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not sleeping
- by velvet
- 2014-03-03 04:03:41
- General Posting
- 1051 views
- 1 comments
Hi Everyone, I had a pacemaker put in 2 weeks ago. I am feeling ok, but finding it difficult to get to sleep and stay asleep. I wake up after a few hours and can't get back to sleep. I am not in pain or uncomfortable. Has anyone else had this problem? Also how long before you are completely back to "normal" after the surgery. Ilook forward to hearing from you. Thank you.
1 Comments
You know you're wired when...
Jerry & The Pacemakers is your favorite band.
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I'm still running and feeling great.
Didn't sleep either
by Theknotguy - 2014-03-03 06:03:26
Yeah, had the problem of not sleeping. I've got sleep apnea too, but this was extreme. I'd be out like a light, then wake up, eyes wide open, rarin' to go. Could be 3AM and let's go!!!
Several things.
First was my brain hadn't finished processing the fact that I had a pacemaker. Lots of things rambling around in there and it took a while to process. My body would dump a whole bunch of adrenaline into my system and I would be awake until it would be processed.
Second was the pacemaker. The voltage on the pacemaker was set at a higher level so my heart was "pounding" more than beating. I'd feel it beating and it would wake me up. They reduced the voltage after 90 days and I started sleeping better.
Second part of part two was - I was getting a "full" heart beat instead of the irregular heartbeat I was getting before. So that woke me up too. Kinda the "Hey! It's a full heartbeat! Imagine that!"
Third was changes in medications. You wouldn't think that would make a difference but it does. Until I adjusted to the new medications I had trouble sleeping.
They adjusted my pacemaker a few weeks back. Since it changed the heartbeat, it woke me up for a couple of nights. Once I got adjusted to the new heartbeat I started sleeping better.
Exercise helps. Not sleeping during the day helps. (If you can.) Drinking water helps. (Water, nothing else.)
Reducing the voltage in the pacemaker helps.
Mostly it's getting your mind wrapped around the new reality that helps the most. I was lucky, I had to get adjusted to the fact I needed a CPAP to live while working through my sleep apnea. The fact that I had to rely upon a second machine to live was easier to take. Didn't necessarily like it, but it's a lot better than the other options.
I'm sleeping better now than I did before. They found out in addition to not breathing during my sleep apnea episodes, my heart wasn't beating either. Gosh! Really strange! Heart keeps beating - you sleep better! Imagine that!
Once I figured out I had a machine that would never sleep, never get tired, never get bored, never take a day off, I started to relax. Started to sleep better.
Hope this helps.
Theknotguy