A tinnitus relaxer works for me. It helps me to get to sleep. I do not have tinnitus.These devices play relaxing options, I like waves on a beach, overlaid with white noise . Mine switches itself off after 20 minutes and I have never been awake to notice it turn off.
I like listening to the sea or rain. I also find the total relaxation of the yoga nidra meditation very calming too.
Sleep hygiene is important . Try going to bed at the same time, reduce your alcohol intake, sleep in a cool room and try not to use any smart phones, laptops, or tablets etc just before you go to bed.
Read a good book. Take a warm bath, perhaps try using an essential oil such as lavender.
Or put a few drops of Lavender oil on your pillow case.
Exercise as much as you can.
You have been through a life-changing event and it can take a while to process your experiences and memories. Be kind to yourself and give yourself time.
If you find you are ruminating your thoughts and replaying the events in your mind, perhaps have a chat with your GP.
Have the Cardiac rehab team been in touch with you?
Hopefully you will be able to start some classes soon.
I found Meditation helpful and unexpected effective.I listen to one of The Honest Guys tracks on You Tube .There are a few of them Experiement with them until you find one you like. I used one that was about 15 minutes long.
Your twenty years younger than me but if you find a solution please let me know. Two and a half years since my heart surgery and now just accept that three to four hours sleep is about as good as it gets. Hope you find an answer
Take care
Dear Solesofhershoes
So sorry to hear that your sleep patten is all out, now why aren’t you sleeping? Is your mind ticking over to much? Are you over thinking sleeping?
I had all these problems and more.
Now very unpopular that this answer is I went and talked to my Dr who basically said that I was suffering with a form of stress and he recommended a short dose of sleeping tablets to get me back into a regular patten.
It worked for me, I’m not very good at all the mindfulness stuff as my mind goes off on a wander when ever it wants.
When we have a heart attack it is a big life changing event then there are all these new meds to deal with and get used to as well as how it physically and mentally affects us and for so many they go through a spell of their sleep pattern been a problem but be reassured it will come back
Because we struggle bed time starts to become a problem and the more we get wound up over not been able to sleep the more we won't the mind is a powerful thing that controls are body
I stay up till I cannot keep my eyes open any longer sometimes 1 in the Morning but there is more chance I will sleep then
I play a relaxing app which helps me sleep and if I wake up I put it on again and usually fall to sleep again when I do
Of course reading in bed can help you dose of to
Relaxing bath warm drink trying to be as relaxed as you can before bed time sometimes help
But the thing not to do is let this take over
If you cannot sleep say to yourself ok that is fine I will get up and have a cuppa
Someone once told me you will sleep when you are ready when I was struggling to and they were right I did
Of course there could be one of those meds you are taking contributing so speak with your Doctor to about this and they may be able to suggest something
I hope even though the sleep is an issue that will come good again after you heart attack the rest of your recovery is going well x
Hi, I had my HA 2 years ago, massive, left me with severe heart failure ( horrible description ).First of all it helps to know you are not alone, many of us struggle with sleep after such a massive life changing event.
I can only say what improved my sleep, now get a 6 - 7 hour sleep, same as pre HA.
I tried all sorts of methods, including mild sleeping tablets.
Nothing seemed to work very well, its a very lonely place at 2 - 5 am in the morning, even tried the Samaritans ( It was that bad ), but could never get through.
I was diagnosed with PTSD, caused by my HA and horrendous experience in hospital.
I was in a very dark place at the time.
I was lucky enough to speak to a friend who had PTSD for a very different reason.
They had EMDR therapy via the NHS, although at the time, there was a long waiting list.
I was lucky enough to find a private therapist, she literally saved my life.
Part of my treatment was EMDR, I had about 10 sessions of this and then talking therapy.
I still have 2 sessions of talking therapy a month, before a session I wonder what I will talk about, but end up talking to her for 95% of the hour session.
To reiterate, I now have a reasonable sleep ever night, this worked for me.
I can't really add anything new to what has been said, but I would like to just reemphasise a couple of points that others have made.
Your body has very recently undergone a major trauma. No matter if it was a small or big heart attack, it has hit you physically and mentally, hard. You have been given all those meds to help you physically to recover and likely to get stronger, but your mind needs help to recover as well. We often ignore that side of it, don't we?So just as we try to help the heart to recover by resting but also by gentle exercise, so we should do the same for our mind.
From experience we know the best advice is to stop worrying about it, but this is the hardest thing to do. Worrying and overthinking just put a lot more pressure on it. How do we do this?
Well, everyone will come up with a different answer and we are not sure which will be best for you.
Many will be opposed to taking meds to make us sleep, for a while, but as Blue1958 said, it may be that your doctor will prescribe a gentle medication that will help your body get back into sleep patterns. If you break a leg, it is quite normal to use crutches for a while to allow the bones to heal and strengthen. Others suggest mindfulness I was taught this by a medical therapist years ago to treat the depression I was suffering then and it does help to calm the mind down. For some this doesn't work.
Another thing I have used is listening to an audiobook. This can be annoying, as I listen for a while and then fall asleep, wake in the morning and it has finished and I have no idea where I have reached in the story.
Bekind28 makes a very valid point about sleep will come when it is ready. I don't choose my bedtime by the clock but by when I want to go to bed. Easy for me being retired I know, and during the night when I get up (one of my many conditions, LOL, means I do have to get up for the bathtime a few times) I am able now not to even think about how this has disrupted sleep, there again, if I can't get back to sleep again easily and quickly I make a cuppa and potter about until I feel able to slide back between the covers.
Sorry a long-winded reply, try not to worry about it too much, sleep will come, we have all been there and been through what you are suffering. And chat to your doctor about it - and us of course!
I too have had horrible sleeping issues since my heart problems started. For me (and probably for many others), it's anxiety based. Once my mind starts focusing on a dark place, it's all over. No more sleep.
But...I did get some very good advice from a cardiologist, who recommended a double dose of melotonin before bed (2 x 1.9 mg).
My sleep routine is sacred: Go to bed when tired. Once I am bed, no screens in the room. Thus my phone is in the living room. I read something really boring for a while (paper only). Then I turn on a white noise machine and focus on relaxing all my muscles, starting from my feet. By this point I tell myself the melatonin is kicking in and I'm starting to get sleepy. (this is the "mindfulness" part -- a horrible word but that's what it's called...)
Another important thing: Don't drink too much fluids before bed. If you need to get up to use the bathroom, especially at 5 a.m. as it's getting light, it's near impossible to get back to sleep.
I could still do with a couple hours more sleep, but if I get 6-7 solid hours that's really good for me.
I have never been a great sleeper and hate getting up, but after my stents last October I was put on Ticagrelor and it was awful!! I am supposed to take that and aspirin until October this year and then I can go back to Clopidegrol. I have made an appointment to have a medicine review but it is in 2 weeks but I have had to take myself off Ticagrelor and the aspirin and I have put myself back on Clopidegrol as I found myself waking up panting for breath and I could reach down for something in the shop and struggle for breath, it could be quite frightening.
I am sleeping a little better now and am just hoping the GP doesn't say I should stick to the Ticagrelor. The medication can make a huge difference to our general well being.
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