Nightmares after surgery

[zee112]

Hi guys,

I am now 3 months post op, and have been having nightmares such as my surgeon telling me we need to operate again as my valve is leaking or that my valve is making a lot of noise(Pretty dumb dreams, which feel terribly real in the moment).

Has anyone experienced anything similar after their surgeries? And how did you cope?

Thank you.

 

[Paleowoman]

Hi Zee - are you taking betablockers ? They can have a side effect of extremely lucid/vivid dreams. If that is the cause you could ask for a different betablocker or ask if you can taper off them (I was off betablockers by 8 weekes post op). If it's not medication side effect, could be an element of post traumatic stress ? Either way you might want to talk to your doctor about it. Hope you find an answer and resolution soon.

 

[zee112]

Thanks for your reply Paleogirl, I'm only taking Warfarin currently, and nothing else. I find GP's completely useless, so may wait until my cardiology appointment in October. (Hopefully by then they're not around).

 

[Paleowoman]

Hi Zee - could be an element of post traumatic stress then :-(

I've had some really good GPs and some really useless ones too. It seems the luck of the draw with them.

 

[FredW]

Zee, having dreams like that must be very distributing. I'm 3 days post op and will tell I NEVER want to go through this again. Don't minimize the trauma of OHS

As for GP's, I'll extend Ann's comment to include all doctors. Good ones and Bad ones. Hope your dreams turn to the wonderful.

 

[Ryanvs]

I'm 3 months post opp and am currently on Warfarin & Sotalol. Have been on Metoprolol in the past too. I was fortunate enough not to suffer bad dreams like others have. PTSD perhaps?

 

[Paleowoman]

Zee, having dreams like that must be very distributing. I'm 3 days post op and will tell I NEVER want to go through this again. Don't minimize the trauma of OHS

As for GP's, I'll extend Ann's comment to include all doctors. Good ones and Bad ones. Hope your dreams turn to the wonderful.

I notice Zee also had AVR when he was eight years old.

I wonder Zee - did you get any kind of counselling back then when you had your first AVR ? I'm not a counsellor but do wonder if the trauma of having AVR at age 8 is 'coming back' now that you've had it again just 15 years later ? Especially bearing in mind the type of nightmares you are having.

 

[zee112]

I notice Zee also had AVR when he was eight years old.

I wonder Zee - did you get any kind of counselling back then when you had your first AVR ? I'm not a counsellor but do wonder if the trauma of having AVR at age 8 is 'coming back' now that you've had it again just 15 years later ? Especially bearing in mind the type of nightmares you are having.

Hi, I wasn't offered any counselling when I was 8. I didn't think much of the op back then, it was only recently when I found out about my need for a second surgery, did I begin to worry and experience hypochondria. This stress has long gone, but I agree, it does make sense.

 

[Paleowoman]

Hi, I wasn't offered any counselling when I was 8. I didn't think much of the op back then, it was only recently when I found out about my need for a second surgery, did I begin to worry and experience hypochondria. This stress has long gone, but I agree, it does make sense.

Hi Zee - I know from my own experience of other negative things that when we are children we don't experience stress as adults might BUT that actually we do experience it, unconciously if you like, and it can come out later in the teen years or adulthood

 

[JulienDu]

triple message...

 

[JulienDu]

triple message ...

 

[aetos]

Very common, I had nightmares the first few months. Things get better and easier as you recover and you'll be sleeping like a baby before you know it. Hang in there... when having nightmares or can't sleep, I would get up and go for a walk.

 

[JulienDu]

The first surgery, when I was 9 or 10, my parents told that I had over 2 years of intense nightmare after that.

The second surgery I woke up trying to date the ICU nurse and telling her that I m not a ******* *** ( that's what my wife told me, I was not conscious ).

The next 6 months I did not have nightmares but episode of short depression and hypocondria which is hard to admit for a bush cave man like me. So yeah I would say what happen to you does not seem any strange.