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[Guest bthill]

Hi, just discovered this site. My father in law, Gene, suffered a traumatic brain injury, diagnosed as SAH, eight weeks ago while walking his dog. He fell and hit the back of his head.

Gene is 79-years old, has parkinson's disease, and has beaten two bouts of pheumonia. He was just moved to the brain rebab unit at Sarasota Memorial hospital in Florida.

Gene has become very anxious at night and hasn't slept in 4-days. Any advise would be appreciated. Thank you.

Bob

[Karen]

Hi Bob,

I was also very anxious at night after having the SAH. I had to sleep with the light on for about 3 months.......I also had very vivid dreams and trouble with going off to sleep....I think that you'll find that a lot of SAH'ers, probably experienced similar......must be something to do with brain activity...but I don't think that it's unusual. I tended to make up my sleep during the day and take cat naps. Think that the meds also play a big part, as they make you feel pretty dozy during the daytime.

Probably Gene has slept during the day......but maybe, he just can't remember dozing off? I can remember sleeping on and off during the day, straight after the SAH and it was pretty hard to keep my eyes open when I had visitors.

[Sasbo]

Hi Bob

I've been experiencing all sorts of sleep patterns post-SAH, including the vivid dreams that Karen described. I really think it's a jumpy head - which I can only describe as 'jangly brain' - random thoughts leap about and there's no way of stopping them, then at other times I just seem to sleep endlessly. It doesn't make sense. I'm now at the 6 month post-SAH stage and there's still no settling down into a set pattern I'm afraid, but you do learn to roll with it.

Good luck to you all and hope to see you here soon - everyone's really supportive and, perhaps more importantly, has been through it.

Sarah

xx

[Louise]

Hi Bob

Yes my sleep pattern goes off a lot of the time, sleeping during the day was the wrong thing for me to do once I stopped that it got better.

Sorry not much help.

Take care

Louise.

[Skippy]

Hey

I'll second that Sarah, I'm 7 months post SAH and those random thoughts are sometime unstoppable - I also have the urge now and again to give myself a full bodyshake - really weird feeling but like you say, its easier and less stressful to roll with it rather than trying to fight it!!

Not suffered the vivid dreams really - in fact the opposite. I used to remember practically all my dreams and even had a dream journal to try and analyse them, but now I couldn't even tell you if I'd dreamt or not. In fact in 7 months I've probably remembered two dreams.

Sami xxxx

[Slim]

hello there Welcome to the site.

I haven't really anything to add, except its still very early days so just hang in there, my sleep pattern was very disturbed at the start, its now settling, There is a huge improvement in me 6months on. e.g my husband would go for a coffee and when he would come back I would be in a state thinking no one had visited me for days. I also believe I was quite hurtful, we do take it out on those we love.

I tried Herbal Sleeping tablets and Sleep debt. It was in some insomnia site. As you know we suffer terribly from fatigue and sleeping during the day undoubtly has a knock on effect. So by just getting up 1/2 hour earlier and setting the alarm when I had a doze really helped. Also I Found when I Had energy I would do loads and then be in bed for 2 days after, the Doc says be strict go out 10mins every day even if you feel like more don't do it until you're leaving the house for a short time every day. Sounds simple but at the time I didn't have the sense to think and do that.

Good Luck remember there definetly is a light at the end of this tunnel.

Aine xox

[Guest bthill]

Thanks so much to all who responded. It really helps to know what to expect and that Dad is not alone.

Gene is very confused right now, and goes from euphoria to feelings of abandonment rather quickly. We're just starting the rehab process. We still have a feeding tube, trach and foley, but have already had some toileting success.

I know he's in there...and can't wait to see him return to us.

bob