Main problem now - severe insomnia

[Tovah]

Hi all,

To all my friends on this board that helped me during this time, I thank you so much.

As you may recall, my husband had a number of problems after his valve surgery and little by little, they are going away and he is feeling very well.

We are so grateful to all of you for your good advice.

I would say that (we are out of surgery about 14 weeks) the biggest problems is this unrelenting INSOMNIA. I have read previous posts, but was wondering what you have found recently to help. He has been taking ambien, which leaves him with quite the hangover the next day.

Also, our neurologist told us that Benadryl was not a good thing to take for insomnia.

Have any of you come up with something that works? I think it's beginning to depress my husband and he just needs one really good night's sleep.

I kind of wonder if it's more of an anxiety issue.

Any suggestions?

I hope you're all doing well.
Tovah

 

[pem]

Any recent changes to medication?
pem

 

[pem]

This might be helpful:

http://curetogether.com/insomnia/treatments/

In general, I think the things done to the body during valve surgery can throw the hypothalamus for a loop! This can impact emotions, temperature regulation, sleep regulation, and other basic central functions. I think it took about 6 months for my temperature regulation to go back to normal. "Time heals all wounds" may not be far from the truth. The trick with insomnia, I think, is to not fight it. If you are awake, you are awake. Just pick up a book, or do something relaxing. That's probably obvious. Anyway, I wish you and your husband the best.

pem

 

[Mom2izzy]

I believe that my insomnia is/was anxiety related. When I couldn't sleep, it seemed to be because my mind was racing. Anxiety meds help me.

 

[TheGymGuy]

Hey Tovah. Stress and nerves cause lots of insomnia. I agree with pem, the idea is to go with the flow. Cat naps during the day, let him sleep as much as he can whenever he can. Once he starts feeling rested things should even out over time.

 

[WandaW]

Insomnia

Insomnia

I remember the insomnia, it started around the time I went back to work, 12 to 16 weeks, I did use some benadryl some nights, got up and read, eliminated caffeine late in the day,(I used to drink pop up till bedtime). I would fall asleep in my recliner in front of the TV and by the time I put my head on the pillow I was WIDE awake. It does pass fairy quickly but it made it hard to get up and go to work. My surgeon mentioned that insomnia is common. This too will pass,

 

[Tovah]

Thank you all so much.

I do feel that it is somehow related to anxiety. For the last few days, although my husband is 10 weeks post-surgery,he almost feels like he has some flu-like symptoms. He said that he feels he is regressing. He is unsteady on his feet and when he wok up this morning, he was in a cold sweat.

Any ideas? Have any of you experienced this? I don't know if I should rush him to the cardiologist now or what.

 

[pem]

Thank you all so much.

I do feel that it is somehow related to anxiety. For the last few days, although my husband is 10 weeks post-surgery,he almost feels like he has some flu-like symptoms. He said that he feels he is regressing. He is unsteady on his feet and when he wok up this morning, he was in a cold sweat.

Any ideas? Have any of you experienced this? I don't know if I should rush him to the cardiologist now or what.

Why not take him to be evaluated for peace of mind, and in that context, explore the use of a benzodiazepine (e.g., Xanax) to treat acute episodes of anxiety. I would be careful not to take the Xanax regularly as it can be addictive (I think it would take two weeks of daily usage to become addicted). But 1/2 (try that first) or even a full pill every couple of days to help with anxiety or insomnia could help your husband (and you) get through this difficult time.

Good luck - you are not alone in your struggles!

Best,
pem

 

[Tovah]

Thank you all for your help...again.

I'm much more worried now about the fact that he is constantly fatigued and the falling, having trouble with dizziness when getting too quickly.

Last night, he fell twice when trying to move in bed.

Should I be concerned at this point? Get him into the cardiologist?

Or, is this just the way it is at this time of his recuperation?

Please help me know what to do at this point.

Thank you.

 

[Jkm7]

Thank you all so much.

I do feel that it is somehow related to anxiety. For the last few days, although my husband is 10 weeks post-surgery,he almost feels like he has some flu-like symptoms. He said that he feels he is regressing. He is unsteady on his feet and when he wok up this morning, he was in a cold sweat.


Any ideas? Have any of you experienced this? I don't know if I should rush him to the cardiologist now or what.

Given what he has been through, I would not take a chance.
I would make an appointment to see his PCP or cardiologist.
Why take a chance? Those symptoms may be harmless or maybe not.

As to the insomnia..... it is very common. I had terrible insomnia for months post op. I used medications to help sometimes but mostly just had to deal with it. Evenutally I improved both times but never really went back to my pre op sleep patterns.

Let us know how you both are doing. I think of you and hope your DH recovers well.

 

[Tovah]

They were unable to fix his mitral valve which was severely calcified. Do you think the symptoms are possibly from this?

 

[Bryan B]

Tovah,

I would call his cardiologist and get him in to see him asap. He needs to know about the symptoms he is having, especially if they have just recently started occurring. Make sure you tell the cardiologist about all of the symptoms including flu-like symptoms and cold sweats. They might want to run some blood tests on him to rule out endocarditis. I'm not trying to scare you, but I had endocarditis and flu-like symptoms and cold sweats are two of the symptoms. But then again those are fairly common symptoms for a lot of things including...well...the flu. Another symptom I had was a constant low grade fever. You might want to take his temperature and see if it's normal. But regardless of what is going on, if he feels like he is regressing it is always a good idea to check it out. The old saying around here is "when it doubt check it out". While you're there you can discuss his insomnia / anxiety with the cardiologist and maybe he can prescribe something for him on a temporary basis. Anxiety is not uncommon after surgery as the body and mind have been through a lot.

 

[Tovah]

Thank you!

I agree that it's possibly endocarditis. He had some kind of fungal infection in a finger a couple of weeks ago. Took antibiotics. Would that be enough to cause endocarditis?

 

[AgilityDog]

Endocarditis is generally bacterial, not fungal. So no. But other things could cause it.
Other things, like his meds, could also cause the dizziness, and fatigue, which cause the falling.
Do get him checked out - you'll both feel better.

 

[Bryan B]

Only 5% or less (I read 2-6%) of all infective endocarditis cases are related to fungal infections so the odds are low. BUT...of those 5% of cases approximately 50% occur in people with prosthetic valves. Like I said earlier there are many different things that could be causing his symptoms. I remember having night sweats after surgery but I think it was due to my body reacting to the surgery, as many people report having night sweats and chills after surgery. To be on the safe side get him checked out and report all of his symptoms. Mention the fungal infection to his finger...mention anything you might feel might be relevant information for the cardiologist. As someone who has had endocarditis in the past I know that early detection is the most important thing to minimize the damage caused by endocarditis. I would rather get it checked out and look foolish for overreacting than to ignore it and be wrong. I guess that comes with the territory for someone who has had endocarditis before. It took the doctors close to 4 months to diagnose mine as the symptoms mimic so many other less severe illnesses.

 

[Ray Norsworthy]

A few weeks after surgery the Coumadin caused a pericardial infusion & almost smothered my heart. My symptoms were very similar to what you describe. Get him to the cardiologist right away.

 

[Tovah]

Thank you all.

I have put in a call to his cardiologist. They seem so laissez-faire with everything. (perhaps because my husband is 75?). Anyway, I've been told that I will get a call back within 24 hours.

Bryan, I'm so sorry for all you went through, however, why would it take them 4 months to figure it out? Wouldn't they do the blood tests, or whatever the first line of treatment is, first? Was that before or after your VSD repair?

At this time, my husband slept all morning, was up for about 1 hour and went back to sleep. I mentioned endocarditis and I think he prefers to think he just caught some bug or something.

I guess he thinks I'm overreacting. But, he is not himself at all right now.

 

[neil]

i dont know what the course you take in usa but a call to the hospital or is it er in usa would be a good idea if your really worried

 

[Tovah]

I'm afraid that I'm overreacting. There was so much condescension on the part of the cardiac docs.. I think because of the great difference in my husbands age and mine.

He's back asleep AGAIN and I don't know what to do.

Plus, tomorrow, he's supposed to have an eye exam and see his dermatologist. They find these little precancerous sites and burn them off. He has gotten his antibiotics to take, but I don't know, at this point, if they should even be touching him.

 

[Richard Gardner]

I had insomnia for years...long before I knew I had any problem with my heart. While anxiety doesn't help I found even when things were going well, I still had trouble getting a good nights sleep. And then when you don't get enough sleep, everthing begins building on itself, you feel anxious about not getting enough sleep, you can't think straight...and on and on and on.....I found Trazadone to help me for years. When that stopped being effective I switched to Serequel which I use currently.
Good Luck,
Richard G