Michael's Posts

Congrats Michael! I have had low blood pressure and doctor cut my dosage of Losartan in half. He also lowered my Metoprolol in half as I've just been really tired. I may try to go off of it very soon, but I've had PVC's for years. We'll see how that goes. I hope your PVC's go away or at least minimize. Are you taking something for that? I remember when you went in for surgery. You were a few months ahead of me. Glad your doing well overall!

Happy first anniversary. I remember when we were going through surgery around the same time. It is my one year anniversary as well, all is good and just had my 1 year echo, results good. Happy to hear your update. This is a great website for people getting insight and advice for such serious issues. Kudos to you.❤️Sue

Sleeping was difficult for me for several months. I finally asked for a prescription sleep aid, and only used it a couple times a week . That way i could get a good night’s sleep when i really felt I needed one, and avoided the possibility of becoming dependent on the sleep med.

Michael - Ten weeks out is still pretty early into recovery. My suggestion is to get rid of your clock and find something good to binge watch on tv. Sleep when you're tired if your schedule will permit. You'll eventually get back to your normal sleep pattern when your body is ready. I couldn't sleep through the night for awhile after surgery, but a short nap during the day got me through those first few months of recovery. You'll find what works for you. Good luck!

I don't know for how long it was but I slept in bed for a couple hours and then would go downstairs to the recliner and try to sleep some more. Napping helped. I slept when I needed to sleep. It just takes time. Hopefully you will get a break soon.

It took me a while to be able to get a good night’s sleep, probably months. I am with Susan and Rose in that I think you should allow yourself to sleep when your body tells you to, if you can. Napping could be a challenge once you go back to work. Either way, it is important to establish good sleeping habits, like making sure your bed is for sleeping only. Even when I was mostly sleeping on the recliner, I had a “bedtime” ritual I followed, like turning off my devices, brushing my teeth, adjusting my pillows, etc. When I woke up in the middle of the night, which I inevitably did, I moved to the couch to read a book or scroll through this website. When I was younger, I used to take a lot of stuff to help me sleep, but most of them make me too groggy now. I still take melatonin, but that is the only thing I take specifically to help me sleep. I also take magnesium, a beta blocker, and an antihistamine for other reasons, which all contribute in one way or another but without noticeably affecting my energy level. I used to drink a shot of tart cherry juice as a night cap, too, but I can’t always get it, so it has not made it into my new routine, but maybe you could give it a try. Recently I started listening to sleepcasts, and found that they really help when the main issue is a racing mind. May not help if you still have physical discomfort. The surgery is a big shock to your system and everything gets disrupted. It takes time to reestablish a routine that works for you, but you will get there!