sleeping on your side after surgery

just curious as to how soon after surgery that you can stop sleeping on your back.
i had a total colectomy where there cut me open all the way up my abdomen (not keyhole).
then my incision opened up and i had a vac machine until monday (2 days ago)

ive been sleeping on my back for just over a month now and im over it! my back is killing me.
i want to sleep on my sides, but when i try, it is very uncomfortable bording on painful.

when will it all stop hurting so much?
when can i move around in different positions when i sleep?
(surgery was a month ago)

I was sleeping on my side in the hospital - like Summer said, whenever you feel like you can do it, go for it! For a long time at home it hurt to sleep on my side b/c I had lost so much weight that my hips and shoulders were taking the brunt of my weight and I could never get comfortable. I slept with a body pillow for awhile that I tucked between my knees for added comfort. Now that I am almost back to my fatty self I sleep like a champ. I really want to make a bed insert for ostomates so that we can sleep on our stomachs! I saw a video blog where someone suggested using those travel pillows (that go around your neck) to try and sleep on your stomach. Haven't tried it yet but it on my list of things to do!

I'm a side sleeper and was also sleeping on my side in the hospital. I can't sleep in any other position.

Sue

I'm a stomach sleeper. When I was pregnant, have 2 children, thankfully I was tiny enough to sleep on my stomach, almost until birth. Compromised then with a body pillow.

As yourself, I had a colectomy and my incision opened. When opened, almost 3 months, I could only sleep on my back. My back hurt more than my wound. For me....bending, that forward and backward motion wasn't painful, it was the side to side twisting motion. When it finally closed, I brought the body pillow out of storage. I first used it under my back, to prop it up. When the wound pain completely subsided, I wasn't producing so much gas in my bag at night, and I was mentally prepared to do so, used the body pillow to sleep on my stomach.

No medical reason that I know of.
I just got one of the waterproof pads, sewed a sheet on it, and I put it under me when I sleep, and I sleep right on my stomach. After the wound healed of course. Really that pad only makes me feel better, its not necessary. Just makes me feel a little more secure that it I have a leak it won't make a mess, that way I can sleep on my stomach.

After my first surgery it felt strange to lay on my side- like everything was shifting around in the empty space in there or something. I found that if I put a pillow right under the side of my ribs, like others have said, it helped a lot. I still do that sometimes if I feel a little off or something. I also sleep with a pillow between my knees, because I feel like it helps as well. Oh, and I use a body pillow for that, so that the top is up next to my stomach, and I can sort of lean the bag against it, so that it doesn't flop over completely. Regardless of the surgery, I like sleeping with lots of pillows, it feels cozy!

ahh i know the frustration. when i was in teh hospital for two months, i could ONLY lay on ONE particuar side for over a month...this was prior to surgery, but nonetheless, i know the discomfort..

id go with what everyone else says also...do it when it feels ok....use a body pillow maybe? thats what i did/do....put one end between my legs/knees, then sort of line it along my body/tuck it between my body and the bed, and then hug it with my top arm!  my body pillow is really worn and flat now though, so it may be easier said than done with a nicer/newer one.

also, the one behind you will work great...even better if you can get someone to really tuck it in under your back.