Question:
Sleeplessness Post op 10 Months
I am asking for a coworker. She has lost 110 pounds and sleeping only 3-4 hours pre night. Extremely tired during the day. She is taking mulitvitamin, B-50 and eats 3 meals a day. She is not under any type of stress. Please help!!! — tayee24 (posted on April 26, 2008)
April 25, 2008
I work in the field of Sleep Disorders. I think she needs to go have an
overnight Sleep Study. Her insurance should cover it. This will give the
Doctor ALOT of information to determine what the problem is. I really
recommend a Sleep Study, and it is an easy test, no pain... She will stay
one night in the hospital, during which she'll have some sensors
taped/pasted on to her. There are no drugs or needles, etc.. Although she
has lost 110 pounds, it's still possible that she has Sleep Apnea. However,
it could be that her Circadian Rhythm (internal time clock) has gotten out
of whack. Another possibility is PLMs (Periodic Limb Movements) during
sleep. Has she started any new medications? Some medications can cause
insomnia, some can cause the PLMs. Anti-depressant meds can cause insomnia
and/or PLMs. If she has the Sleep Study and none of the afore-mentioned
conditions apply, then she may need to get her Circadian Rhythm back on
track. She should buy some Melatonin (it's available over the counter) and
take it about 2 hours before her normal bed time each night. It is not a
sedative; it helps to tell the brain "it is time for bed." She
can also get her Doctor to prescribe Ambien CR or Lunesta sleeping pills.
They can be taken with the Melatonin. Tell her also, about 2 hours before
bed time, turn the lights in the house off or down low, create a quiet,
relaxed environment. No caffeine after lunch. Make the bedroom dark, cool,
and quiet. No TV or reading in bed, do those things in the Living Room
only. I hope these things help, and she should definitely have the Sleep
Study to determine the cause and the appropriate course of action...
— Gina S.
April 25, 2008
hello...you didn't specify how old she is....it could be her hormones...i'm
starting to go through perimenopause and i know since i lost all my weight
my hormones have been going whacky! i crave chocolate constanly and i was
never much of a sweet eater before, also does she have snacks? i eat 5 to
6x aday about every 3 -4 hours otherwise my blood sugar drops and i conk
out....tell her to try eating more often and look into getting trazodone
for sleeping at night...it's non-narcotic and "quiets your mind"
so you can fall asleep fast and stay asleep longer...good luck
— lizzie42
April 25, 2008
She needs to get a blood test for Aneima and low B-12. Both of these will
cause you to be tired. She just calls the doctor and he will call it into
the lab or she can pick up a perscription. Why she is at it have them
check here caclium and do a lipid profile. She can get a shot for B-12 and
then main taine it with a suppliment or a spray. Bariatric iron willhelp
correct the aneima. Got souce for bariatric vitamins is www.bbvitamins.
Last thing is to get a non habit forming perscription for sleep. She needs
to have 8 hours sleep a night for a activte day. It is hard to do
excersizing if you are tired,a nd that is going to effect her weight loss
and total success. Have her talk to her doctor about these issues when she
gets the blood test perscription. Lunesta is good perscriptionfor helping
one sleep and you can get off it easly. Best of success to your freind.
— William (Bill) wmil
April 25, 2008
In addition to my previous comments, I suggest that she develop a
"routine" before bed.... Take a warm bath perhaps, put on comfy
pajamas, don't watch anything too exciting or scarey on TV, and get in to
the relaxed-mode before bed...
It's a psychological thing... And if she gets in bed ad can't fall asleep,
don't stay in the bed any more than a 1/2 hour.. If after a 1/2 hour she
can't sleep, she should get up, leave the bedroom, and go sit in the
darkened living room, relax, and then try again after a little while. Don't
stay in the bed and toss & turn. If there is too much noise from any
source, such as traffic or neighbors, run a fan in the room. Noises such as
cars or dogs "startle" you during sleep, but the continuous,
monotinous sound of a fan is soothing to the brain and helps to block out
the noises that startle you during sleep. Never sleep with a TV or music
on.
— Gina S.
April 25, 2008
Along with a Sleep Study, her Doctor should do bloodwork to check Thyroid,
Iron Levels, Electrolytes, Hormones, and so on.....
— Gina S.
April 26, 2008
It could any number of things from vitamin deficiencies to vitamin
overdoses...So...Since she is already 10 months post op, tell her to make
her yearly appointment a little early and go get labs and speak to her
doctor! Til then, a little carbohydrates right before bed helps me fall
asleep...So I might eat a few strawberries or blueberries or even half a
banana (banana's have a natural "feel good" relaxing amino acid
called trytophan)
— .Anita R.
April 26, 2008
Also lack of protein can be some of the reason she is feeling tired. Also
she may try eating 4 to 6 small meals instead of 3 meals a day. if she is
not exercising -- she should be and that will get her stamina and cardio up
and help her sleep at night. She might -- as some one else stated -- want
to look into having a sleep study done and that may help to find out what's
going on. She also might need to take Vitamin D separate of her
multi-vitamin. When was her last batch of blood work done. Her vitamin D
could be low and that makes me tired at times. There are times I feel
tired and I will take extra vitamin D -- but working out--getting her
cardio up will probably help her tremendously. Walking - graduating to the
stationary bike or the eliptical machine are cardio systems that will get
her up. I've lost about 110 and I've lost strength and have started
strength training and with that I'm starting to go to bed earlier. So
encourage her to workout if she's not doing so already. Good luck and you
are a special person of support to her I'm sure.
— the7thdean
April 27, 2008
wow, sounds very familiar. I have similar sleep habits unfortunately. I did
find out that mine are partly due to rls. I wake up every night and roam
the house, sometimes up for hours before I can lay down and sleep again...
sometimes no more sleep for me. UGH! It could be her choice of foods
before going to bed or possibly, like me, restless leg syndrome or some
such thing. tell her to talk to her doc about it soon because sleep is
definately a big part of staying healthy! Oh and WOW again on the NO Stress
part... I'm jealous right there. hehe. Its not too often that you hear
those words. Especially in the world today. God Bless and good luck to
her. :)
— RoosMom
April 27, 2008
She needs a sleep study. Could be apnea or some other sleep disorder?
— gonnadoit
April 27, 2008
You have not given us much information... why is she only sleeping 3 or 4
hours a night? Is she having trouble falling asleep? Is she waking up
repeatedly through out the nite? Is she waking up early and not able to
get back to sleep? Is she having nightmares? Is she waking up because
she's in pain, has to go to the bathroom, is thirsty, etc?
What kind of sleep habits does she have? Does she get up and go to bed at
the same time every night? Is she reading, watching tv, eating, doing
cross words, in bed? Is she sharing the bed with a spouse or child? Does
she drink, smoke, or take medication? Does she exercise? Is she
depressed? Does she nap? How many hours of sleep does she normally get?
Is she unable to sleep every night or just some? Has this been going on
for 3 days, 3 weeks, 3 months?
A good place to start is to make sure she has good sleep hygiene. Google
"sleep hygiene" and share the info with her (this is a good site
to start with http://www.stanford.edu/~dement/howto.html ).
I would suggest a visit to her doctor and then together they can decide
what sort of intervention is appropriate. Sleep studies and lab work can
be helpful but with the little information you've given us, recommending
either (to me, at least) is like telling your friend she needs an MRI and a
referral to a neurologist because she has a headache.
As for stress, everyone is under stress... I would imagine that lack of
sleep and being tired is stressful in and of itself.
Best wishes.
— mrsidknee
April 27, 2008
I totally agree with the sleep study idea. And she needs to follow
through. The reason I say that is that I was diagnosed after my night in
the hospital for the study as having apnea--I woke up 40 times an hour!
However, I didn't follow through for the next stage where you stay again
and they fit you for a mask. I thought I would just never use the mask.
In any case, it took a colleague telling me how much better her husband
felt in the morning once he started using his mask, that he felt wide
awake, etc. I always had previously blamed my problem on my chronic
fatigue condition. In any case, I then followed up with the next part of
the sleep study, got fitted for a mask, and have been sleeping much better
ever since.
One thing I would note is that when I am off from work for at least several
days I don't sleep as well. I think the stress actually helps me sleep!
— pdmatuske1
Click Here to Return