sleep patterns

All I had surgery on the 5th and my sleep patterns are all screwed up. I only sleep a few hours at a time. yesterday I slept for a few hours during the day and slept for about 3 hours tonight. any thoughts about how long untill my sleep patterns return to normal.

Thanks
MRBill

Oh God I know I'm going to get slammed for even being here, but I can't help but answer you.  I'm sitting here awake, washing down a sleeping pill with a wine cooler because my sleep patterns are so f*cked up I don't know which way is up sometimes.  I had insomnia problems off and on before my surgery, but now that I'm post-op it's worse than ever.  I don't understand why.  I've been to the doctor, she prescribed Temazepam and it doesn't work.  Sometimes when I get totally desperate for sleep (like tonight) I take the benzodiazepine and wa**** down with some alcohol.  Don't tell my doctor! LOL   I've taken as much as 200mg of benadryl which will eventually knock me out, but I usually lie awake looking at the ceiling for 2 hours before it works.  I feel your pain man and I wish I had better advice, I just don't know why it's like this and all I want to do is get a decent night's sleep.  If you learn of something that works, please let me know.  I hope you can get some restful sleep soon.

Sonja

"I take the benzodiazepine and wa**** down with some alcohol" .....ya, that's some great advice. Thanks.

Here's some better advice.....hit the frickin' gym and work your ass until you can't move, have a glass of warm milk in the dark then hit the sack. Try this for a couple of weeks.

By the way, this is a mens only forum (as you obviously know) and we'd appreciate it if you respect our right to keep it that way. . 

Best of luck.  

It wasn't advice, it was a statement of how desperate I am to get some sleep.  I don't advocate mixing sleeping pills and alcohol.  Sorry I invaded your space, I'm out.

I averaged around 3 hours sleep per night for 15 years prior to WLS. I got diagnosed with severe sleep apnea 6 months prior to WLS, got a bipap breathing machine and immediately began getting in a solid 6 hours each night.

After WLS, I went back to only 3 hours of sleep per night. A couple of reasons as it turned out. First of all, I stopped using the the bipap machine, and secondly, I was totally amped up from the surgery, I increased my walking and within a month.....back to the 6 hours a night. Never did go back to the bipap machine.

If you've never had sleep apnea, my guess is you're still amped from the WLS but it would be interesting to find out if the other guys here on the board had any trouble sleeping immediately following their surgery. Great question.

Best of luck with your WLS journey, Mr. Bill.

Boner

I had some problems for a while.  I related it to being down and taking cat naps in the daytime.  Once I was able to get out more and establish a regular routine, my sleep patterns pretty much returned to normal.  Hopefully, you will not experience this for very long. 

I don't sleep well either unless I take a percocet and/or 50mg of diphenhydramine (active ingredient in benadryl but is another medicine). But it's usually because I can't turn my brain off haha. I think too much, dream, toss and turn. My back will hurt. Just a number of things. But I've always been like this pretty much so don't go by me, I hope it all works out shortly for you!

I had terrible insomnia post-op; I'm not sure why.  When I mentioned this to my sleep doctor, she recommended better "sleep hygiene"; namely, _not_ spending the last hour before bedtime in front of the computer.    The light coming from a CRT or LCD display can wreak havoc with sleep cycles, since it effectively tells your circadian rhythms "wake up, it's morning!", just before you're going to bed.

Sure enough, that tip worked very well for me.

More recently, I had to adjust my CPAP pressures to accomodate my weight loss, but I still had problems using the device.  She prescribed 2 weeks of a short-acting sleeping pill, Sonata (zaleplon).  It works fast and is out of your system after 2-3 hours, so it just helped me get to sleep with the CPAP mask on.  I love the stuff; I just wish I could use it all the time!

/Steve

Like Boner I've always only slept around three hours a night. Might be because my sleep/work habits interfere with each other. But I do use Children's Liquid Benydryl or Melatonin 3mg its over the counter found in the vitamin section. Both are safe can be taken nightly with no side effects.

I am nearly two years out and I still have issues.  I run every day and generally do what I am supposed to, but I still have some issues like my legs can't get comfortable or my hips hurt.  Generally, I can't sleep flat on my back because it feels like my legs are bending backwards.

Minor issue and not consistent, but I get about 6 hours now and live with it.