Sore neck/back and sleeping problems .... how long???

[Allisoninoz]

I'm nearly five weeks post-op and am SICK of having quite nasty pain in my neck/shoulders/arms/back, as well as not having a decent night's sleep.
I know many have posted they had aches and pains and trouble sleeping for some time after surgery.
How long did it take/is it taking others to say farewell to the knots and tightness - and to getting more than a two/three hour stretch of sleep at a time? I do usually get back to sleep but I'd just like to sleep for a good six hours!
I do the heat pack/hot shower/massage/physio thing - all give temporary relief but nothing lasts
If it wasn't for this problem I'd be feeling great!

 

[epstns]

Allison - I'm only 4 weeks post-op and still have back discomfort like you. The only thing I've been able to do is use heating pad and take tylenol. Not much help there.

With regard to sleeping - when I was taking narcotic pain meds, I slept pretty much through the night. But of course, I was trying to get away from the pain meds, so now I am up several times a night. The last couple of nights, I've been up for an hour or two at aroung 1 or 2 AM, but back to sleep after. With lots of lasix, I'm up going to the bathroom several times a night, but usually can get back to sleep after those trips. For the past week or so, I've been sleeping in a recliner with the back almost upright - had trouble breathing, we think due to fluid retention. Have had my lasix dosage increased to 60 mg/day for a few days and my ankles have gone back to a normal size and last night I could finally sleep in my usual bed, albeit with the head slightly raised.

Let's hope all this resolves so we can get back to real life!

 

[Freddie]

Oh yes, I remember it well.
Take note of your body posture while your sitting, walking and standing, don't forget to exercise and some easy stretching.
Being slumped over will cause mega pain.

Try doing the following, it was suggested to me by my massage therapist: sit straight in a chair, grab the bottom of the chair with your right hand and tilt your head to the left until you feel the "pulling", you may even feel some "piano strings" on the right side of your neck, hold for about 10 seconds. Repeat to the other side. Make sure your back, shoulders and neck/head are straight when doing this. Another little exercise is to reach for the ground while standing/walking - stretching both shoulders downward with your head straight.

Look for "spider webs" while sitting straight in a chair simply by looking at the 4 corners of your room. Just move your neck/head, not your shoulders.

Hope this helps and if the pain is causing you to lose sleep, talk to your doctor.

 

[Bryan B]

I am a freak...or was one. I was sleeping on my side the last 2 nights in the hospital. When I got home I could sleep in the bed, sleep on my side, and was getting a good night's sleep every night. Here I am almost 5 weeks post-op and all of a sudden I can't get comfortable in the bed, I have insomnia, and I can't stop listening to my heart beating. Apparently cow valves combined with dacron tubes (for my aortic root and ascending aorta) sound a bit different than your own equipment.

My theory is that the first few weeks i was doing pain meds so I didn't notice any of this crap...lol. Allison it will get better. Me and you are surgery date buddies...plus I have been through this before...it will get better. It is hard to be patient...but I would give a few months. My "parts" were still aching from the first surgery occasionally if I did something stupid rolleyes or sometimes during weather changes. I have learned that you just have to accept certain post surgery quirks that may or may not go away, and most are minor irritations. Dealing with these are better than dealing with the alternatives.

 

[Bryan B]

Or you could pay for my round trip airfare to Australia and I will come and give you a neck and back massage. On the serious side those really help if you can find someone closer than me to give you a massage. Al Capshaw has always said that a good massage after surgery works better than pain medicine (and he's right...it just doesn't last as long...lol)

 

[Cooker]

I had a great deal of neck and shoulder pain, it lasted well into the 2nd month post-op ... I finally broke down and went to my wife's chiropractor where adjustments, heat and electrical stimulation were applied to the problem areas ... it helped but I think time is the key...

 

[CanoeBob]

The muscle pain wilst I healed was uncomfortable, afterall they had been carved up as much as my sternum plus ribcage moved to a very un-natural position during surgery. The indignities we gotta go through to get well eh? Extra strength Tylenol 8-10 pills per day worked well for the discomfort. Mostly if I moved it felt like I did after playing a good round of tackle football, sore but after winning it dosn't matter that much.
I stopped needing the tylenol after 10 weeks.

Bob

 

[drivetopless]

It took a good six weeks to be able to get comfortable enough to sleep in the bed (still propped up recliner style). But once I hit that milestone, it got a lot better a lot faster. I would wake up really stiff, though.

I had a massage starting at week 5 and it really helped. I would sit backwards on a chair since I couldn't lay on my stomach for the massage. I got one of those shiatsu chair massagers for home that I would uses for 15 mintues several times a day to keep the kinks worked out.

Tylenol PM helped me stay asleep at night.

I'm now at 11 weeks post op and I can sleep on both sides when I hug a pillow. I had a mini-sternotomy, so I'm sure that might be easier to recover from than a full sternotomy.

Hope you are sleeping better soon.

 

[bigsidster]

I agree with most people here that the 6th and 7th week seem to be the time frame where you will notice big improvements daily with sleeping and pain relief.I still take 2 extra strength tylenol every morning for stiffness and pain relief at 4 months post op.

 

[Greg a]

I can only add to watch your posture AT ALL TIMES

 

[JulieS]

Hi Allison -
Congrats! The sleeplessness is probably weaning off all the meds and the back pain is very uncomfortable. Take it one day at a time. Everyone heals different. Don't overdo your work load, I thought I could lift the dog not long after I was home and holy cow.... I paid for that stupid move for months and months. It will get better. Congrats.

 

[normofthenorth]

Allison, if your hubby isn't good for enough massages, trade him in! Another trick that might work is the one my mother used: She trained me to give good back rubs, with pretty fancy massage techniques, when I was tiny, and she was my main "practice subject". I could use one of those now. . .