Crazy Sleep patterns

[nellis22]

Hello,
I have been having trouble falling asleep ... and waking up for the last two months. I am wondering if this is a result of the surgery, a side effect of the anti-seizure meds that I am on (Keppra) or a combination of the two.
I often lay in bed for an hour or longer before I am able to fall asleep. I used to fall asleep within five minutes of hitting the pillow. Waking up in the morning is difficult for me also. I am trying to get out of bed at a decent hour so that I can fall asleep at night, but the whole thing just isn't working. Has anyone else experienced this type of problem?
Thanks for your help!!

~Nicole
5.5 mm unruptured aneurysm clipped on March 28, 2007

[Lyn]

Absolutely Nicole!

This is incredibly common after brain surgery. I took me a really long time (more than a year) to be able to lie down, and stop my brain running at a thousand miles an hour, so I could go to sleep. Even though I was too exhausted to read, I couldn't drop over the edge to sleep.

My mind would (and sometimes still does) wander all over the place when I tried to sleep. Strangely enough, I was able to fall asleep in front of the TV, so I figured if I was concentrating on something reasonably dull, my mind couldn't race.

So, I started to listen to radio talkback of a night - and amazingly it worked quite well!

Just an idea if nothing else is working for you.

Cheers

Lyn

[Kath5]

Hi Nicole,
I started having trouble sleeping after the diagnosis of my annies...and 4 months after my clipping op I still take ages to get off to sleep.
I agree with Lyn tho about something to take your mind off it. I bought a MP3****eo player that I use every night to listen to music - or more often than not watch one of my episodes of 'Prison Break' on it.
I have tried to just lay there and see if I could sleep, but find it much easier to focus on something else or my mind is running through things and I am still laid there hours later...
Hope you find something that works for you :)

Take care,

Kath
x

[abigayle]

I am having the same problem as you are. I had my 8mm annie clipped on May 23rd 2007 and still have yet to sleep through the night. I find that it takes me sometimes several hours to fall asleep regardless of when I go to bed and I wake up about two or three times a night. I am not on any medications. I think that it may have something to do with the fact that I am now sleeping on my back and the side I don't normally sleep on, which is waking me up.

[RUTHIE]

Hi Nicole,
You're not alone with this problem as you can see. The only time I sleep through the night is when I take an Ambien. Never had this problem untill the annie. I have to do somthing to help me relax, I read or listen to i-pod music or novels before I can fall asleep.
Ruthie

[sarahin]

Nicole,
I had my surgery a couple of weeks before you and have some trouble sleeping myself. I have to sleep in a different position now, hear lots of noise with my ear against the pillow, and I notice how sore my scalp is once I'm laying still. I did find a site that lists drugs that can cause insomnia. There is an drug interaction and insomnia link at the bottom of the page. A normal routine to fix things is to set your alarm to get up at the same time in the morning. Go to bed at the same time at night in a quiet dark room, get up for a while if you don't fall asleep, then try again. When your alarm goes off get up. You'll usually get tired enough to go right to sleep at night pretty quickly. I do sleep studies for a living, BUT am not a doctor. Please let your doctor know your having this problem.

http://www.wrongdiagnosis.com/symptoms/insomnia/side-effects.htm

Sarah

[GeePer]

Nicole,

I too have trouble sleeping....I seldom sleep over 5 hours at a time. Which makes afternoon naps necessary for me. Hopefully some day that will change.

Glenn

[Kim/ny]

Nicole, I have the same problem since my rupture seven yrs ago and unless I take medication at night, I have a very hard time falling asleep. Even then I am good for only about 5 hrs. It seems to be a common side affect of brain surgery! Thanks for the list Sarah, ironically the medication that helps me to sleep is on the list! :) Kim

[ChrisC]

Nicole, me too - have had a horrible time getting to sleep, then STAYING there. After 3 years of trying many things, and total exasperation of nothing working, my doctor put me on Lunesta and it works so well. Insomnia is extremely common - as you can see by the posts! Hope you find something that works well for you!

[Gabrielli]

Count me in almost 3 years later still have to take a sleep aid. I also remember not having dreams for a year...dreams are back now but it was strange not having them:)

ooxx
mimi