Tip for those with insomnia

exohexoh
on 7/22/12 5:21 am - West Chester, PA

i've had insomnia my whole life. my mom says even as a baby i had trouble sleeping. i was diagnosed with multiple sleeping disorders long before my surgery, so at least for me it has nothing to do with wls.

<3 jen <3

<3 starting weight: 252 <3 goal weight: 135 <3 current weight: 151 <3

RNY: 9/27/10 <3 Extended Tummy Tuck w/hip & thigh lipo: 6/6/13

Lady Lithia
on 7/22/12 12:41 pm

I don't know that it is related to surgery, though I do know that carbs can promote sleep and so perhaps we've used carbs as a form of sleep med (when already prone to insomnia) without even knowing it (another reason for overeating, subconsciously).

When I was SMO, I would have trouble sleeping, and would wake in the night with my arms in agony from the blood circulation being cut off.

I still get that, but now it's only my ears. I don't know why they bug me.

I had insomnia my whole life though. It's just worse now

~Lady Lithia~ 200 lbs lost!
March 9, 2011 - Coccygectomy!
I chased my dreams, and my dreams, they caught me!

(deactivated member)
on 7/22/12 6:11 am

For those of you who have insomnia, does Ambien work for you or have you tried it and not liked it? I used to have insomnia pretty bad but got started on Ambien and take it every night. It helps me fall asleep and stay asleep. I have weird dreams sometimes but it's nice not remembering falling asleep or worse yet laying there for hours all night waiting to sleep like I used to. Insomnia makes life miserable that's for sure! Hope you find a solution that works.

poet_kelly
on 7/22/12 6:16 am - OH

RNY on 11/04/08

Before surgery it seemed to work better for me than it does now. Now, sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. Also, the last several times I've taken it, I ended up writing some kind of strange emails to friends and family members that I did not remember writing the next day. I know some other people have had issues with doing things they couldn't remember after taking ambien, including eating. That scares me and after several nights of sending strange emails to people, I decided not to take it anymore.

Kelly

Please note: I AM NOT A DOCTOR. If you want medical advice, talk to your doctor. Whatever I post, there is probably some surgeon or other health care provider somewhere that disagrees with me. If you want to know what your surgeon thinks, then ask him or her. Check out my blog.

(deactivated member)
on 7/22/12 6:40 am

Wow that would be scary. My mom had experiences similar to yours she said that she apparently had phone conversations with friends she doesn't recall having. They would call her the next day and ask if she was feeling better since she seemed sad on the phone. Its unfortunate that some people have side effects like this. If I start having this type of reaction I wont take it any more. You would think they could come up with something that didnt have side effects like this!

Cicerogirl, The PhD
Version
on 7/22/12 6:19 am - OH

RNY on 08/27/07

Ambien can have some nasty side effects (including people doing things like eating,sending email, etc. with no memory of it later). Personally, it gave me auditory hallucinations the second night I took it ****pt hearing someone in the house whispering my name even though I was alone). That wreaks havoc with someone with PTSD, so I threw the rest out. I switched to Lunesta which worked for a long time... Until about 6 months ago. Now the Lunesta only works intermittently, and I recently started taking Sonata instead, but it also does not work all the time. I end up feeling like a zombie but still cannot sleep. I also tried tryptophan and melatonin, Tylenol PM (helps me fall asleep but I wake up again after only about an hour then cannot go back to sleep), and Ativan...

Lora

14 years out; 190 pounds lost, 165 pound loss maintained

You don't drown by falling in the water. You drown by staying there.

(deactivated member)
on 7/22/12 6:42 am

OMG the auditory hallucinations sound awful. It makes sense that you got off Ambien because of that. It sucks that the other medications only work some of the time. I wonder why insomnia remains such a problem for some people and why medications aren't consistently efffective? I'm sorry you have this and I wish there was a permanent solution!

nfarris79
on 7/22/12 6:31 am - Germantown, MD

RNY on 04/13/11

I was on Ambien for 6 months before surgery and recently stopped it - immediately postop it didn't work as well and over the past year I'd had occasions of doing stuff without memory. Nothing dangerous, just weird.

First ultra: Stone Mill 50 miler 11/15/14 13:44:38, First Full Marathon: Marine Corps 10/27/13 4:57:11, Half Marathon PR 2:04:43 at Shamrock VA Beach Half-Marathon, 12/2/12 First Half-Marathon 2:32:47, 5K PR Run Under the Lights 5K 27:23 on 11/23/13, 10K PR 52:53 Pike's Peek 10K 4/21/13, (1st timed run) Accumen 8K 51:09 10/14/12.

(deactivated member)
on 7/22/12 6:45 am

I'm sorry to hear that! It sounds like other people have had experiences like that so it makes sense that you didn't want to keep taking it. I wish there was a medication that worked perfectly for everyone. When I can't sleep it messes up my day and sometimes several days. And I hate the feeling of being the only one awake in the middle of the night. I never feel so alone as when I'm up and everyone else is sleeping. I wish you a peaceful night's rest every night! It's something we all need.

exohexoh
on 7/22/12 8:15 am - West Chester, PA

RNY on 09/27/10

i haven't taken it post-op, but it used to work for me for about 2 weeks and then my body would adjust to it and i wouldn't be able to sleep again. lunesta did absolutely nothing for me. there was another one my dr. had me taking (restoril sounds right but i'm not positive) but it was the same as the ambien. xanax and other anxiety meds work off and on for me.

<3 jen <3

<3 starting weight: 252 <3 goal weight: 135 <3 current weight: 151 <3

RNY: 9/27/10 <3 Extended Tummy Tuck w/hip & thigh lipo: 6/6/13

Tip for those with insomnia

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Tip for those with insomnia