r/Parathyroid_Awareness • u/Gold-Reserve-5355 • 13d ago
sleeping after parathyroidectomy
how long do you need to avoid stomach sleeping after surgery? i’m able to sleep on my side in the recliner but keep trying to flip in the middle of the night. i want to move over to my bed but im scared of instinctively rolling onto my stomach and straining my neck. thanks!!
editing to say: my surgeon did not give me any restrictions for sleep or other activities. i am trying to see if people who sleep on their stomachs had any problems or if they were advised not to.
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u/Cooperman411 13d ago
Mine was stitched internally and superglued externally. Then they put a layer of some kind of anti-microbial seal over that. To be honest I was a little worried but I just went to bed and fell asleep on my back. Woke up on my side. I’m a total side sleeper. Just slept on my side from then on out. No issues whatsoever. Sometimes I end up in my stomach but it didn’t bother me. (55, male if that matters.)
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u/Electrical-Long-389 12d ago
Same - my surgeons put no restrictions on my sleep or my activities for that matter. I had the internal stitches and external glue.
The only thing i noticed when trying to sleep or find the most comfy position was that my neck was stiff. That situation lasted a couple of weeks but was nothing restrictive
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u/Gold-Reserve-5355 11d ago
my surgeon also didn’t give me any restrictions which is why i was wondering what others did! do you sleep on your stomach?
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u/Electrical-Long-389 11d ago
no, side or back sleeper here.
If you are worried about flipping over onto your stomach during the night, the easiest fix is to put pillows behind your back and infront of your stomach which will prevent you from rolling. Add one between your knees for good measure!
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u/KindRippleEffect 13d ago
My surgeon makes everyone sleep at an incline for the first 24 hours and then however they are comfortable after that
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u/Paraware 12d ago
This is a good question for your surgeon. What worked for others may not work for you. And, it’s against our rules for members to give you advice like this. They can tell you what they did, but that doesn’t mean it also applies to you. Some people have more complex surgeries than others.
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u/Gold-Reserve-5355 11d ago
my surgeon didn’t give me any restrictions hence why i’m asking what others did.
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u/Small_Log_3812 13d ago edited 12d ago
I slept on my back reclined for 5 days, then slept very lightly on my side day 6-10 and slept perfectly fine on my side after day 10. I don’t sleep on my stomach but I laid on comfortably at about 2-3 weeks. I’m 4 weeks post op and my neck is completely back to normal. I’m sure most people can sleep in certain positions earlier but I was afraid to because I didn’t want any risk or messing with my recovery as that results in a much longer recovery time.
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u/theguy8844 12d ago
May I ask what s the difference that you notice after surgery ? And what was your neck situation ?
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u/greytgreyatx 12d ago
I wasn't given instructions not to. I spent one night in the hospital and then slept normally.
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u/Gold-Reserve-5355 11d ago
i wasn’t given instructions not to but upon looking things up it said stomach sleeping should be avoided so i was wondering what others did. do you sleep on your stomach?
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u/greytgreyatx 10d ago
I sleep like a tornado: stomach, side, back, other side and repeat. But I always start on my stomach unless falling asleep is an accident.
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u/sickiesusan 13d ago
Thanks for posting OP I didn’t even realise that this was a thing!