I can't get no sleep

[Al3x]

I'm one week post op and was delighted to get home. The problem is, I just can't sleep! I have a plethora of wonderfully shaped cushions and pillows etc. but nothing works. Comfort eludes me.

Does anyone have any tips? Or at the least a few boring stories to send me in the right direction?

 

[MdaPA]

Does anyone have any tips?

How about listening to some white noise?



When my wife can't sleep, which is often, I always tell her to "count clicks" instead of "counting sheep" (she has mechanical MV and AV valves). Needless to say that doesn't work nor does she find that humorous.

 

[pellicle]

I'm one week post op and was delighted to get home.

glad you're home and in the next phase.

Does anyone have any tips? Or at the least a few boring stories to send me in the right direction?

when you are exhausted enough you'll sleep.
I found listening to this guy always puts me to sleep


give that a shot if the white noise doesn't work

I have a URL to this on my phone

https://mynoise.net/NoiseMachines/campingRainNoiseGenerator.php?c=0&l=7020200000000000200000&d=0
you can make up your own

 

[Warrick]

I remember the first night I was home I tried to sleep in bed which was terribly uncomfortable and had me ringing up cardiothoracic at the hospital at 3am.

So I slept in a recliner with a blanket in front of the tv for the first few weeks or so. I just watched tv until I dosed off and there were non-stop runs of Wheeler Dealers and Fast N’ Loud with Richard Rawlins for entertainment. I found you will sleep normal eventually, you just have to give it time and sleep when you can for a start, you’ll doze eventually, your body is still trying to work out what the heck just happened to it.
Ive had some pretty crappy nights where the ticking drives me nuts but thats few and far between these days.

 

[Paleowoman]

I couldn't sleep at all well in the beginning weeks after surgery, a combination of not beng able to sleep in a sitting/reclining position, as I couldn't lie down, and also the pain. Since I live in the UK I would log onto the forum where the Americans and Australians were all awake...it was nice just being able to know there were people around who understood how difficult it is to sleep and who I could communicate with during my night. I had sleeping meds from the GP - Zopiclone - which helped for a few hours but it's just not natural sleeping in a sitting/reclining position.

 

[slipkid]

I'm one week post op and was delighted to get home. The problem is, I just can't sleep! I have a plethora of wonderfully shaped cushions and pillows etc. but nothing works. Comfort eludes me.

Does anyone have any tips? Or at the least a few boring stories to send me in the right direction?

I had probs sleeping too despite being totally exhausted and wanting to badly. The problem for me was that I could not get into ANY comfortable position AT ALL in my bed despite getting like 1000 pillows.

I was this close to renting a hospital bed or buying a comfy recliner; my sister was on the phone with several places trying to get me a bed but that didn't work out. Were going to go the recliner route next but decided to eff it and just suffer hoping that eventually in 3-4 weeks I would be able to get some sleep. Time flew by, sleep or no sleep. Eventually I healed enough to be able to sleep lying down.

 

[Beach77]

I also had the same problem!!! After the 2nd night of no sleep and lots of tears, I ordered a wedge pillow. That was a game changer for me! I would lay flat on the wedge, then the only pillows I used, were pillows for under my shoulder/arms (not fluffy pillows either!). If I kept my shoulders/arms kind of curved in, like I was hugging, it was better. I slept that way for weeks! Good luck!

 

[AZ Don]

I had some trouble adjusting to a recliner but my real problem was that a side effect of the metoprolol that I was prescribed was insomnia. Once I realized this I was able to adjust the timing of when I take it and had little trouble after that. Suggest that you check your prescriptions and adjust the timing of any that have insomnia as a side effect.

 

[bosshog]

Are you taking any pain meds such as hydrocodone? I could only take them a few days after getting home, then had to stop as they keep me awake. I couldn't sleep in a bed for several weeks, and had to use wedge pillow too.

 

[tezza]

Congratulations on getting to the other side! It's a rough journey! But go you! You made it! Yes, sleep is one of those things that is tough in the first weeks. For me, I found sleeping in the recliner chair was the only way I could get some sleep. It took me several weeks before I could sleep in the bed. With the recliner, I could adjust the levels as I became uncomfortable. Rest as you need through the day, but maybe not sleep. You will find that with time, your sleep pattern will adjust. I found hot/cold packs helpful as well as the occasional paracetamol. I know some have found a light "sleeper" medication helpful as well. It really is a one day at a time proposition in those first weeks...sometimes very frustrating. Trying to keep a positive mindset is also helpful, although sometimes hard to do when the days/weeks don't seem to go quick enough for you. But you will get there. Sending you positive thoughts.

 

[Astro]

Hi AI3x, I hope you have managed to get some more sleep last night. I had a similar unpleasant experience trying to grab some sleep. A few points on reflection:

1) I normally sleep on my side. On my side, I don’t snore. However, I think that I snore/airway obstructs when sleeping on my back or sitting up.

2) My Cardiothoracic team told me to avoid sleeping on my side for 4 weeks. Other people who have been to different institutions within the same city, have been told that they can sleep on their side if they wish. I found sleeping on my side too painful but some other people have no trouble sleeping on their side early after the surgery. I concluded that you can sleep in any position that works for you - there are no definite rules.

3) Sleeping with one side partially propped up helped me.

4) When I woke up, which was generally after only 1 hour , I found it useful to get up, stretch, reposition, take simple pain relief, before trying to sleep again. Just lying there rarely worked for me.

5) The disordered sleep may not just be about the pain/discomfort. I remember having unpleasant dreams/sleep hallucinations. Opioids improved my comfort but increased these dreams. Overall, I found opioids not particularly helpful so I completely stopped them within 1 week of the surgery. These funny dreams settled after a couple weeks.

6) It will improve. At about week 4 to 5, I felt that my sternum had solidified. Sleeping became drastically easier, including sleeping on my full side.

7) Accept that sleep will be fragmented. Humans can survive with fragmented sleep (but be disgruntled) - ask any mother of a newborn.

You are not alone in finding sleep challenging after surgery. I feel that it is the hidden, biggest challenge of cardiac surgery. It will improve. Hopefully some other members will post their golden tips to help. Best wishes

 

[Al3x]

Thanks guys. White noise has helped a little (pellicle - thanks for the mynoise link. I've used it to tune out the valve clicking). That being said, it's current 4am where I am so sleep is still tricky. I'll suck it up for a few weeks and hope it improves.

We're due to have a new baby in a couple of weeks so at least I'll have some company in the middle of the night!

 

[pellicle]

3) Sleeping with one side partially propped up helped me.

Gosh that's right, I'd forgotten that.

 

[Chuck C]

Glad that you are through your surgery and back home!

I would suggest using a recliner if you have one. If not, perhaps you can pick up a used one cheap. I also found that taking a painkiller, some melatonin and also magnesium seemed to usually put me out within an hour. Even when I did not need the pain meds anymore for the pain, I did continue to use them to fall asleep for several more days.

On the melatonin dose, I take a very small amount, as I find the very small dosage works just as good for me as the large doses. I use the 300mcg tablets and have to order them online, as they don't even sell that small of a dosage over the counter. I generally take 2 x 300mcg, which equals only .6mg. Compared to the typical 5mg or 10mg over the counter, this is very small. But, it does the trick and, for me anyway, I avoid the grogginess from the big doses.

 

[Amy]

Couple more non-pharmaceutical ideas, though that rain on a tent is brilliant.

1. go over your whole day in your mind, what you all did. Before you reach the present moment you should be asleep.

2. Without manipulating them, count your breaths, in — out — 1..... in — out — 2.... and by 10 you should be asleep.

worth a try. These often work for me, though I sometimes do them with a defiant “I’ll prove once and for all this doesn’t work!”

if nothing else remember that everything passes, and so will this.

Hope you’re feeling good very soon.

 

[Eva]

I only sleep on my side and I was told it was ok to sleep on my side. I slept on my side with my husband’s help…he kept putting pillows to support me from rolling back and kept switching the pillows as I switched from left to right and so on! He got same amount of sleep that I got.

 

[cldlhd]

Thanks guys. White noise has helped a little (pellicle - thanks for the mynoise link. I've used it to tune out the valve clicking). That being said, it's current 4am where I am so sleep is still tricky. I'll suck it up for a few weeks and hope it improves.

We're due to have a new baby in a couple of weeks so at least I'll have some company in the middle of the night!

I've gotten into the habit of always listening to white noise. I used to run a fan but a few years ago I got one of those Hepa fans. They got some pretty slim tower ones that don't take up too much space, I figure as long as I'm going to run a fan I might as well clean the air also. I run it every night, at this point if we're going on a vacation we drive to I bring the sucker with me as I still have trouble sleeping occasionally.

 

[Chuck C]

I used to run a fan but a few years ago I got one of those Hepa fans.

This is exactly what I do as well. They sell HEPA filters from time to time at Costco for about $ 100. Another benefit is that there was a study done that found that CRP levels, an inflammation marker associated with heart disease, were significantly reduced for individuals when a HEPA filter fan was introduced.

" Filtration was associated with a 9.4% (95% confidence interval, 0.9–18%) increase in reactive hyperemia index and a 32.6% (4.4–60.9%) decrease in C-reactive protein. "

https://www.atsjournals.org/doi/full/10.1164/rccm.201010-1572OC
It should be noted that the community studied was a wood smoke impacted community. Wood smoke has been associated with higher inflammation markers- higher CRP. So, if one has relatively clean air to begin with, there may not be any significant reduction in CRP.

 

[cldlhd]

This is exactly what I do as well. They sell HEPA filters from time to time at Costco for about $ 100. Another benefit is that there was a study done that found that CRP levels, an inflammation marker associated with heart disease, were significantly reduced for individuals when a HEPA filter fan was introduced.

" Filtration was associated with a 9.4% (95% confidence interval, 0.9–18%) increase in reactive hyperemia index and a 32.6% (4.4–60.9%) decrease in C-reactive protein. "

https://www.atsjournals.org/doi/full/10.1164/rccm.201010-1572OC
It should be noted that the community studied was a wood smoke impacted community. Wood smoke has been associated with higher inflammation markers- higher CRP. So, if one has relatively clean air to begin with, there may not be any significant reduction in CRP.

I have one larger HEPA in the living room but I don't run it as much. In our bedroom I just use a germguardian ac5350 I got off of Amazon. I don't use wood for heat, I have Mitsubishi mini split hyperheats so I probably don't get quite the benefit. At this point I can't sleep without the white noise so I figure I'm might as well get some benefit out of the fan running all night.

 

[Al3x]

Interesting. I might try the fan tonight. I managed about 4 hours last night with some insane dreams. I'm pretty beat at the moment! Did anybody else have weird post surgery dreams?