I am I only sleeping c 4 hour on 2 or 3 nights a week.. Tried deep breathing and the usual things to get back to sleep but nothing seems to be working . I doze for the rest of the night.I am normally pretty active during the day on a full nights sleep so wondering if anyone can rec. an over the counter remedy.. Taking Verapamil and Apix. and been on these for a few years. Doesn;t seem worth a visit to the doctor.
I am a bit of a worrier( not about afib!) but used to find writting things down helped me go back to sleep. Not now. Any ideas anyone.All advice gratefully rec..
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10gingercats
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I also use Ambien when I absolutely must but please know that there is absolutely an addiction potential. Just google it or ask your pharmacist or doctor.
300mcg Life Extension melatonin works for me but the higher doses 1mg plus dont have the same effect- not as restful.
Hello no 10gc
Can only offer sympathy I'm afraid. I have around 7 hours broken sleep a night and have done for years and years right back to before my AF hit me (now over 10 years ago). The break in my nightly sleep can be between 1 and 3 hours. Very occasionally I sleep right through the night ( no pattern or reason for this), say 8 and half hours and I wonder what the hell has happened.
Oddly enough it has no bearing on my working or social life to speak of. When I'm not working I pace myself during the day, might have a cat nap, might not. When working it has no bearing on my concentration levels, alertness, awareness, drowsiness
Over the years it has not worsened, it just is ..................
Initially, I blamed shift work - driving buses through a number of different shifts patterns messed up my sleep ( early starts/middle shifts and late shifts finishing maybe midnight - then getting home and not being able to unwind so I sat around, mentally unloading my shifts experiences, then getting to bed around 2 am.
I still think this pattern has been a disruptive element of my life that stays with me.
What do I take ........... nothing, just live with it. But most importantly I don't fight it. Just go with the flow. I got enough drugs rattling around inside me .......... don't want any more.
I take a magnesium pill before bed and sleep well but on a lighter note Michael Buble is an insomniac and recommends Mathew McConaughey’s sleep stories on the phone app called calm his voice sends you off to sleep, apparently it works better than popping a sleeping pill
Some sleep aids can cause an irregular heart beat so be careful what you take. Nytol is one such example - it lists an irregular HB as a possible side effect in the information leaflet.
For me Zolpidem works wonders if I have trouble sleeping.
A friend gave me nytol when I was having trouble sleeping but I didn't take it when I read one side effect is palpitations. I tend to not worry too much and usually get back into a routine.
I find Nytol work very well for me. I note that someone above recommended a dose of Pholcodeine- just a note of warning: I have been told by my pharamcist and my wafarin nurse that I should not take pholocodeine as I am on Warafarin.
Nytol works well for me but like you Pholcodeine is a no no with Warfarin. I use Care Co simple sugar fee linctus,it works well with a tickley cough. With a bad cough a small dose of codeine linctus helps.
Paul,,,is this the same as Zopliclone or Zimovane (7.5).
A&E gave me some of these a few years ago, when I turned up there after I had not had any sleep for about 2 days due to an episode ( I am in permanent now!) . I am a bit dubious as to whether I should take them...although I used to in pre-AF days.
My insomnia is awful at mo..........sometimes still wide awake at 3.30.....torture!! Due to racing brain, I feel!!
Zolpidem and Zopliclone are different. I find Zolpidem much better - the half life is short so you don't feel as tired the next day. Also it works very fast - take it and bang - you'll be in the land of nod 20 - 30 minutes later. It's best to talk to your doctor about it and discuss if it will help. Best used as PIP - if you are still tossing and turning in the early hours take one as a back up and you know sleep will come.
I’d say some kind of sleep/inducing music app for your phone and Bluetooth speaker is worth trying first as shop-bought medicines are pretty ineffective overall.
Next comes “CBT” and a book on this is as good as an expensive therapist. That is well worth trying but isn’t easy.
Over the counter (otc) products seem to work for a few people, being either herbal (almost useless) or an antihistamine (a touch more effective). The antihistamines work because drowsiness is a side effect but feeling drowsy and falling asleep are two separate things. Antihistamines also have a long half life and the side effects can drag over throughout the next day, creating an unpleasant dull feeling.
Doctors are reluctant to prescribe any kind of sedative, and those they might try have a very short duration of action, inducing sleep quickly but with only a 2-4 hour duration.
The only two you’ll possibly be given are zolpidem or zopiclone. Splitting a tablet in half is often effective as a full dose as is taking half a tablet during the night when you wake but can’t get back to sleep.
For most people, insomnia is temporary. Let’s hope so in your case since, when it isn’t, it’s life changing and debilitating. Doctors can fail to appreciate how serious it can be and tend to treat it poorly.
I’ve been on Ambien for 20 years. I take the same dose every night. I have tried everything else and nothing works. I have never had to increase my dose.
I sleep ( broken sleep)on and off about 4 - 5 hours a night or sometimes nearly not at all. I drink a brew especially for this called " nuit calme" ( peacful night - I live in France so don't know what it's officially called in english). I drink a mug about lunch time and again at bedtime. I also take magnesium. Finally I listen to a podcast ( usually crime) and fall asleep. My sleep has definitely improved. I still don' t sleep many hours but my sleep is less broken and if I do wake up I nod off again quite quickly. Also sleeplessness breeds sleeplessness. As I'm retired I don't care anymore if I don't sleep much so if I fall asleep at 4a.m I get up at 9a.m..
But obviously tough if you have to be at work at 8 the next morning.
Many with Afib also have sleep apnea; the thought is they are related. While I have not had a sleep test, I believe I have it. I found a solution that works for me: it’s called Sleep Hero. It is basically a pacifier of sorts, for adults. It has eliminated my snoring, and has given me much better nights’ sleep. You can find the kit on Amazon. Best of luck!
Normally as soon as my head hits the pillow my brain turns on like a tumble dryer and falling asleep is difficult. Then I signed up to Audible on my ipad/iphone.
I plug in, choose a story and nine times out of ten wake up several chapters further on.
Ive had sleep problems for over 20 years off and on, but now its almost all of the time. I tried herbal remedies but they did nothing. Various teas at bedtime didnt help at all. I get into bed tired and one thought sets the video in my brain that must be played until the end, and then a re -run shortly after. Ive read, my daughter gave me restful music, which in the end irritated me. So I went to GP who reluctanctly gave me a relaxant which made me more brain active and my AF didnt like it at all. He then prescribed Zopiclone which I hat taking because it makes me dread another pill for me. He will only give me 7 (They are addictive) and I try to just have them once a week. They work with no after affects next day. I know this wont be the all time solution, but Im 72 and when insomnia is at its worst I tell my husband I dont care if I get addicted. I`m a christian and prayer helps me deal with the dread of a sleepless night. Unless you have it you don`t realise the way your life is impacted. It`s an illness we don`t talk about much. With best wishes to all fellow non-sleepers
I get 30 tabs a month of zopiclone, I find they work well for me. Often, I will skip a night or two so I dont get addicted and so far so good. i have been taken them for three years.
It may seem like a minor problem and don't want to bother your doctor. The inability to sleep could have many causes. Some of which could be the result of health problem, or affect your health. You might need a sleep study to make sure you don't have sleep apnea. But, you should DEFINITELY mention it to your doctor.
Try to keep a regular bedtime and follow the same routine every night before you actually get into bed. Pillow speakers which you put under your pillow so no sore ears, hooked up to a music device and loaded with either music or a meditation programme work for me most times. Otherwise get up and do something really boring might work. However main thing is concentrate on thinking that the next night you will sleep well most of all don't worry about it 😉
I had such difficulty sleeping that I went to my doc. He put me on sleeping tabs Zopiclone 7.5mg. I only take a half tab 3 nights per week to ensure I get a sleep on the nights before work. Those are my best nights sleep. Other nights I wake a few times and have disturbing dreams.
My doctor gave me 7.5mg Zopiclone too years ago....I used to take them but that was in a world before Afib and I don't know how they would interact with anticoagulants or beta blockers....Somi don't take them now.
I have sleep problems similar to you. I'm 76, male and it good health except for this nuisance Afib. I fall asleep OK but when I wake up 2, 3 to 4 later have a hard time getting back to sleep. I have a huge amount of energy for my age and am active usually at the end of my day (home business on computer). I walk long distances 3 to 4 miles 3 times a week in steep terrain or on the gym machines. I lift a safe amount of weights for 20 minutes also every 2 to 3 days. OK, that's me.
I usually gut out most nights when I can't sleep and have found that from 3AM to 7AM I do manage maybe an hour of sleep in & out. I most always do well with my energy the next day even on 4 to 5 max hours of sleep. When I need to sleep because of something important next day I take 1/2 a tab of 1 mg Alprozolam (or .5 mg.) which relaxes me and I do fall asleep for an additional 2.5 - 3 hrs. longer with no side effects. If any sluggishness in the AM they work off within 10-15 minutes. On rare occasions I take a low dosage of Zolpidem Tartrate which is Ambien but only if absolutely necessary which might happen 6 - 7 times a year. I have no problems with it.
Soooooo, there is help out there and I am cautious about everything I take and try to never get into the habit of any of these sleep aids. Hope this helps.
I suffer from anxiety, which is for me a trigger for my PAF. I have been on Alprazolam for 15 years 0.5mg in the morning and the same at night. I sleep for 8 hours with no problem- I also take a Beta -blocker, but I take that midday and Xarelto with my evening meal (I was diagnosed with AF 4 years ago - I have 3 sisters with the same condition proof that it is familial!) Neither my GP or Cardiologist are concerned about addiction at my age (76) - I have not increased my dose in 15 years, if they help me avoid anxiety and panic attacks, they are happy.
Hi 10gingercats, I started taking amitriptyline a couple of years back to help me sleep after developing appalling tinnitus, it didn't really work (it's an awful lot of noise) and was given zopiclone which I find blows me away totally- after being diagnosed with the dreaded afib I was advised to stop taking sleeping meds altogether- crikey, we can't win can we.?! Best of luck on this crazy journey, take care x
Whiskey. Preferably a good Islay or Skye single malt with a little splash. If one doesn't work then have two'! The Scots have the answer to insomnia , and my good Irish lass cardiologist says that its good for the heart.
I took Etizolam for 3 years daily, stopped without problems or withdrawl. When in AF I couldnt sleep, which was most days. Hence the script for Etizolam, less potential for addiction than other benzodiazepines
Ask your pharmacist before taking any over the counter sleep aids and they can affect AFib and often some should not be taken with anticoagulants and beta blockers. I was prescribed some years ago but they didn't work for me. I listen to the radio on a pillow speaker and that tends to be soporiphic. You can always bet that when a good programme comes on you will fall asleep and wake up just as it ends! I used to find that having the TV on low helped too because of the fluttering light but that hasn't worked for me for years now.
I struggle with irregular sleep patterns and have learned not fight it any more. I struggle actually getting to sleep as well as staying asleep for more than an hour or two. Tricks to get me to sleep vary. 1. Recite the nine times table 1*9 =9 2*9=18. 1+8=9. 3*9=27. 2+7=9 and so on. Are you asleep yet? Or I sing a slow song to myself. Or slow breaths in through the nose out through the mouth. Or I count backwards from 1000. These work with varying success it just stops me thinking about other things. Then when I wake up and can't get back to sleep I get up read for an hour or so take I of my pain killers then go back to bed and go to sleep for another 2 or 3 hours. Best advice from me accept it. Try not to worry.
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