AFTER SURGERY SLEEPING PROBLEMS

[MeGustaGuacamole 23]

Hello Everyone!

I've never had a sleeping problem even before surgery, BUT now I seem to have developed one. I always slept on my tummy, it's so comforting and of course after surgery I had to adapt sleeping on my back and struggled getting any sleep. It got to the point were I had to drink more of my medicine in order to knockout. I tried sleeping side ways with tons of pillows and made it somewhat better so that was my go to position most of the time. When I was 3 weeks out I tested sleeping on my tummy and there was no discomfort, I believe tears of joy came out LOL Monday 9/19/16 was the first night I tried sleeping on my tummy and I kept waking up between 2am and 4am. I woke up so shocked and confused. I also kept having nightmares, surreal feeling nightmares. this has been going on for 4 days now. I feel like I'm on an ongoing never ending loop. its creepy.

So I guess my question is, has anyone experienced any discomfort after surgery or anything unusual/different with sleep? because this girl is freaking out!

[ProudGrammy 8,322]

adapt sleeping on my back - struggled getting any sleep.

@

hi Tex

please DON'T freak out

we have enough crazies on the board (you know who you are LOL)

sorry you are having difficulties sleeping

i always sleep on my side

very comfortable for me

first 4 days after sleeve, i had a horrible time sleeping

couldn't get in a comfortable position - side hurt

gradually it improved (about a week)

the common/frequent thing to say here is

"things will improve"

it's true for most -really!!

good luck

sweet dreams

kathy

[MeGustaGuacamole 23]

@@proudgrammy thank you Kathy! I appreciate the hope you've given me

[marycc 6]

I wake up EVERYDAY between 4am and 4:30am! Never did that before

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[aking5253 12]

Only 6 days out and I can't sleep through the night either. I could that sleeping on my back works of I have a ton of pillows to keep me at Ann angle like when I was at the hospital but then I get a soreness on my bottom. I can sleep on my side for about r hours but then I wake,up wide awake... My boyfriend was amazed because the other night I actually slept for 6 hours.

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[thisisthenewme 358]

I am also having a horrible time sleeping. And never had issues before. Surgery was oct 3 and I can now sleep on my side pretty mush like I used to. I will go to bed tired but it takes me hours to fall asleep ☹️☹️ They after I'm finally asleep, I'm awake 1-2 hours later. Toss and turn all night. I read ketosis can cause insomnia issues and this is a common issue for WLS patients. Can others chime in please?

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[GrandmaBee55 47]

I was sleeved on August 3 so am 9 weeks out. Prior I always got 8-9 hours of sleep. Now I am lucky if I get 6 hours. I wake up throughout the night and normally get up for good around 4 a.m.

My Fitbit shows 30+ incidents of restlessness. I'm hoping this changes soon.

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[Nikkinee 94]

I've always been a great sleeper. But I'm now 3 weeks post op and I lay awake for hours trying to fall asleep, then once I'm asleep I toss and turn all night & wake up tired.

@@thisisthenewme

That's really interesting about the ketosis. I'd love to really delve into why this happens. (Cause I ain't impressed). I'm going to ask my surgeon at my next follow up.

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[sleevejourney 1]

@@MeGustaGuacamole

Hi, I was worrying about this side effect so i have messaged some oriental doctors to explain why vsg causes insomnia ( because i had insomnia before and got completely better after acupuncture and herbal tonics)

here are some email responses that doctors have shared with me

Hi ******

Thanks for your inquiry. Acupuncture can be very useful for helping people recover from surgery and treating symptoms like hot flashes and insomnia. From a Chinese Medicine perspective, a surgery like that can be damaging to the Blood and YIn of the body, causing an energetic imbalance which can lead to symptoms like insomnia and hot flashes. Obviously, different people with have different recovery experiences, but Chinese Medicine would be aimed at restoring energetic balance to the individual and strengthening the body to help speed up the healing process.

I hope this helps. Please let me know if you have any additional questions.

Angie

[sleevejourney 1]

@MeGustaGuacamole

heres another explanation from a different doctor.

Hi *******,

I am so sorry it took me so long to get back to you.

From a chinese medicine perspective, there isn't only one explanation for why one would have hot flashes and insomnia following this type of surgery, but one possibility really stands out.

For our purposes, the Stomach is directly below the Heart (pretty close to true from an anatomical view). The Heart is the Emperor which is also the Fire element. By virtue of proximity, when the Stomach is disturbed, it often disturbs the Emperor. When the Emperor is disturbed, it's element Fire flares upward. This results in feelings of heat rushing up and the mind being disturbed leading to restless sleep or insomnia.

This pattern that I've described can definitely be treated by acupuncture and herbal medicine.

If you'd like to have more of a conversation about any of that, I'd be happy to talk.

Looking forward to speaking with you.

Warmly,

[sleevejourney 1]

@@MeGustaGuacamole

and another doctor....

Hello *****,

This is Keri, an acupuncturist from Source Healing. Ashton forwarded me your question, and I was able to chat with the other acupuncturists here and we are all in agreement.

According to Chinese Medical theory, it seems like the reason for the possible insomnia and facial heat is because of what we could call "heat rising in the stomach channel". When there is less space for digestion, this can lead to an increase of activity (even if the patient is not eating as much), which would, in our theory, produce excess heat. Heat in the body tends to rise, and heat in the stomach channel in particular could produce such symptoms as insomnia and facial heat, possibly among other symptoms.

We would use acupuncture to clear heat in the body, regulate digestion and promote regular metabolic functions.

Please be in touch with any other questions and if you'd like to set up an initial appointment.

[sleevejourney 1]

@marycc

@@thisisthenewme

@@aking5253

@@GrandmaBee55

@@Nikkinee

I hope some of my posts might give you some help?

just for info, i had insomnia for 2 years because i took some terrible diet pills.

after that i'd ALWAYS wake up at 5:30am everyday like an alarm clock.

Literally I would wake up at 5:30 exactly. never happened to me before.

I would have restless sleep with super vivid dreams.

Then i got acupuncture and drank herbal teas that my doctor made me drink for a month. and now, i can sleep 14 hours on the weekends LOL and 8 on the weekdays

I'm tagging u guys cuz i KNOW how effing frustrating insomnia can be.

Edited October 25, 2016 by sleevejourney