I Want To Sleep Before 3am

[LeighaTR 8]

Today is one week since I had the sleeve surgery. At the hospital I got very intermittent sleep with the nurses taking vitals and giving meds, but at home I am having difficulty too. I was just wondering if this is somewhat common or am I the lucky one? i do have depression and anxiety issues and take medication for it but I have been awake as late as 4am trying to just sleep. I did call my MH doc today and get an ok for a bump in my anxiety meds at bedtime and I am hoping that will help. I tend to get some increased gas pains after I lay down and just can't "shut off." My post op appointment is in a couple of days, but was looking for answers here too. THANKS!

[SpartanMaker 1,465]

Sorry you're having trouble sleeping. I know that's just making recovery harder. You probably already know this, but here's the thing: being stressed out about not sleeping can just keep you from sleeping. The first step in getting past that is just to release yourself mentally from the stress/insomnia cycle.

What I mean is that you have to acknowledge that you just had major surgery. Coupled with massive dietary changes and you are going through an incredibly stressful time right now. It's normal when stressed to struggle with sleep, so the best possible thing you can do is simply acknowledge that sleep may be difficult for a while and it's okay.

I would also say do whatever you need to do to get control of your pain levels. You may need to try changing out your pain meds, or consider changing where/how you sleep. As an example, even though I'm normally a stomach/side sleeper, I slept on my back in a recliner for the first couple of weeks simply because it was less painful.

Finally, I'd recommend researching good sleep hygiene and implementing as many of those recommendations as possible. Right now, you need all the tips and tricks you can get.

Good luck.

[ms.sss 15,858]

what @SpartanMaker said.

plus:

• limit screen time a couple hours before bed.
• exercise during the day, do some stretches at night
• meditate and/or do some breathing exercises before bed (you can maybe even download and listen to some guided meditation)

good luck! ❤️

[LeighaTR 8]

Thank you @SpartanMaker and @ms.sss. I have gotten two nights now of good sleep and feel much better. I have always been a bit of a night owl but 3 and 4 am was a little too late to get to sleep. Things are just taking a while to get back to something close to normal. I have been REALLY lucky and not had too much pain, nausea or spasms but the sleep issue was piling up on me. Next step I see the surgeon for a follow up tomorrow and talk to the dietician about moving to pureed food Monday. Changes, one ounce at a time!

[WendyJane 99]

If you are on capsules for your bedtime keep in mind that the capsules are for those who have a whole stomach, and will dissolve so the pearls inside can be metabolized. My surgeon told me to open the capsule and just take the little pearls inside. That worked for me so I could get some reasonable sleep.

Good luck to you! Glad you have had some good nights.