Post Op - Not sleeping

[Dexter Bob]

Going on 9 days post op and I don't think I have had more than a couple hours of continuous sleep

I figured that would be normal in hospital as SOMEBODY was doing SOMETHING to me about every two hours. I was given an OTC sleep pill one night and that gave me nightmares so I wasn't going to ask for that again.

Now home three nights and I can't get more an about an hour at a time in my recliner. Tried the bed last night but that put too much on the incison.

Should I try an OTC again or go for something stronger from my GP??

I think my A-Fib is acting up and that may have something to do with it also.

 

[JimL]

There are many threads on this subject, so, if you're up all night anyway...
Three hours is rather standard at first, which is better than one hour.
Are you taking a pain pill? You should be, at least one before bed. I think I held onto the pain pills for about six weeks after surgery because they got me at least those three hours of sleep, even when the kids were home from school and doing what kids do.

 

[Jkm7]

Very, very common and it last various lengths of times for most of us. My first OHS, I had trouble sleeping for almost 6 weeks. It got slightly better after that.

My second OHS, I knew to ask for 'chemical help' and it made a big difference.

 

[Bina]

Having a nap during the day really helped me alot. It's just too hard to get 6-8 hours at night for a while.
I didn't take any sleeping aids because that would just be one more unwanted med in my system.

 

[Dale]

I had trouble sleeping more than 3 hours at a time for about 4 weeks. Once I was taken of the meteopolol (can't remember how to spell it - and I don't want to) things got alot better. Naps are good. I was told that I wouldn't start feeling better for 4-6 weeks and it was true, but after that it was a steady improvement. Hang in there! It's a day at a time really.

 

[tcopel]

There are, of course, a host of reasons why people have difficulty sleeping for some time after a surgery. It is pretty common. For me, I simply have never been able to sleep on my back even before my surgery, perferring to sleep on my stomach, but of course that is difficult given the chest incision. Some people use ambien, a prescription sleep medication, to help. For me, like the others have posted, naps were a great addition to my life at that time. Hope it works out well for you soon.

 

[AgilityDog]

I had trouble sleeping for weeks. I'm a side sleeper, and even with pillows, had trouble sleeping after surgery, for about 4 weeks or more. I'd take half a darvocet before bed, and DH would bring me another half when I woke up 4-5 hours later.
I hated to go to sleep, because I knew I would wake up in pain.
It took a long time to get past the pain, sore muscles, and general fear (my condition and surgery were sudden onset-"Hi, nice to meet you, we're gonna cut you open").

 

[james]

Bob,
I have been hit and miss on sleep. Last night I got about 3 hours of broken sleep but, a few days ago I slept 8 in a row. I tried to ween down to Tylenol only yesterday and that was bad. I agree with those saying take pain pills before bed and good luck. We will both get back to real beds soon. My biggest fear is that I used to sleep with earplugs in due to my wife's snoring and that amplifies the ticking.....

 

[BlindFaith]

I was given a drug for anxiety (Ativan) in the months before surgery. After surgery, I would take 1 of those pills an hour or so before bed along with 3 advils... helped me sleep fairly well. Eventually, I didn't need anything. I do miss the Ativan, though.

 

[Marguerite53]

I remember sleeping a lot. I think that means I took a lot of naps! I also remember being on the forum in the wee hours of the night, reading and writing -- just to help the time pass. I think it's pretty normal.

I used a lot of pillows in bed. Like 8!! By creating sort of a sitting up, leaning softly back, propping up my arms (one sturdy pillow at sides under each arm) and then a really soft one on my lap to lay my hands on I was able to really relax and sleep. I spent a lot of nights in the recliner so my husband could sleep and get to work rested. Even in the recliner I used about 4 pillows. Just something about elevating the arms helped me.

I took pain pills for a long time; round the clock -- why not? they were helping me move around more freely. My Rx had whatever the strong stuff was, and tylenol. I asked my GP if I could take one half a pain pill and one 500 strength tylenol (or whatever the dosage would be that was not too much tylenol) She thought I was silly, but that was how I weaned myself off the Rx -- chipping the size of it down every few days and adding the one tylenol. Don't know what was in that Rx, but it helped with everything.

When eventually off the Rx, when I had worse days, I would take arthritis strength tylenol. That worked well, too. I can't do Advil type drugs for long as they really upset my stomach -- I would have, though.

Bob. I am somewhat concerned about your mentioning that your AFib might be back. I hope you are in communication with your surgeon or cardio about that. Unlike AFib, many of us had PVC's post surgery. They are harmless but can be somewhat frightening if they get really strong (which some do just post surgery). Your cardio will EKG you or put you on a holter monitor or something to record your arythmmias to be sure they are benign and not interfering with your heart's recovery. Please keep us posted on that.

Even though you did not feel that you had any symptoms pre-surgery, your heart knows different. To some degree, this is the first time (perhaps in your life) that your heart has been "normal"!! Be gentle with it, even in your thoughts. It may be dancing with joy!! It may be confused with the new but correct rhythm it is being challenged to make. All of this is part of recovery.

Wishing you the best.

Marguerite

 

[PCFriars]

Sleeping

Sleeping

Bob,

I have the same problem.... I am 8 weeks post op and am STILL getting a bad nights sleep..... have talked to the doctors and reading on the site and over time it should work itself out......good luck.....


Tim

 

[JimL]

"My biggest fear is that I used to sleep with earplugs in and that amplifies the ticking..... "
White noise is the answer. At least since surgery, I've slept with a fan going on low for background noise. There are other sources, but then I don't usually hear the ticking, not too much anyway.

 

[Marty]

Google Dr. Gregg D Jacobs

Google Dr. Gregg D Jacobs

Bob I've always been an insomniac and the surgery didn't help. My group said no naps and exercise every day, watch the coffee, etc. I soon was relying on Percoset and Ambien but my PCP was getting reluctant to prescribe them and rightly so. Hell, I was addicted! I somehow heard about Dr. Jacobs who treats insomnia with CBT ( cognitive behavioral therapy) . Find out all about his program at www.cbtforinsomnia.com. It was not easy but it worked enough that I have not had any kind of sleeping pill in over a year. I sleep better and feel better. ( however I still long for those pills and can't keep 'em in the house!) . My advice; go cbt, stay away from ALL sleeping pills and pain pills as soon as you are able.

 

[Philip B]

What's Sleep?

What's Sleep?

As others have noted, the post-op sleep issues you are having aren't unusual. I'm not sure I ever slept more than an hour or two at a time for the first few months after surgery.

I couldn't get comfortable in bed for about six months and I couldn't sleep in my recliner. The sofa worked because I could prop myself up with pillows and stay propped-up. The night sweat thing was uncomfortable as well.

Sleeping meds weren't something I was interested in. I figured my body had been subjected to enough chemical abuse, but...that's just me.

Things eventually leveled off and got back to normal. It just took time.

-Philip

 

[Lorimacm]

Hi Bob,

I had the same problems with sleep and still do some nights. Definitely stay with the pain meds and if you still can't get comfy I would have your doc give you something for sleep. I struggled for weeks then finally asked for something to help me sleep and it was wonderful to get some good rest. Also, I used lots of pillows to prop me a bit to the side cause I couldn't stand sleeping on my back. The pillows also helped keep me from moving around much, which I think helped with the pain during the night. You just have to keep trying something new til you find what works for you.

Sweet Dreams!
Lori

 

[james]

"My biggest fear is that I used to sleep with earplugs in and that amplifies the ticking..... "
White noise is the answer. At least since surgery, I've slept with a fan going on low for background noise. There are other sources, but then I don't usually hear the ticking, not too much anyway.

The problem being I sleep with the plugs because my Wife snores....

 

[ctyguy]

I had to sleep in a recliner for the first 6 weeks at home. Im a stomach sleeper and that was NOT gonna happen. Like you I was only good for a few hours and then I would wake up. What ultimately got me through the night was 1 .25 Xanax and two Tylenol PMs. That would get me 6 hours pretty solid, even in the recliner. I think it took till about 8 weeks before I was sleeping 6+ hrs without a "helper" of some sort.

 

[Dexter Bob]

Always good to see I am in good company

I was concerned enough with my issues, sleep, pain, coughing, and hourly urination, that I saw my PCP when I went in for a ProTime stick this am. The PCP said I need to take the Vicodin before bed. Some good news I got was that my INR was right in range. So I'll see how the bed bugs bite, TONIGHT!!

Bob

 

[Doug]

I am 30 days out from surgery and still have nights where I wake up more than once, like last night I woke up on the hour every hour it seemed. Most nights I have been waking up between 3:30 and 4:00 am, I think this is due to the old pain med schedule. But I am finally back in bed, rather than the recliner, and I am not on pain meds anymore so hopefully I will start sleeping through the night.

 

[Luana]

It will be 9 weeks since my surgery this Friday. For the most part, I did not sleep well in the hospital. The night before I went home I got only 2 hours. Sleep improved when I got home, but did have quite a few nights where a few hours was all I could get. Then I got really tired all the time and slept a lot -- 12 or more hours at night, and a 1 - 2 hour nap during the day. Now I'm having trouble falling and staying asleep. From what I hear, sleep problems are very common after heart surgery.

I have to believe that this too shall pass!
Luana