don't know how long you are supposed to wait, but I would start practicing back sleeping.
You will have the aid of drugs and pain after so it will probably come easier.

[Al James]

As soon as my drains came out which was on the third and fifth days after surgery i was able to sleep on my side again. not sure if i should be doing but its really comfortable and no pain. for the couple of days i had to sleep on my back i was managing about an hours kip at a time then waking then dozing off again

[RagingShadow]

about a month for me. im a side sleeper too and my back tried to kill me -__-
so be prepared to be woken up early and start catching up on the TV shows

[Natkat]

I dont remember exactly how long it took me, but a advice I got was if you have a big pillow, teddy bear, or anything you can hug, then it helps when you sleep on your back.

I always sleep on the sides as well, so it was also very hard for me..

[shean R]

I am 5 weeks post op from top surgery and I can sleep on my side while hugging a pillow but it is not easy, it takes a little to find the right spot that doesn't create discomfort.  I never slept on my back, always a side sleeper.  When I had my drains in it was REALLY uncomfortable even on my back as the drains came out (which was one week post op) pretty far around my side almost on my back.  Your body does get somewhat used to it, but I still don't sleep as soundly as I did before surgery, when I move wrong it still wakes me up.  I have to agree, it is a short time frame compared to the rest of my life of enjoying not having the evil twins to deal with.

[aleon515]

Well I haven't had top surgery, but I am a side sleeper. If I get a really bad cold, which happens quite a lot as I am a teacher, I never sleep on my side. I end up on my back over a bunch of pillows. I end up falling asleep. I've also had injuries where I slept on my back. I never had to adjust to it. I just did it because I needed to.

--Jay Jay

[mangoslayer]

it only took me like 2 weeks 0or less until i could sleep on my side, but i had peri which is less invasive
also my surgeon put me on sleeping pills for a couple weeks so i was able to sleep on my back. i dont know if other surgeons do that.

[Berserk]

I'm 3 1/2 weeks post-op (double incision) and have started to sleep on my side for short periods of time, but it's uncomfortable for longer periods of time. I also find I sleep on my side differently than I used to pre-op because my body tries to prevent me from lying too close/directly on the incisions. So I end up lying kind of like on the backside of my side...if that makes sense. Like not directly on the side but twisted slightly to make it more comfortable. I started being able to do that after the second week probably. Also, yeah hugging a pillow sometimes makes it easier, though I think its mostly because of the hand/arm positioning and it otherwise causing your sides to stretch down too much without the pillow. I feel like none of this will make sense until you're actually in the situation, though...and soon you will be so congrats!

Honestly, I was really worried that I wouldn't be able to sleep on my back because I naturally sleep on my stomach and sides. But after the operation you're on painkillers (I was on tylenol 3s) and generally so exhausted that it would take some pretty intense insomnia to keep you from falling asleep. I found the first week I woke up a lot during the night  but would fall right back asleep. The biggest downer is just your back feeling sore/cramped from always lying on it...but again, it isn't hard to bear just because once your body decides it needs to sleep for recovery it just crashes.

[TwoSpirit]

  I have to agree, it is a short time frame compared to the rest of my life of enjoying not having the evil twins to deal with.

LOL @ "evil twins"
I wish I could use that term and have everyone understand. I had to have an ECG because of my advanced age (over 40) to be clear for surgery and it would have been great to say that to the lab tech and her understand immediately, but while she took my blood I had to "come out" before moving on to the ECG so the "evil (and somewhat hairy now) twins" wouldn't cause shock and awe. I am one of those guys that looked like a guy before T, so I have often been pegged for a male to female, when I come out. Which seems a bit weird as I don't know of any male to female ts who keep their facial hair. *shrug*


Anyway, thanks everyone for all the responses. It seems there are a wide range of time frames, so in spite of the srs clinic telling me today, it should only be a week, I should probably count on it being a little longer. Maybe I will have to ask for sleep meds.

Thanks again everyone.

Now, if only I could combat my nerves about going under.

[Arch]

I, too, had reservations about going under, but in the long run, it just ceased to matter. Once I made up my mind to HAVE the top surgery and actually scheduled it, I had almost no issues with the idea of anesthesia. And the day of the procedure, I was raring to go.

I guess your experience hasn't been quite the same, but I hope that you will become more comfortable with the idea as time goes by.

I wasn't able to sleep completely on my side for quite some time. After a couple of weeks, I was so desperate for sleep that I adopted a hybrid back-side sleep position like the one Berserk described. It worked for a few hours at a time. But I wish I'd had some Ambien back in those days because I couldn't sleep reliably. I had to take daytime naps for weeks afterward. I know that the anesthesia and shock to the body must have had something to do with that, and we were having some pretty hot weather then as well.

Actual side sleeping took at least a month, as I recall.

[TwoSpirit]

Thanks Arch. I think because I am older, I worry more about the effects of anesthesia. In my teens and 20s, during many surgeries I had (non srs stuff), I didn't worry at all. But in less than 2 years, I have had to deal with multiple losses (meaning deaths). And when people younger than me are dying in their sleep, as well as just having to think about death because of 2 suicides in the last 8 months, loss of my 20 yr old cat, and 3 other people who died, who were all younger than me, it sort of starts that over thinking stuff.

Plus I have to go out of town, out of province and with no partner to "baby" me while I'm there. So, I am feeling kind of sucky.....like an overgrown baby. Yup.....that would be me!

I am really grateful that I will have a couple of days recovery and I know I won't have drains for too long, because they won't release me until they take out the drains. That usually happens at this clinic in 3 days. Sometimes 4.  I wouldn't mind the extra day. We'll see what happens.....2 weeks and counting. tickticktickticktick

[TwoSpirit]

I'm 3 1/2 weeks post-op (double incision) and have started to sleep on my side for short periods of time, but it's uncomfortable for longer periods of time. I also find I sleep on my side differently than I used to pre-op because my body tries to prevent me from lying too close/directly on the incisions. So I end up lying kind of like on the backside of my side...if that makes sense. Like not directly on the side but twisted slightly to make it more comfortable. I started being able to do that after the second week probably. Also, yeah hugging a pillow sometimes makes it easier, though I think its mostly because of the hand/arm positioning and it otherwise causing your sides to stretch down too much without the pillow. I feel like none of this will make sense until you're actually in the situation, though...and soon you will be so congrats!

Honestly, I was really worried that I wouldn't be able to sleep on my back because I naturally sleep on my stomach and sides. But after the operation you're on painkillers (I was on tylenol 3s) and generally so exhausted that it would take some pretty intense insomnia to keep you from falling asleep. I found the first week I woke up a lot during the night  but would fall right back asleep. The biggest downer is just your back feeling sore/cramped from always lying on it...but again, it isn't hard to bear just because once your body decides it needs to sleep for recovery it just crashes.

Yeah, your backside/side description does make sense. I actually just saw a mattress commercial with a guy sleeping like that, and when I saw it, I thought, 'hey, maybe I can sleep that way'....but probably not till the drains come out. I just realized last night that I also sleep with my arms over my head holding onto one of the slats in the headboard. I am one of those long lanky creatures. So long, it's hard to find a comfortable place for those long arms. So long, I have to get my dress shirts custom made. Thankfully, there are some really good and inexpensive custom shirt and bespoke shops online. Plus whenever a group buy comes up for 3 custom made shirts for 100, I try to take advantage. **tangent**

Mangoslayer suggested asking for sleep meds. Can't believe I never thought of that; so thanks Mangoslayer!

[Arch]

I had my surgery when I was 46, and I was still a little overweight--maybe twenty pounds (of course, I lost a few pounds in surgery ). I've never had a very strong immune system, and I tend to be a little slow to heal. So I expected my body to recover slowly from the surgery, and I think it did. I was taking naps for weeks after.

Three weeks after my surgery, I volunteered for Pride weekend, both days. That was the first time I didn't take naps in the daytime, and I was wiped out afterward. I took a few naps in the days following, but I was done with naps in four weeks or a month.

It sounds like you have had quite a lot on your plate, so it's good that you'll be in a clinic for a few days with pros to take care of you. Enjoy it! There's no shame in feeling a bit alone when you don't have a partner or a family member to be there for you. Humans are social creatures, and we feel much safer when familiar people are about.

I guess I was lucky. My partner broke up with me about eight weeks before surgery, and he absolutely was NOT comfortable with my decision, but he was true blue and took care of me until they removed the drains a few days later. The expression on his face--closed off, full of repressed pain--still haunts me when I think about it. Sometimes I wish I'd had professionals take care of me during that time. But mine was an outpatient procedure.

[TwoSpirit]

It worked for a few hours at a time. But I wish I'd had some Ambien back in those days because I couldn't sleep reliably.

I've heard of Ambien, but that's mostly because of the news. I think it's only available in the states. I have never requested it in Canada, so not sure if it is or not available here. I would assume Ambien is a prescription med, and not over the counter?

Although there are things I can no longer get,  there is an apparent alternative that works really well, but is available over the counter in the states, but not available at all in Canada.
Such a bummer because it's for UTIs, and they used to make these pills called pyridium that look like M & Ms, and turned your pee bright orange, but worked like a miracle at stopping the pain, while waiting for the antibiotics to take affect. When I went to fill in the prescription the pharmacist told me it was discontinued, due to lack of profits. Nice eh? So many women and those with lower female parts who are susceptible to UTIs, have to suffer because there wasn't enough profit in making a drug that worked very well. The least the could do is approve AZO in Canada, because it's supposed to the same thing the discontinued drug did. And when I get a UTI, I get them full on and with a lot of discomfort. Within, ten minutes of the twinge, I am in full blown doubled over pain. I just hate UTIs. And it's a big road block for me ever attempting bottom surgery. Plus, the technology is no where near where I would like it; not to mention a friend of mine got a fistula when he went over seas to get his bottom surgery.

[TwoSpirit]

I had my surgery when I was 46, and I was still a little overweight--maybe twenty pounds (of course, I lost a few pounds in surgery ). I've never had a very strong immune system, and I tend to be a little slow to heal. So I expected my body to recover slowly from the surgery, and I think it did. I was taking naps for weeks after.

Three weeks after my surgery, I volunteered for Pride weekend, both days. That was the first time I didn't take naps in the daytime, and I was wiped out afterward. I took a few naps in the days following, but I was done with naps in four weeks or a month.

It sounds like you have had quite a lot on your plate, so it's good that you'll be in a clinic for a few days with pros to take care of you. Enjoy it! There's no shame in feeling a bit alone when you don't have a partner or a family member to be there for you. Humans are social creatures, and we feel much safer when familiar people are about.

I guess I was lucky. My partner broke up with me about eight weeks before surgery, and he absolutely was NOT comfortable with my decision, but he was true blue and took care of me until they removed the drains a few days later. The expression on his face--closed off, full of repressed pain--still haunts me when I think about it. Sometimes I wish I'd had professionals take care of me during that time. But mine was an outpatient procedure.

Thanks Arch. I gave up on girlfriends, because too many in the beginning would say they totally support my decision to get top surgery, but inevitably they would start asking within 6-8 months why it was so necessary. They were becoming more attached to my evil twins then I could ever be. And it started to become a pattern, as I have been working on getting top surgery for several years....more like ten years. I just decided to take a leave of absence from dating and revisit after surgery. It's lonely, as I have no siblings either or family whatsoever, but I'd rather deal with it alone than deal with others who have issues with my decision.
I think I feel a bit of apprehension as well, because French was my first language, and Quebec is where I was born, but have spent a great majority of my life in Anglophone Ontario. Where as a kid, my mother refused to speak French at home when we moved to Ontario. She was ashamed of her Metis French roots and was equally ashamed of my father's mother's Algonquin roots. Passing as white and as anglo as she could be was her desire. A lot of self hate going on in her. I worry about the surgery too, because I am only 3 years shy of the age she died, which was 51. But then, she was an anger addict, and ate her heart out literally, as she died of heart failure. As I am only 2 years older than you, it does give me some comfort knowing you came out of surgery ok.
Thanks for sharing that.