Question:
is insomnia normal 3 weeks post op?
I am starting my third week post op and hate to complain so much, but aside from gastric problems, I am pysically unable to sleep. My legs thrsh about and I toss and turn. It's as if I drank caffeine. I walk and try to expend energy,I go to bed at 4 a.m., but to no avail. I'm lucky t sleep 3 hoursand then it starts again. — elaine27 (posted on January 5, 2003)
January 4, 2003
oh darlene i remeber that very well, i think it is normal.. im 7 weeks out
and i still dont get tired like i wish i would.. I think it is because we
are excited about our new life, and also scared... i hated it in the
begginng because when i couldnt sleep in the past i would get up and eat..
but now i cant, you can talk to your dr. and he/she might be able to
prescribe you something to help go night night.. ~erinn
— Erinn M.
January 4, 2003
It is normal to sleep very little at the beginning. You will sleep more as
time goes on. However, I am over a year out and I have never gone back to
my 9+ hours each night. I am refreshed on exactly 7 hours.
— Julie S.
January 5, 2003
yep, it sure was for me. It was all the energy I had. Try walking. That
helped me out a lot.
— Carol F.
January 5, 2003
About three weeks post-op, I was getting up around 3 am everynight, drove
me nuts. I just started staying up very late, thats how I got through it.
But at least once a week I am up around 3am. I guess it might be energy
that we are building up. Good Luck
— Teresa G.
January 5, 2003
Sounds like me, too. I am 3 weeks post-op and I haven't had a decent
night's sleep in over a month (before I couldn't sleep because I was
excited about surgery). I'm sooooo tired during the day and I'm still
tired at night, but I toss and turn and can't get comfortable at all. It's
like I can't get to that deep sleep like I used to. All I want is to be
able to sleep 6 or 7 hours straight instead of what I have been doing.
— Toni C.
January 5, 2003
I have had problems off and on with insomnia since I was a teenager. But I
also had this problem about 3 weeks post-op as well. I ended up getting
Ambien from my PCP because I was having so many problems. They usually
only give you enough to get you over the hump and it did help. I got 10
days worth. I am now 5 months out and still have problems once in a while
but have found natural sleeping aids to help me. I don't take them all
the time but they are useful when I happen to go through an insomnia spell.
One is Valerian root. It is really stinky stuff and comes in capsules so
you have to empty the capsules and mix with a liquid to get it down. It
does't taste much better than it smells either but boy does it work!
Another good aid is Melatonin. I prefer this over the Valerian root just
for the simple fact that it comes in a small pill about the size of an
aspirin and I can take them whole, without the capsule dilema. Not to
mention that it has no odor at all. I found them both in the vitamin and
herb section of Kmart and both were pretty inexpensive. I hope that helps!
Good luck to you!
— Laurel C.
January 5, 2003
Are you taking pain med?
because vicoden can cause insomnia..
try cutting down on your dosage of pain med see if this helps ..
it did with me
— Kathleen M.
January 5, 2003
Soundslike me after surgery. I would lay there and just freak out because I
felt like I was having an znxiety attack. It eventually went away but I
thought I was gonna lose it there for a while. I watched alot of late nite
TV....LOL. After a couple of weeks things were more normal. Hang in there.
— Dawn E.
January 5, 2003
Gosh, for the first few weeks that's ALL I wanted to do was sleep. I think
my body had to rid itself of all that anesthetic in surgery, and vicoden I
took for a couple of weeks after surgery. Thankfully I sleep well, but I
need at least 9 hours of sleep now. No problem when I was recovering from
surgery, but it presented a bit of a problem when I went back to work in 6
weeks. I try to be in bed by 9 p.m. I am now 1 month post op and down 60
lbs. I am on a general diet, but still don't like the taste of most foods.
— Ginger M.
January 5, 2003
Oops...I am 2 months post op. Sheesh! Do the math, Ging! ;)
— Ginger M.
January 5, 2003
I don't know if it's normal but I went thru a phase of insomnia about then
too. I seem to remember I slept whenever I could and didn't watch the
clock too much for a few weeks - if you can, I'd recommend it. Your body
is ALL messed up right now :>) As for the leg thrashing, if you are
having twitching or jerking (and not sure you meant that) it can be caused
from a potassium deficiency. Try have some banana's or orange juice to
help it out. Good luck and congrats!
— [Deactivated Member]
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