Slim Posted January 17, 2007 Posted January 17, 2007 Its 145am, I still can't get to sleep wondering if you have any hints or tips. I've been having a wee read around the site I believe V Shaped pillows are the way to go. I've tried having a bath and sleep debt you know getting up an hr earlier and not having a nap but now I think I'm over tired any suggestions greatly appreciated. I did have diazipam (can't spell) after my first bleed now I'm reluctant to take sleeping pills as my brains foggy enough! Thanks x ps another thing I noticed on one of the posts. I'm not a great singer either but I've noticed I've been really out of Tune since the SAH. Bizarre! Quote
Louise Posted January 17, 2007 Posted January 17, 2007 Hi there First, I wasn't a great singer but since the SAH cant hold any tune Aw!!! :? The sleep pattern thing is a thing, I find when I have something on my mind its worse. Try not to sleep during the day which is hard if you've not been sleeping during the night but I try to nod rather than sleep/nap in the afternoon for me that helped. Hope you soon have sweet dreams. Louise.xx Quote
Karen Posted January 17, 2007 Posted January 17, 2007 Hi Guys, As you know Louise, I also have a hideous singing voice now, since the SAH......wasn't great before.......but it's cringe worthy now! Aine, lots of us on the site have problems with sleeping. I don't get so anxious about it now, as I can make up for it during the day. There doesn't seem to be much rhyme or reason why this happens, but Louise is right, the more stress that you have, the worse it is. I also go through periods of very vivid dreams and that can also wake me through the night. Perhaps it's brain activity as it tries to repair...............some days I can be tired all day, but still not be able to sleep at night. It's weird. Just after my SAH, I also used to get very jumpy legs which would keep me awake. If you get chance, buy a "V" shaped pillow, they're great......I haven't slept with a normal pillow since the SAH. Love K x Quote
Slim Posted January 17, 2007 Author Posted January 17, 2007 Funny I have the jumpy legs to. Only now and again but they're so annoying. Got up at 12 2day bit later than I hoped but am going to try and keep busyish 2day. Here's to a good nites sleep 2nite! x Quote
Vivien Posted August 6, 2007 Posted August 6, 2007 Hello, I had an SAH nearly 3 months ago and have had the jumpy legs most nights ever since, and also broken sleep and lots of tossing and turning, yet I am very tired. My doc gave me valium which worked to some extent, but I don't want to get hooked so stopped. Tonight I am going to try a lavender candle and soothing classical music Quote
Karen Posted August 6, 2007 Posted August 6, 2007 Hi Vivien and a very warm welcome to the site! The jumpy legs or restless leg syndrome can be the sign of other deficiencies in the body, so it might be worth having a chat with your GP if it doesn't settle down. I'm now 2 years post SAH and I'm happy to say, that finally, I'm finally enjoying a decent night's sleep ..... but my recovery has been slow. I get twitchy muscles and leg/toe cramps when I'm trying to sleep, but the Doc thinks that I have a Calcium and Vit D deficiency, so he's put me on some supplements. Anyway, lovely to have you with us and hope that you find the site useful... Quote
AndyH Posted August 6, 2007 Posted August 6, 2007 I can send anyone copies of some sleep cds I have. Just let me know who needs em and I will copy them off. They work wonders for me. Andy Quote
Vivien Posted August 7, 2007 Posted August 7, 2007 Thankyou for the welcome Karen, the site has been useful to me already, I have been a guest for a few weeks now. It has been really comforting to discover that the headaches, tiredness, sleeplessness, emotions and other weird things I have been feeling seem to be normal post SAH Well the lavender candle and classical music did not do the trick and I had another restless night and now have a cracking headache. So I would be very interested in a sleep cd Quote
Karen Posted August 7, 2007 Posted August 7, 2007 Hi Vivien, If you go back to Andy's post, then you'll see a button with "pm" on it (private messaging) hit the button and then you can safely pass on your name and address to him. Glad that the site has been helpful to you ... Most of us seem to experience much the same and it's comforting just knowing that. Like I said earlier, it's taken me two years to achieve a decent night's sleep, where I don't wake during the night or wake early. I also used to find that getting off to sleep was a big problem.....even though I was knackered.....it must be something to do with the brain repairing itself and abnormal activity. Think that you just have to go with it and make up for the sleep loss during the day, if you can. Are you on any meds now? In the early stages, I always used to take a couple of paracetamols, before I went to sleep ..... sometimes it helps stave off the early morning headache and I also found that propping myself up a bit more, rather than lying flat helped...... the "V" pillow was a Godsend and I still use one now. I think that you just have to try different things and see if anything works for you. I also found that having a small snack and a glass of water an hour or so before bed helps, especially if you can't get off to sleep very quickly. Well, good luck .... it does get better... Quote
Blondie Posted August 7, 2007 Posted August 7, 2007 Hi Everyone I found a couple of ways to help me sleep, which sometimes work If I've led awake for an hour, I make the decision to stop trying, and get back up - pop to the loo, have a warm milk, read for 10 minutes - whatever you find distracts you away from trying to fall asleep really - then back off to bed when I feel I've relaxed a bit. Sometimes the simple act of giving in and thinking "Right, I'm getting up!" does the trick and I'm off before I sit up. And the second is a breathing exercise. Obviously if any of you have any reason to think you shouldn't be breathing deeply - then please dont... Breathe in really slowly, whilst you count to 10 in your head, that's one breath. Don't hold it, but slowly breathe out whilst you count to 10 in your head. Repeat 5 or 6 times - except I never get that far! I started to use the breathing exercise pre-SAH, when I still smoked - and I really really struggled to breathe in for a count of 10 - so I would urge anyone not to go pop - but it does get easier. I can't believe nowadays that I used to go to work after 4 hours sleep every night - if I do that for one night now I'm all teary and useless on the train on the way in! Quote
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