Wedgie

[Sangye]

On the thread called "Sleep Study DONE" I talked about how accidentally sleeping with the head of the bed elevated during my sleep study eliminated my snoring and made me feel better during the night. I can't incline my bed for several reasons, so I found a torso-length wedge pillow that is made for this. (Shorter wedges aren't good since they bend your body and spine in an unnatural way.)

I've slept on it for 2 nights. The first night was hard to get used to it so I only used it half the night. Last night I used it the whole time. Guess what? NO snoring at all, no catching myself holding my breath, and I woke up with a subtle feeling of more energy today. Also, my head didn't feel waterlogged when I got up.

Just laying on the wedge I can't believe how open my airway feels. I didn't realize it was so smooshed when laying flat.

The only thing I'm not crazy about is how narrow (24 in) it is. If I don't get used to that in a couple months I'm going to get a second one to use next to it.

So now I'm a Wedgie Weggie. :w00t:

[Jack]

Good to hear that something is going right for you for a change! :w00t:

Has there been any negative affect on your legs? I seem to remember you being worried about this at one stage.

[drz]

On the thread called "Sleep Study DONE" I talked about how accidentally sleeping with the head of the bed elevated during my sleep study eliminated my snoring and made me feel better during the night. I can't incline my bed for several reasons, so I found a torso-length wedge pillow that is made for this. (Shorter wedges aren't good since they bend your body and spine in an unnatural way.)

I've slept on it for 2 nights. The first night was hard to get used to it so I only used it half the night. Last night I used it the whole time. Guess what? NO snoring at all, no catching myself holding my breath, and I woke up with a subtle feeling of more energy today. Also, my head didn't feel waterlogged when I got up.

Just laying on the wedge I can't believe how open my airway feels. I didn't realize it was so smooshed when laying flat.

The only thing I'm not crazy about is how narrow (24 in) it is. If I don't get used to that in a couple months I'm going to get a second one to use next to it.

So now I'm a Wedgie Weggie. :w00t:

Glad it is working for you. That it was narrow was a concern of mine when I thought about getting one. I figured I would need two given the way I move around on my bed. Then I would need to figure out how to join them without falling down between them but that could be easily done I think.

Hope it continues to help you sleep better!

[DEE]

things are going to be quiet Sangye got her new wedgie and ive got a new health matteress sleeping like a baby ,didnt wake until 9,30 am today :flapper:

[elephant]

Thumbs up to you all for a good night sleep in mattress and wedgie land!

[Sangye]

Jack, my leg edema isn't worse and I hope it actually improves. The problem was with inclining the entire bed, since my legs would be lower than normal. With this wedge, everything from your hips down is flat on the bed.

drz, I have the same concern about falling through the pillows, so I'm thinking about attaching two together with velcro strips. The one pillow doesn't seem to move at all, even with me flipping from side to side all night. I actually did a lot less flipping than usual. I think my body was fighting for air before.

[drz]

Jack, my leg edema isn't worse and I hope it actually improves. The problem was with inclining the entire bed, since my legs would be lower than normal. With this wedge, everything from your hips down is flat on the bed.

drz, I have the same concern about falling through the pillows, so I'm thinking about attaching two together with velcro strips. The one pillow doesn't seem to move at all, even with me flipping from side to side all night. I actually did a lot less flipping than usual. I think my body was fighting for air before.

Sound like two should do the trick then. Would it work to just cover both with a larger sheet and then tuck it under both of them? If people start buy wedgies maybe you can get a commission or get paid for your endorsement. :smile1:

[Sangye]

LOL Yeah, especially since so many of us have issues like acid reflux, sleep apnea or sinus problems.

The large sheet is a great idea! :thumbsup: A twin-size sheet would do the trick.

[jola57]

OK Sangye, now I am green with envy. Where did you buy the wedge pillow? I will have my oxymetry test on February 7th. But boy oh boy how I would like to stop snoring naturally. Let me know if it keeps working and where and how much they are.

[Sangye]

LOL Well this is your lucky day, Jolanta because I found out they made TWO! :w00t: Here's (http://www.medslant.com/index.html) the website. (You can also order it on Amazon but it costs the same and comes from the same company.)

I can really tell the Wegs is waking up because I had that "gotta keep moving" thing last night. I couldn't sleep at all and wasn't comfortable on the wedge (very sore from having to shovel snow). So today I feel totally lousy.

[freakyschizogirl]

LOL Yeah, especially since so many of us have issues like acid reflux, sleep apnea or sinus problems.

The large sheet is a great idea! :thumbsup: A twin-size sheet would do the trick.

Would it help unclog my sinuses then do you think? And help with the post nasal drip...thats my biggest bug bare at the moment!!

[Sangye]

Well last night I slept flat for most of the night and woke up with a clogged nose. I fell back to sleep on the wedge for about an hour and my nose completely unclogged. I realized my nose has been clogged every morning for a few months. I usually feel so lousy in the morning that I didn't even notice it had become a chronic problem.

I would say any symptom that is improved by being upright will be improved with the wedge. It's fairly high.

[freakyschizogirl]

I probably sleep with that sort of incline anyway, i have 4 pillows on my single bed! :w00t:
1 is hollow fibre the other 3 are feather. I've always slept with lots of pillows, made me feel like a princess when i was younger!

[Sangye]

No, that is very different and actually bad for you. Using lots of pillows forces your spine to bend at a bad angle and compresses your internal organs. That causes lots of problems--short-term and long-term. That's why shorter wedges are also bad. This is torso-length and a gradual incline.

[drz]

LOL Well this is your lucky day, Jolanta because I found out they made TWO! :w00t: Here's (http://www.medslant.com/index.html) the website. (You can also order it on Amazon but it costs the same and comes from the same company.)

I can really tell the Wegs is waking up because I had that "gotta keep moving" thing last night. I couldn't sleep at all and wasn't comfortable on the wedge (very sore from having to shovel snow). So today I feel totally lousy.

How can you be out shoveling snow? My rheumatologist and family said they would put me back in the nursing home if they caught me doing that. I will post a pix of my snow removal equipment in the Funny Thread.

[Sangye]

It was awful-- giant chunks of ice. I had no other option. My friends who would normally help don't live close by and were stuck in their own homes. This storm was horrible.

[jola57]

Sangye, sometimes its better just to do it in small increments. After all the snow is not going anywhere and can only get better. Please look out for yourself and do things with "how much energy I will expend and how painful it will be" in mind. I will see if they can deliver the pillow to Canada. Sometimes i feel like I live on another planet, the way these companies will not ship here.

[Sangye]

Every hour that went by it was freezing the snow more and I had to leave for Baltimore early the next day. I had terrible pain and weakness to begin with and each shovelful was awful. If I stopped there was no going back so I just had to muscle through it. Sometimes there just isn't a way around things. It's hard when that happens.

I hope you can get the pillow. I bet it'll help you breathe. I took a nap this morning and just lay there amazed at how well I can breathe.

[pberggren1]

Sangye, is there not a nice young gentleman around to shovel snow. What about your landlord? Is that not his responsibility?

[Jack]

I'm with the others on this. Unless there is something here that I'm not aware of you should not be going out shovelling snow. I'm quite amazed that you can! My wife won't even let me leave the house when there is ice on the ground and my shovelling days are long past.

I know how much you hate it, but you sometimes need nagging too. :wink1:

[Sangye]

I think nagging is fine when someone can actually make a change as a result. But it's just serving to irritate me right now, because there's no way for me to change the situation.

I ask for help for things like snow shoveling-- believe me I can't do it myself without injury and gasping for breath. But unless someone could be helicoptered in sometimes it isn't possible to get help when I need it. My neighbors know I'm sick and watch me struggling to shovel. They aren't very nice people. They resent that I'm a renter and hate that I "take up a parking space," so helping me shovel it out is really not gonna happen. I could drop dead out there and they'd complain about having to drive over my body. :glare:

Phil, it's not my landlady's duty to shovel out my car. A friend is coming over today to shovel the long grass path from my gate to the parking lot. I've been trudging through deep snow for days--exhausting just to get in and out. It's hard enough to walk it when it's just dry grass.

So. I would really like it if I didn't have to keep explaining myself, okay? I know you guys mean well.

[DEE]

I know how much you hate it, but you sometimes need nagging too. :wink1:[/QUOTE]

I agree with Jack please take care of you Sangye !!!!!!!!!!!!

[Jack]

I knew you would react like that! :wink1:

You know that we all mean well, but I have never been a great one for shovelling snow, I used to just walk on top of it or drive over it. A few handfuls of salt and grit make the ice less dangerous. Perhaps we have more forgiving snow here? Or maybe I've always been lazy.

Hope you have a snow free day and can rise above the irritation. :cool1:

[Sangye]

Jack, this snow was heavy, wet and icy. The plow had piled it up behind my car and it had frozen into a big wall, higher than my bumper. I have a Subaru so I shoveled it some and tried to just back out over the rest to flatten it. I hadn't shoveled it enough and my car got stuck halfway. Then I couldn't get out of my car because the snow was so high next to the driver's door. I had to get out on the passenger side-- unbelievably difficult with a tiny car and a big me that doesn't bend.

To give you a visual of how bad this storm was, I know many people who were driving home from work via the freeway and no one got home in less than 8 hours (a distance of 20 miles). People were abandoning their cars in the middle of the freeways and trying to walk to safety. The next day the news showed the DC freeways--abandoned cars everywhere, including in the middle lanes. My landlady said she even got rear-ended but was too scared to stop and get the driver's info.

[pberggren1]

I wish people would be more supportive and friendly Sangye. It is aweful your own neighbors don't help you out. When I was well enough in the past I would shovel some the seniors walks in the neighborhood. It was very well appreciated. I love helping out when I can. It's just in my blood I guess.

[drz]

I'm with the others on this. Unless there is something here that I'm not aware of you should not be going out shovelling snow. I'm quite amazed that you can! My wife won't even let me leave the house when there is ice on the ground and my shovelling days are long past.

I know how much you hate it, but you sometimes need nagging too. :wink1:

Do you still have snow where you live? We keep getting it so figure it will be Easter before it is gone.

[drz]

Jack, this snow was heavy, wet and icy. The plow had piled it up behind my car and it had frozen into a big wall, higher than my bumper. I have a Subaru so I shoveled it some and tried to just back out over the rest to flatten it. I hadn't shoveled it enough and my car got stuck halfway. Then I couldn't get out of my car because the snow was so high next to the driver's door. I had to get out on the passenger side-- unbelievably difficult with a tiny car and a big me that doesn't bend.

To give you a visual of how bad this storm was, I know many people who were driving home from work via the freeway and no one got home in less than 8 hours (a distance of 20 miles). People were abandoning their cars in the middle of the freeways and trying to walk to safety. The next day the news showed the DC freeways--abandoned cars everywhere, including in the middle lanes. My landlady said she even got rear-ended but was too scared to stop and get the driver's info.

The East coast has really been clobbered with snow storms this year. NYC and Boston have had many bad days as have most coastal cities.

I drove Suburu's for year and they are great cars for snow and ice but there isn't much you can do when they are hung up and lose traction. Too bad you don't have better neighbors who can appreciate you like we do. Glad you survived the ordeal.

[Sangye]

When I was healthy and still lived in northern Arizona I had a neighbor who stopped talking to me soon after she moved in. She had some health issues and in winter I used to sneak over and shovel her driveway before she woke up. I was careful not to leave tracks so she wouldn't know it was me. A few years later we became friends. I don't think she ever found out. Everything changes. Maybe at some point I'll be stronger than my current neighbors and will do some ninja shoveling.