Wedge Pillow

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Lynn_Paul
Lynn_Paul Member Posts: 22 Member
in Esophageal Cancer #1
I am a "newbie" to this site. For all of you just getting home from surgery, I want to suggest getting a wedge pillow. After my husband's surgery last year, we were told to elevate the head of the bed. Easier said than done. Bed Bath and Beyond (and others) sell a wedge pillow that works great.

Lynn

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  • LeeinLondon
    LeeinLondon Member Posts: 103
    #2
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    me too
    I like them too Lynn;

    Shoppers home health care here in Canada carries the Obus-forme products. Also, you can bring it back as long as you haven't removed the bag around it, so you can try a few out.

    Nice for TV watching etc. too!

    best,
    Lee
  • sandy1943
    sandy1943 Member Posts: 824
    #3
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    Without the wedge I always
    Without the wedge I always reflux, so it even goes on overnite trips with me. I suggest this to friends that have reflux at night(not cancer patients) and the ones that try it have appreciated the advise,
  • birdiequeen
    birdiequeen Member Posts: 319
    #4
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    We rented a hospital bed for
    We rented a hospital bed for a couple of month’s right after surgery. You can even get a prescription, so insurance will cover the cost. Then he moved to the wedge pillow and a regular bed
  • jojoshort
    jojoshort Member Posts: 230 Member
    #5
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    Good, but better
    Better is to elevate the head of the bed by 6". A wedge pillow is a good stopgap, but for your everyday bed, nothing beats raising the head of the bed. The wedge pillow can crunch your stomach, while the slant afforded by raising the bed itself keeps the body straight. It's better not to bend the body when trying to avoid acid reflux.
    Now if I could just recall where I found this research, I could back this up with a link, but, alas, you may have to research this on your own.
    Jo-Ann
  • adube
    adube Member Posts: 63
    #6
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    jojoshort said:

    Good, but better
    Better is to elevate the head of the bed by 6". A wedge pillow is a good stopgap, but for your everyday bed, nothing beats raising the head of the bed. The wedge pillow can crunch your stomach, while the slant afforded by raising the bed itself keeps the body straight. It's better not to bend the body when trying to avoid acid reflux.
    Now if I could just recall where I found this research, I could back this up with a link, but, alas, you may have to research this on your own.
    Jo-Ann

    6" raise
    The 6" bed raise is what my dad's OC recommended. He started small and jacked the bed up I think by 2" and it helped with the late night reflux so far, he's resolved to go higher if it stops helping. Would you guys recommend one of those beds that fold up electronically? Or is just the boost under the 2 head posts the best?

    -alissa
    (daughter of Mike, IV)
  • LeeinLondon
    LeeinLondon Member Posts: 103
    #7
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    adube said:

    6" raise
    The 6" bed raise is what my dad's OC recommended. He started small and jacked the bed up I think by 2" and it helped with the late night reflux so far, he's resolved to go higher if it stops helping. Would you guys recommend one of those beds that fold up electronically? Or is just the boost under the 2 head posts the best?

    -alissa
    (daughter of Mike, IV)

    wedge
    Hi Alissa;

    Mine is 7" and it's a bit high. You can get elaborate rental beds etc. but hopefully you can meet his needs with few wedges. Does he complain of pillow too warm? I also have a memory-foam pillow call the ISO-COOL that really does shed heat well.

    When the s&*t hit the fan I installed a 32" TV on the wall at the foot of the bed, knowing I'd be spending a lot more time there. Netflix is a wonderful boredom reliever!

    best to Mike!

    Lee
  • adube
    adube Member Posts: 63
    #8
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    LeeinLondon said:

    wedge
    Hi Alissa;

    Mine is 7" and it's a bit high. You can get elaborate rental beds etc. but hopefully you can meet his needs with few wedges. Does he complain of pillow too warm? I also have a memory-foam pillow call the ISO-COOL that really does shed heat well.

    When the s&*t hit the fan I installed a 32" TV on the wall at the foot of the bed, knowing I'd be spending a lot more time there. Netflix is a wonderful boredom reliever!

    best to Mike!

    Lee

    I'm going to start calling it "Late Night with Lee"
    instead of sleep. ;) The 'rents had a roku box (streaming netflix ready device) in their living room that my tech savvy hubby hooked up for dad upstairs for when he's ready to spend more time in bed. I think most of his bedroom time now consists of sleeping...or tossing and turning as it were. But I know there will come a time (we're only week 2 of chemo right now) when his bed will be far more comfy than the couch. I think the folks are contemplating buying one of those sleep number beds-- or whatever those ones are called that let you set a different incline and soft/hardness for each side (since my mom has back problems too and probably won't be comfy at a 90 degree angle-- I kid). Anyway, I'll definitely pass along the memory-foam pillow idea-- and maybe I'll just go pick up a wedge for him, in fact I think we still have a few BB&B gift cards from the wedding (damn year 3 years ago! ha!) that were waiting for me to take curtain measurements. Drapes schmapes. Mini-blinds may be crude, but completely effective for the time being. :) Although my husband, Tim, swears they are perfect for post-college usage. I don't know about all that. ha. Anyway, it's past 3am, so let the ramblings begin-- yeesh.

    Cutting myself off,
    Alissa
  • GerryS
    GerryS Member Posts: 227 Member
    #9
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    electric bed........
    I tried the wedge pillow and did not like it. We purchased an electric bed and memory foam matress from Costco on line. Best price and we love it.

    Gerry
  • cher76
    cher76 Member Posts: 292
    #10
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    Adjustable Bed
    Adjustable beds are all the rage in the mattress industry right now. Since we own furniture stores, when our Sealy mattress rep came in and started talking about their product this past winter, I insisted we order one for us and one for the showroom floor. I have suffered from reflux all my adult life, and have taken aciphex for about five years to control it, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to try the elevation as well. Since we sleep in a king size bed, we ordered two twins that we put together. This way we can adjust them to our own preference. You can also connect them together so they move together. It has individual remote controls that allows you to raise and lower the foot and the head of the bed, and even has massage adjustments. You can get them with either a memory foam or latex mattress. In our case he has the latex and I have the memory foam. They are a bit pricey, but well worth it as far as I am concerned. And surprisingly we have sold quite a few. Rickie loves it and sleeps well through the night always. You can check them out on the Sealy website.
    Cheryl
  • mruble
    mruble Member Posts: 174
    #11
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    cher76 said:

    Adjustable Bed
    Adjustable beds are all the rage in the mattress industry right now. Since we own furniture stores, when our Sealy mattress rep came in and started talking about their product this past winter, I insisted we order one for us and one for the showroom floor. I have suffered from reflux all my adult life, and have taken aciphex for about five years to control it, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to try the elevation as well. Since we sleep in a king size bed, we ordered two twins that we put together. This way we can adjust them to our own preference. You can also connect them together so they move together. It has individual remote controls that allows you to raise and lower the foot and the head of the bed, and even has massage adjustments. You can get them with either a memory foam or latex mattress. In our case he has the latex and I have the memory foam. They are a bit pricey, but well worth it as far as I am concerned. And surprisingly we have sold quite a few. Rickie loves it and sleeps well through the night always. You can check them out on the Sealy website.
    Cheryl

    Thank you!
    Cheryl --
    Thanks so much for the info on the adjustable bed. We have a latex mattress that we LOVE and my husband has not been willing to consider an adjustable bed because of it. Now that I know we can get a latex mattress, maybe I can convince him!
    Mary

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