sleeping upright after HT questions??

[tkerr22]

K,

Have had my 4th HT yesterday and I cannot sleep cause of being uncomfortable trying to prop my head up. Got a question, is sleeping upright recommended for the swelling and to avoid your grafts rubbing against something and getting dislodged only? because I could really care less if I have a little swelling and I know last time I had a HT with Dr. Alexander I had no swelling at all(I think it was due to his small blades and minimal invasiveness). I feel much more comfortable with a pillow resting against my cheek and ear so the pillow never comes close to my grafts thus I never experience any potential rubbing of the grafts, especially this time since they were all midscalp only except for a few up front. Like I said I sleep in a postion that won' bother my grafts. Are there any other reasons for sleeping elevated??? thanks in advance

[tkerr22]

K,

Have had my 4th HT yesterday and I cannot sleep cause of being uncomfortable trying to prop my head up. Got a question, is sleeping upright recommended for the swelling and to avoid your grafts rubbing against something and getting dislodged only? because I could really care less if I have a little swelling and I know last time I had a HT with Dr. Alexander I had no swelling at all(I think it was due to his small blades and minimal invasiveness). I feel much more comfortable with a pillow resting against my cheek and ear so the pillow never comes close to my grafts thus I never experience any potential rubbing of the grafts, especially this time since they were all midscalp only except for a few up front. Like I said I sleep in a postion that won' bother my grafts. Are there any other reasons for sleeping elevated??? thanks in advance

[Guest]

It's for swelling mainly. But it's also important not put any pressure on the grafts for the first 2 days as they can come out.

I slept with 2 pillows strategically placed so there was no pressure on the grafts for 3-4 days.

By not elevating my head I did get a bit of swelling but it was nothing to worry about and went away in a few days.

You should go down the shop and rent a few DVD's or buy a good book for the next few days.

Best of luck.

Now for the hard part. Waiting.

[tkerr22]

by putting pressure on grafts what do you mean?

[Guest]

If you move your head on the pillow you might rub them and they can come out. So try and sleep so the grafts aren't actually touching anything for the first 2-3 nights. Pain in the ass I know but best not to take any chances. They're still a bit fragile and not really imbedded until at least a couple of days. I tried not to let them contact anything for the first few days.

Wash them daily or twice daily by tipping a cup of soapy warm water on them for the first few day or just very gently rub them with shampoo.

[tkerr22]

gotcha, so if I am laying on a pillow where only my side hair and ear are touching, not the grafts, I should be fine? all my grafts are in the midscalp and this never touches my pillow, so I am ok?

[Guest]

Yep. As long as the actual grafts aren't touching and rubbing on the pillow. Also be a little careful of your donor area. You dont want to rip out any staples/stitches.

Its a tough few days.

[tkerr22]

thanks brianf, got no sleep last night. going to go upstairs and crawl into bed with my comfortable pillow under my cheek and ear and get some zzzzzz's!!!!

[angel706]

My grafts were all in the temple area (restoring a female hairline that had receded to a NWII), and I'm normally a side/stomach sleeper, so I asked my doc if I should consider sleeping in a recliner for the first 1-2 weeks to avoid pulling out any of the grafts. He agreed that it was probably a good idea. So that's what I did! Taking a sleep aid (like Lunesta or Ambien CR) during that short time helped a lot, too.