Insomnia

[Lin-lin]

Hi everyone,

I'm posting a really unoriginal thread here. A SAH survivor suffering with insomnia! Hardly revolutionary is it! I think the process of commencing work, albeit it reduced hours, has made the matter worse.

I return from work absolutely shattered and sometimes nap afterwards, thus affecting my ability to sleep at night. I've tried not napping, but when I'm fatigued, my speech becomes slurred and it's not the 'shexiest' look I've adopted!

My doctor has prescribed Temazepam. I know this is not the long term answer.

How did you all manage? Regardless of how tired I may be of an evening, the moment I go to bed, my brain lights up like a pin ball machine and I become very 'alert'.

Does this problem last long?

Thanks in advance!

Lynne

[Karen]

Hi Lynne,

I had pretty bad sleeping problems for quite a while .... vivid dreams or nightmares, couldn't sleep without having a light on (don't know why!)... and insomnia. I'm not sure how long it lasted, but it did and has got better with time.

In the early weeks and months, I often couldn't get off to sleep until 4am ... it used to drive me nuts, as I knew that I would suffer the next day. I was also worried, that when I tried to return to work, that this would still happen and how would I cope with working too?

There never seemed to be any rhyme or reason for it .... If I stopped myself from napping during the day, it didn't make any difference and then, I just became over tired.... sometimes, I felt brighter in the night, then I did during the day.

It is horrible, but now, I sleep like a baby and seem to need more sleep than I did pre-SAH, but it's taken me probably a couple of years to get to this stage.... and, I'm truly thankful, as there's nothing worse than sleep deprivation.

I also think that you get into a cycle of dreading going to sleep in the end or becoming anxious, because you think that you aren't going to sleep ... if that makes sense.

Post SAH, I think that if you need to take a nap during the day, then do it, as it didn't seem to make much difference to me with sleeping at night and plus you need to be able to function and lose the brain freeze.

Hope that your body clock clicks in soon .... xx

[bogbrush]

Hi Lynne,

No, it's not revolutionary at all! I was the same. In the early weeks, I slept a great deal but would wake at all sorts of odd hours unable to sleep. I got to the stage before I went back to work that I didn't need a sleep during the day. When I returned to work I always slept for a couple of hours when I got home and believe me, I needed it! Since then, I don't sleep during the day during the working week, and I have no trouble getting to sleep, but I often wake in the small hours and unable to get back to sleep again. Come the weekend, I'm shattered and almost always need a sleep during the day and often fall asleep in front of the TV. I'm a snorer too, much to the disgust of the rest of the family

Just lately, I've become a night owl, but that has very different reasons

All I can suggest is to do something that will help your brain to shut down at night. Take a walk before bed, for example. I've often found that a few beers usually help, but that's not the answer either

[garyolly]

Not coping, still can't sleep........

[Gill C]

Gary not sure it will help but Tecos' herbal sleep remedy usually works for me, obviously if you are on any meds it's best to check with your GP to make sure it won't interfere with them. When I had the headache & eye pain before th clipping my GP gave me amytriptalene which really helped me sleep(it's a relaxant I bleive as well as an antidepressant). You only take a low dose for helping sleep.

other things I've heard of are lettuce before bed, a warm bath etc. Hope you get some sleep soon as it's horrile being tired 7 not being able to sleep ((hugs))

[garyolly]

Hi Bagpuss, to be fair I've never been a good sleeper. Tried lots of things but i don't like tablets and the like. Now that i've started to do a bit of exercise, hopefully it will get better.

[Vivien]

I too had quite a problem with insomnia, and feel that it had something to do with too much stimulation. If I had a quiet day at home not doing much I slept better than if I had a busy day! I tried herbal tablets and then temazepam, which finally helped. I now do a 15 minute meditation before getting into bed and this seems to help my mind settle down and most times now I sleep well I also gave up caffeine.

Afraid it has taken me a long time to get a proper nights sleep, when before my SAH I could sleep for England!

Vivien

[maggie]

Hi all, Lin lin sorry I can't help I was like Vivien when I had a problem not sleeping it was due to too much stimulation. I was advised to limit my time on the computer & take a rest during the day just to relax & rest my brain. I fought it for ages but had to give into it in the end as I made life a whole lot worse for myself by getting over tired. It worked a treat. It is early days in your recovery and you're doing really well. Maybe you should put time aside during the day to relax and unwind then you might not be over tired at bed time! Hope the problem gets resovled soon. Maggie xxx

[Lin-lin]

Thanks everyone!

As suspected, I'm not alone on this one!

Insomnia seems an almost inevitable symptom of the SAH; and like other elements of the recovery, we've just got to go through it and can't side step it.

The Temazepam is presently working, but the tablets will run out and I doubt my GP will prescribe them again. He seemed reluctant on this occasion, but I'd not slept properly in two weeks and was in distress.

I'm glad some of you are reporting that your sleeping improves. That's comforting to know. It's really nice to cross reference with your experiences.

Thanks again and sweet dreams for tonight (!)

Lynne

[winter]

Hi to all . I too, have problems with sleep or lack of it! I've been back at work for almost 5 months - still part time, but almost always need 2 or 3 hr. nap when I get home! And when the weekend rolls around, I am DONE!!! I do wake several times in the night, often have nightmares and wake myself w/screaming or yelling. I have been on numerous meds. and now am only on citalapram and xanax. My headaches are better since I'm not on some of the other meds and I tend to sleep more restfully if I do a nice walk in the evening. Good sleep to all

[Bluemoose]

I couldn't sllep for the first 4 months; infact, i would almost say I didn't need to sleep. It started to ease when I was able to start 'exercising' the mind during the evening. When I could finally start to read again, I found it took away all the 'noise' and 'buzzing' that went on in my little head.

As a chemist, I would suggest you ask your GP for zopiclone rather than temazepam. Personnally I think it works better, and is certainly 'cleaner'; is less hangover effects the next day. Added advantage that it's not a Controlledd Drug, so your Dr will be more relaxed about it's use.

I am now seeping well; but am only working parttime, so the work nerves haven't really kicked in yet.

good luck

[Lin-lin]

Thank you again for your comments. I'll make a note of that zopiclone, thanks Bluemoose.

My insomnia has taken a turn for the worse this week. I wonder whether it's my heavy cold which has set me back? I've 'overly' rested this week i.e. cancelled work and haven't exercised, just to give my body a chance to recover.

I'm worried about last night. Took Tamazepam before 11 p.m. and was wide awake by 6 a.m... I fear I've acclimatised to them. Will give them a miss for a few days.

I hadn't considered my mattress being a problem. Good point, Karen. I cannot afford a new one at present, but will flip it over, to give it more life! I agree in keeping all my environmental factors conducive to sleeping, to try and help the situation.

I'm hoping this week is a blip, made worse that I've been unwell. I can feel the distress of insomnia creeping up again. A friend of a friend, is a hypnotherapist and has offered to help. Has anyone had experience of this?

Lynne

[Anne Fleming]

Hi Lin-lin

I didn't have insomnia after my SAH. However I am trying to lose weight at the moment and with eating less, I tend to get insomnia. I remember I had it the last time I tried to lose weight. I have to save up quite a few calories to eat before bedtime to see if it helps me to sleep.

with warm wishes

Anne x

[KelBel]

Hi Lin-lin

I haven't suffered too badly from Insomnia since my SAH - only the initial 21 days after my op, when I was taking Nimodipine every 4 hours, I would set my alarm and once woken there were times I just could not get back to sleep and ended up putting my laptop on to search the internet... not such a good idea at times.

I did suffer badly with insomnia years ago and it is so debilitating and frustrating.

When I first went back to work post-SAH I had to have at least an hours sleep when I got in, but I don't do that so often now. I manage to sleep fairly well at night, although I definitely need a new mattress as my one gives me back-ache and I do toss & turn during the night. (I do turn mine regularly but it has had it!) I reckon a new mattress will help me sleep like a log! I slept well at my friends in Torquay cos the mattress was quite firm & so comfortable...I nearly strapped it to my roof and brought it home with me!!

I burn lavender oil some evenings to relax, and have also used a lavender pillow spray (I think it is a Radox one I have, but I believe Boots, Avon or possibly Body Shop do one too) It is very nice and relaxing.

Warm milky drinks can work too in the wind-down process... no caffeine though.

Hope you find something that works for you.

Kel x

[Lin-lin]

Thank you for your posts. It's really interesting to read them.

My insomnia is reaching chronic proportions. I went to sleep yesterday gone 6 a.m. and my alarm went at 9 a.m. and I worked at the CAB all day.

I was like a zombie when I returned home and had to go to bed immediately, waking at 9 p.m. It inevitably ruined my night's sleep.

I took a sleeping tablet at 11 p.m. and it had no effect. I took a second one at 2 a.m. knowing full well that this is the wrong thing to do. If someone had offered to hit me over the head with a shovel to get me to sleep, I probably would have agreed!

My DWP medical is coming up and I'm fearful of 'failing' because the doctor won't be able to see my insomnia; and I don't think it will be appreciated how debilitating sleep deprivation is. Sleep is such an important part of rejuvenation and for those of us in recovery and unable to sleep, we're losing a vital part of the healing process.

I think I'm going to try hypnotherapy and also there's another friend who is really into health and vitamins. She has an autistic son who suffers with insomnia and it is possible control his sleeping with the right vitamins. Anything is worth a go! Failing that, there's always the shovel solution! Maybe I should ask Andi for help! Ha!

Lynne

[Karen]

Hi Lynne,

I feel for you with the sleep issue. I can only say, that it will get better ... not much of a comfort for you at the minute, I know. If you get desperate, try the "Peter Rabbit" theory and eat plenty of lettuce, which is known for it's soporific value..

I also tried the sleeping tabs, but found that they didn't work particularly well and they gave me a hangover head in the morning. I still use the Avon sleep therapy lavender pillow and linen spray ... it doesn't produce miracles when sleeping, but at least it smells nice!

Are you able to go into the CAB later in the day, rather than starting so early in the morning? I found that for many years, the mornings were the pits for me ... due to lack of sleep and balance problems after lying flat and dizziness in the morning ... even when I'd managed to grab a full nights sleep!

I'm not sure what happens with the brain and it's sleep patterns post SAH, but most people seem to be affected with it.....

[Karen]

Forgot to say, if anybody has a bit of a lumpy or old mattress and can't afford to replace it, a temporary measure is to buy a cheap double duvet or whatever your bed size is and stick it on top of the mattress, below the fitted sheet ... it can help to even it out.