Elevate bed worth it

[RainyDog]

Had a couple of people recommend
elevating head of bed; for apnea and for gerd.
Any thoughts; height?  

Thank you

[SarcasticDave94]

Just a mild incline at the head may work. You don't want too much or it may induce chin tucking. I sleep on a slight incline in my home hospital bed.

[car54]

I  tried a wedge pillow for gerds that was about 2 feet long. It raised my head about 4 inches. It made it very uncomfortable to sleep on my side.
I ended up raising the back of my bed 6 inches and it helped gerds, did not interfere with side sleeping and does not cause chin tucking.

[HalfAsleep]

For certain conditions a wedge pillow works great or is maybe medically necessary, e.g. after septoplasty. However, for GERD, my doc told me to put 6" blocks under the bed legs at the head. The entire bed would be tilted.

I have a full size bed** with remnant bits of lumber under the head. At first, it looks like something out of a Hieronymus Bosch picture, some kind of crazy bed. At first, I was apt to slide down to the foot. ***So, it takes some getting used to. Works great though. I can use a very flat pillow in this set up, and that means low positional apnea for someone who sleeps on their back.

It's also a super cheap solution!

After a recent septoplasty, I had to also use a wedge pillow in addition to the tilt. Yes, about 2' long. It went all the way down to my thighs. I actually liked this wedge a lot, but will save it for medical necessity.

**A full-size bed with 6" blocks will look much tiltier than a queen size, because it's shorter. You might have to go to 8" for a queen size.
***Satin sheets would be a non-starter or you'd slide out the bottom of the bed and land on your sleeping dog.

[SarcasticDave94]

Just keep the tilt below the threshold of requiring this sign near your bed

[G. Szabo]

At first, I was apt to slide down to the foot.

I had the same issue until I put a thick memory foam on the top of the mattress.  
I have also had good experiences with long wedge pillows.
Elevated head & torso reduced my AHI quite a bit.

[Crimson Nape]

The doctor had recommended that I try raising the head 6 inches above the foot of the bed. I needed Velcro Pajamas and sheets to be able to stay in bed. Needless to say, it was a very short trial period.
- Red

[HalfAsleep]

LMAO @sarcasticdave. That sign is how I felt until I got used to it. Now, I don't like flat beds...

[Deborah K.]

I have seen on Amazon that you can get 4-inch and even 2-inch bed risers. Maybe lifting the head of the bed less would accomplish what you need without being uncomfortable or causing you to slide down the bed. I would not think the 2-inch version would help much, but that the 4-inch ones would be good.

(I just posted this to another thread about using risers, and thought maybe it would help someone here.)

[SarcasticDave94]

If you want an insurance paid for hospital bed with electric tilt head and foot and an alternating pressure low air loss mattress like mine, just have a severe back injury needing urgent surgery, then get bed sores from sitting and sleeping on a recliner for 6 months. Then you too can push a button to tilt away.