Dr. Hive...sleep issue help please

[ktgrok]

So, right after I had my weight loss surgery I slept like a baby. Like...wake up in the same position I went to sleep in. I also had clear sinuses for the first time in a long time. 

 

At first, I chalked this up to the 5 days of steroids I had. 

 

Then it lasted another 6 weeks, and I thought, maybe because they fixed the hiatal hernia, I don't have reflux that is irritating my sinuses and/or waking me up. 

 

Now, whatever was waking me up in the past is doing it again. I wake up and roll over dozens of times. I wore a fitbit last night and it says I woke up 22 times!  That may be high, but I do remember waking up a lot. My sinuses are bothering me a bit...not bad, but not perfect. Sometimes I take sudafed but of course, that interferes with sleep too. 

 

I'm still taking prilosec once a day as directed until my dr tells me otherwise. (I see him tomorrow). I HAVE had some bouts of heartburn recently, usually when I've had a bunch of lemonade (diet) that day. 

 

Any thoughts other than allergies or sinus issues related to reflux? I've lost 46lbs, but I miss sleeping!!! 

[sbgrace]

Yay on the weight loss!

Have you ever had a sleep study?

My sleep apnea would wake me before I ever really stopped breathing much, hypopnea. It's very disruptive to sleep. You don't have to be overweight to have sleep apnea. My mom had restless leg disrupting her sleep.

[mom2samlibby]

I'd guess that you might need to up your Vitamin B12 intake. I've heard that's one of the downsides to weight loss to surgery is that many become deficient of B12. Since starting B12 vitamins last year, I sleep so much better.

[Garga]

Well, if nothing else works that people may suggest on this thread, then I'd have a sleep study done. Waking 22 times is pretty awful.

 

Are you doing all the little things to help you sleep? No screens for a few hours before bed (google how many--one or two I think). No heavy foods within a certain number of hours before bed. Exact same bedtime every single night, weekends included. Exact same wake time every single morning, weekends included.

 

Write down troubling thoughts in a journal before bed. Find your best temperature to sleep in. Google what temperatures are best. I think slightly cool is good, but if I feel a draft, it wakes me up constantly--so much so that I tuck my jammie shirt into the bottoms because any pocket of cold air against my skin keeps me up all night.

 

Noise machine.

 

Perhaps a better pillow.

 

You were sleeping for a while, but now you're not. Did any of the above change for you?

[Garga]

My husband has sleep apnea. He's had 2 sleep studies done. Neither one of them said anything about restless leg syndrome, but I've been telling him for years that he twitches--a full body twitch--all night long. I time how often he twitches--it's every 14-17 seconds for hours, or at least until I drop off and get tired of timing him. Timing his twitching is like counting sheep.

 

Looooong story short, he finally got some restless leg syndrome medicine from the doctor and for the first time in forever, maybe in 23 years, he doesn't twitch all night and sleeps through the night. This has been recent and I hope it lasts. The cpap helped quite a bit, but the twitching was still an issue.

 

My point: if you have a sleep study, ask them if they look for restless leg syndrome. I'm surprised that neither sleep study mentioned that. Maybe they're not equipped to dx restless leg during a sleep study.

[nevergiveup]

After your surgery you were probably on some anti-inflammatory medication.

I find I sleep really well if I take an ibuprofen before bedtime.

[Chris in VA]

I find artificial sweetners irritate my gut and contribute to my reflux. So does anything carbinated, or too many carbs (and I'm tweaking to find out just how many, now...). Maybe monitoring that would help?

 

It's hard to not sleep well! :grouphug: