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Sleeping with UC?

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Ulcerative Colitis
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Posted 8/13/2013 7:10 PM (GMT 0)
Anyone have and suggestions what to do before bed, or any sleeping positions to sleep through the night??
Posted 8/13/2013 7:15 PM (GMT 0)
It might help if you told us exactly what symptoms you are having trouble with that prompted you to ask the question.
Posted 8/13/2013 7:16 PM (GMT 0)
I sleep in a few positions every night. it's always different. I usually start with my feet propped up with some pillows just because it feels good... then I move to fetal position on left side for tv watching and then to right side for sleeping.

when i'm flaring badly, it seems the left side with a heating pad is the most comfy spot for me. I do hate when moving triggers bowel movements. drives me freaking bonkers.
Posted 8/13/2013 7:17 PM (GMT 0)
I wake up anywhere from 1-4 times a night with an urgency feeling and have to run to the washroom immediately.. Usually can never ignore it..
Posted 8/13/2013 7:19 PM (GMT 0)
When I was flaring badly, I found that rolling on to my left side would nearly always trigger a BM.
Posted 8/13/2013 7:33 PM (GMT 0)
Sleeping on either side seemed to trigger a BM for me. I HATE sleeping on my back but trained myself to do so when I was deep in a flare.

Let's face it... you're gonna have nighttime BMs no matter how you sleep, as long as your flaring. Sad reality.
Posted 8/13/2013 7:58 PM (GMT 0)
For me:
Laying on my side means less cramping.
Laying on my back means less gas.
Laying on my stomach is pretty much a bad idea.

I have a heated mattress pad, and it is a GODSEND if I am having bad pain, because it isn't as hot as a heating pad where I risk burning myself if I sleep, but it is warm enough to alleviate cramps if I lay on my back.

Depending on what meds you take, taking them so that they are strong in your system overnight might help with BMs overnight, but I always am up multiple times when I am flaring. It just... happens.
Posted 8/13/2013 8:15 PM (GMT 0)
Left side means immediate trip to the restroom for me.
Posted 8/15/2013 8:48 PM (GMT 0)
Are you in flare or just coming out of flare? No matter how you sleep, you WILL get up. The sleep position and your urgency are not connected in any way.

I suffered a lot but soon after I got Bentyl, life has been a LOT smoother. I take 20mg or 40mg Bentyl an hour before going to bed (visit around the same time to empty out bowel) and in an hour, the effect starts, administer whatever rectal meds you use. Thats it. Makes everything go smoothly.

You may want to watch what you eat for dinner.



This is really surprising to me, how folks miss this easy part of the treatment. Even the gastroenterologists do not recommend it. The quality of life improves so quickly with just one tablet. Even cramps disappear for a while (at least in my case).
Posted 8/15/2013 11:53 PM (GMT 0)
I wish I could say that. I don't think Bentyl does a rats ass for me.
Posted 8/15/2013 11:57 PM (GMT 0)
Bentyl made me feel much worse. I got nausea on top of everything else. Different strokes, for different folks!
Posted 8/16/2013 12:15 AM (GMT 0)
gary, same here!! bentyl is like a sugar pill to me
Posted 8/16/2013 12:52 AM (GMT 0)
bentyl is one of those things where it won't work if you're cramping already but if you take it every 4-6 hours it will reduce cramps to some degree. it eventually lost effect for me though and I was put on librax. but i don't really bother with that now
Posted 8/16/2013 1:31 AM (GMT 0)
Recently I've done a couple of things that have seemed to help me. First, I eat dinner at like 6 (I got to bed around 10 usually) and I don't eat a large meal. This gives me time to digest, settle and have a BM before bed. Also, I started drinking a cup of caffeine free mint hot tea about an hour before bed, it feels like it calms and settles my stomach.

As far as sleeping positions, generally I'm flat on my back. If I go on my left side I have a BM triggered within minutes. Sometimes I can get away with laying on my right side but generally any movement isn't good for me. So flat on my back it is.
Posted 8/16/2013 2:22 AM (GMT 0)
The key is to stay very still. The moment I would shift positions I would have to go to the bathroom. I could never sleep well when I was flaring, too many trips to the bathroom. Some took 5 minutes, other times I would be gone for an hour with cramps and pain.
Posted 8/16/2013 4:13 AM (GMT 0)
sleeping was never the problem -

waking up was the shiitzz !
Posted 8/16/2013 9:06 AM (GMT 0)
I have to say then, I am in the lucky camp. This medication is a godsend. Before that it should be sleepless nights, rectal medications was REAL PITA.
To those with whom Bentyl does not work, how about Imodium or Lomotil?
Posted 8/16/2013 11:39 AM (GMT 0)
Depending on what I eat usually determines how many times I have to go in the middle of the night. On average it is around 3 BM a night.  As others have said, sudden movements and sleeping on my left side bring on the "Uh oh, gotta go" feeling. I don't sleep completely flat on my back, if I do lay down on my right side, I am ok. Flare or nonflare, this has been status quo for me since I was diagnosed. It doesn't interrupt my sleep too much. I usually go, then fall back to sleep right away.

Honestly, I rather have it this way than constantly having to go all the time during the day.

Posted 8/16/2013 6:55 PM (GMT 0)
Obviously, you're not on any meds....maybe try them?? hopefully you'll improve, especially to sleep at night.

I can't see focusing on positions or what to do before you sleep will benefit as much.

q
Posted 8/16/2013 6:57 PM (GMT 0)
q that's crazy I saw this YouTube video once where a guy like totally cured his Crohn's Disease by sleeping ONLY on his right side on a memory foam mattress filled with probiotics.
Posted 8/16/2013 7:00 PM (GMT 0)
omg...didn't realise it could be done..lol.

I'll skip the memory foam, however, I'd never be able to breathe.

sheesh..thanks for the tip, tho..lol.
q
Posted 8/16/2013 9:09 PM (GMT 0)
lol, dare I ask, how to you fill a foam mattress with priobiotics? or did he fill up on probiotics?
Posted 8/16/2013 11:44 PM (GMT 0)
When I was on the peak of my flare I had to sleep with diapers because in the mornings I couldn't get up that fast as my colon wanted me lol
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