Sleeping on your left side

Being on my left side gets all sorts of stuff going. I think its kind of just the natural way things work down your colon. If I have a stuck gas bubble all I have to do is lay on my left side to relieve it.

That's odd that I read about people having trouble sleeping on their left side. For me, I CAN'T sleep on my right or I end up with Uc issues (feels like it pulls or something). Sleeping on my left is also sort of a comfort "zone" for me.

Wow, I have exactly the same issue on the left side! When I am flaring, I can't be on the left side or I have urgency. Very practical when you are on enemas. I have to lay around on my left side for a long time before i can even think about administering an enema. When I am not flaring, I need to .... uhh ... expel gas as soon as I lay on my left side. That's great that so many people say exactly the same because a former GI of me immediately raised the BS flag on it when I told him.

can't sleep on my left side at all- I immediately start to get that feeling, "I have to go!". Sometimes if I'm really gassy, I'll try to lay on that side to help it out, but no go. It hurts, too, the pressure is uncomfortable. Which stinks, as I prefer to sleep on my left side. But I haven't been able to in a long time, a couple years. Makes sense, if you have left-sided colitis, no?

Left side also puts pressure on my bladder and at my age I don't need any more of that!!

ElaineNY

I guess I'm the exception, I can sleep on either side. When I'm flaring I can't pass gas without being afraid of soiling if I'm sitting or standing, but when I'm lying down I don't have that problem.

I do find that I'm very much more gassey while flaring, which leads to more frequent and less productive trips to the men's room during the day. That's Kind of a bummer because my cubicle is right next to my boss's, plus I have to sit through at least four regularly scheduled meetings and any number of ad hoc ones each week.

It can be embarrassing to have to explain why I have to duck out of so many meetings. I usually just make a joke about being pregnant, and if that doesn't work I can mumble something about an enlarged prostrate gland.

When I turn to either left or right side I hear my guts making noise then they settle down after a little while. Whether it makes you go or not probably just depends how bad a person is flaring. When I am feeling really good I don't get any noise at all.

Bentyl makes you sleepy Heather? I take mine during the day and it doesn't make me sleepy at all. I am a chronic insomniac and oh would I LOVE to have something that helps me sleep AND help my Uc at the same time! :) But I do have to agree that they do indeed help. On the mornings that I have issues, I take a Bentyl and it slows things down for me as well as stop the cramping.

For me, too, any side was ok, the problem is moving. When I'm flared, I have to lay very still.
So if I'm using enema, I start on my left side, then roll very slowly to my back and try to stay there.

It's a terrible cycle, you're tired from the flare, but the flare disrupts your sleep so it makes you even more tired.

I have colitis in my sigmoid colon. When it is acting up and hurting, it hurts worse when I try to sleep on my left side big time.

Wow. I've had UC for 10 years, and since I got it I don't remember being able to sleep on my left side even once. It's way too uncomfortable. I never thought about why until I read your post...I never even made the connection. I always have to be on my right side. Guess I've had my "ah-ha" moment for the day!:)