Sleep please

[NAC1]

Why can’t I sleep these days with AF and HF?

I just dose a short while then I toss and turn wide awake till about 5 then sleep till about 7... not enough. Any reasons for this do you think? Anyone else develop this trend with AF/HF please?

I also keep scratching my lower legs and ankles at night due to itching. Is that down to AF?

[CDreamer]

Good quality sleep is really important. I have had AF, often at night for 12 years.

I would make a guess that you may be anxious which would certainly disturb sleep but so would AF. I found the only way I could sleep when in AF was to have some white noise in the background so I listen to audio books - preferably very boring ones. I also took to doing a 30 min deep relaxation meditation for sleep just before settling down. I was also diagnosed with sleep apnea, treated then with CPAP which really helped as that too disturbs sleep.

I don’t have HF but have just had a pacemaker implanted so had a sore shoulder which meant I had to be careful about how I position myself - sometimes propping yourself up with lots of pillows help.

There are all sorts of reasons for why people have disturbed sleep and as we age, we seem to have less sleep. There are some very good tips of how to improve the quality of sleep here drchatterjee.com/4tipsforsl...

I doubt if the itchy legs have anything to do with it but more likely dry skin or get they get too hot. Of course the dry skin could be connected to the AF or more likely dehydration from AF so ensure you are very well hydrated and drink lots of water. Yes I could also try putting some lotion or oil on them at bedtime. Sometimes it’s about self-care,

[NAC1 in reply to CDreamer]

Thank you for that

[jeanjeannie50]

Could the itching perhaps be caused by medication you are taking? Can you recall it starting soon after taking a new pill? I'm also wondering whether Aqueous cream would help sooth it.

When I go to bed I have to read, something not too exciting, to calm my mind. A newspaper reported recently that experts now claim that cheese may actually help sleep, not prevent it as previously thought. Since then I've been having a small piece late evening and I'm sleeping really well at the moment.

I do have some of the lowest dose sleeping pills and if I ever have AF at night or feel agitated that I can't get to sleep, then I don't hesitate to take one. If I should wake before 3am and can't get back to sleep I take half of a pill. Because I rarely take them my GP is happy to prescribe more when needed. Just knowing I have them, should the need arise, calms me.

Hope this helps.

Jean

[BobD Volunteer]

My lower legs itch like mad from time to time and my wife who is a carer and see this a lot in older people said it was dry skin and got some Dermol from Boots the Chemist. Works much better than the aqueous cream I had been using and stopped it in a couple of days.

Good hydration at all times is important so drink lots of water (not just tea or coffee which actually deplete hydration. )

[SteveCairns in reply to BobD]

It may be bad circulation , I have same issue after went into heart failure in 2013, I’m back in SR now and take Flecinaide which has helped me in SR, although my ejection fraction is getting less which probably affects my circulation in the legs , check your EF

[NAC1 in reply to SteveCairns]

Thank you

[NAC1 in reply to BobD]

Thank you. Cardiologist says EF stable but I m not sure if AFworse

[Luludean]

I have not slept through the night since 2000 ,when I had valve repair. 8 years later I got AF, I was put on flecanaide this made the sleeplessness worse. Was taken off flecanaide very quickly but sleep pattern no better.I go to sleep quickly but wake2,4, 5. Sometimes just once but also dream every night!! Long complicated dreams ..

It is all quite annoying.

[NAC1 in reply to Luludean]

Thank you