Waking every 2 hours.........

[CathyK.]

Has anyone else not been able to sleep throughout the night at 5 weeks out? I wake up every 2 hours and it is getting really old. I don't know if it is my meds or just normal for awhile. I really don't want to take a sleeping pill. Any one else have this problem?

 

[Superbob]

Cathy,

That was my experience, too. I think, in part, I woke up often just to pinch myself and see if I was still around. If you're getting good naps between the wakefulness, I wouldn't worry. Most seem to return to normal sleep pattern in time. I am one of those who never has, and I still take sleeping pills occasionally. Avoid those if you can. If you can't, ask your doctor about Rozerem. It's supposed to be safe for long-term use.

 

[CathyK.]

Thanks Bob. I don't know if I got into a habit of it because I woke up for the first couple of weeks every time I needed to move. Now I am not sore and can sleep however I want but am still waking up several times a night. I do go back to sleep but it is still annoying.

 

[WayneGM]

Right after the OHS, while still on the pain meds, I usually slept through the night although woke up super early, I assume because the pain meds were wearing off or because I was still napping during the day. Once off the pain meds, I found I woke up quite a bit, sometimes after having a weird dream. I'm now over a year out and while I don't wake up with the same frequency, I still find I wake up at least once, sometimes twice, most nights and still have weird dreams from time to time. However, I don't take sleeping pills as I'd rather avoid that route.

Pre-op, I slept like a rock through the night, and I rarely recall dreaming, so this is all new since the OHS.

 

[CathyK.]

Wayne - sounds alot like me. My dreams are also weird and numerous, where before I slept like a rock and don't remember dreaming. I am not taking naps any more in hopes that it will help at night but so far, not so good.

 

[Sagebrush]

same thing

same thing

I had the same thing happen to me. I blamed it on the anesthetic and all the drugs they put in you when you are having surgery. I had to take sleeping pills cause I wasn't sleeping at all. They kept telling me I needed to exercise to get all the drugs out of my system. So I did that and they put me on ambien and it worked great. Sometimes when I am sick and have a hard time sleeping I take so I take Tylenol PM and this works really good.
I hope you find something to help.

 

[Traveler]

Hi Cathy,

I'm so glad you mentioned this, I thought it was just me, or the Toprol, or something. We had our surgeries on the same day and I'm still waking every 1-2 hours. I had kind of just decided to accept it, and thougth maybe I'll never sleep again. But maybe if everyone has it, it will just go a way in time.

Mark

 

[CathyK.]

Thanks Faye.

Mark I sent you a PM did you get it? Well, I guess we are not alone. I also hope this will go away. I tried sleeping on a couch, chair, bed, it is all the same. I hope sleep comes again to me.

 

[the art den lady]

Same experience for me. I thought it was just me! I'm about 4 weeks out. I've gone off my pain meds and have tried to not take naps. Hopefully, tonight I'll sleep better. The last 2 nights I haven't been able to sleep before 3 am and then I only sleep 4 hours! I too have had a couple of odd dreams.

Before OHS I slept quite well. Hopefully, once we get on a regular routine of eating well, exercising and no long naps, everything will work its way out.

Good luck.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1995 - TIAs (mini strokes) started after birth of my daughter, Aspirin started.
1996 - BAV w/mild stenosis diagnosed
2000 - Misdiagnosed w/Asthma for 3 years
2003 - PFO (hole in heart) fixed w/Amplatzer. 3 catheters up the legs.
2003 - FVL (clotting disorder) diagnosed, 10 mg daily Coumadin started.
2/16/07 - OHS for BAV w/severe stenosis, St. Jude clotted, Dr. Suri, Mayo Clinic.
2/20/07 - OHS for BAV, Carbo Medics, Dr. Suri, Mayo Clinic.
2/20/07 - Opened up again because of excessive bleeding.
2/26/07 - Pacemaker implanted because of AV node irregularities.
3/14/07 - Hospitalized for 2 days for fluid on my lungs.

Expect the best. Prepare for the worse.

"Life is great, life is grand. Life is like a rubber band." - Jackie Beach