Oh, how I’ve learned over the last several years, general
anesthesia and sleep and I do not mix. My sleep pattern goes straight to hell.
Or maybe it’s out the window or down the road. I don’t know.
Over the years I’ve made adjustments to put in eight hours. Once, long ago, gloriously, I simply slept
eight hours. Then I’d wake for the bathroom, sometime in the night, but found I
only slept an extra hour to compensate.
A go round with general anesthesia, though,
and my sleep cycle is a mess.
In the two and a half months since I broke my leg, I’ve not
had a good night’s sleep. Sometimes I sleep four hours, then three, then two,
then one. Sometimes two hours, then
three, then one and one and one. Or any
crazy mix at all.
Once I slept six straight hours and thought “Oh, boy, it’s
over! I’m back on track!” Wrong.
In real news, Laura put in another morning at the food bank.
She says all the people she works with
are old, “like they’re retired or something. We don’t talk much, unless there’s
a break in what we’re doing.”
Tomorrow morning I have to go to the hospital for a pre-admittance
exam, and in the afternoon to see my counselor, Kathleen the Wonderful. So, no
opportunity for Laura to go off to do service work. She’s kept up with English
and ASL, and physics, but still has not heard from her trig teacher. Perhaps
that’s part of the punishment.
Nevertheless, I suggested she email the unit principal to
see if he will see if there is a problem. Grandmothers are troublesome like
that. Just one poke, though.
I’m here making chit chat until a reasonable time to go to
bed. It’s only six thirty.
I do need to take a nap. But, here’s one thing I’ve always
wondered. Do you know when you fall asleep. How?
I don't know the exact moment I fall asleep, but I have felt myself "going" a few times. My sleep pattern is a little disrupted lately, but not as badly as yours. I have heard the sleep-wake-sleep cycles are fairly common as we get older. I prefer a solid six to eight hours myself. I have noticed that the first few hours are really deep sleep and I'm wide awake after that so I'll read until I'm sleepy again, usually two hours, then I'll sleep another two or three hours. Not having anything scheduled for my days makes this easier to live with.
ReplyDeleteI hope the surgery goes well and recovery is speedy.
Also hope Laura gets the Trig work she needs to keep up with.
I have had sleep issues for years, I think from Graves thyroid disease,but since my knee replacement back in May, my sleep pattern is really goofy.
ReplyDeleteIt seems if I want to be awake to watch tv or a movie with my husband, I fall asleep. I slip off to sleep without being ready to, and when I want to sleep, and need to, in order to get to a daytime appointment, I cannot sleep no matter what I do. I guess it will settle down to something a bit more normal, but I don't know when. It should be ok by now, my surgery was back in the middle of May.
I had a lot of memory issues, for about a month after my surgery. I thought that the anesthesia did that, so maybe it affected my sleep pattern, too.
Menopause did in my good nights' sleep over 10 years ago but it never occurred to me that general anesthetic might have played a role too. Another culprit! *shakes fist*
ReplyDeleteThe only indication I have fallen asleep is when I wake up the next day. I've been fortunate to not have had trouble sleeping even with my bum foot. Sleeping on one's back does take a bit getting used to, however.
ReplyDeleteSurgery does do a number - I had difficulty after surgery, my general doctor prescribe an amazing half a pill , it is actually an anti depressant but danged if I did not sleep well through the night...don't use it anymore but it was helpful when needed , got my rhythm back in sync. Trazadone it is called, a little goes a long way.
ReplyDeleteI am a terrible sleeper. Five hours is good for me. Hope you get enough sleep soon.
ReplyDeleteI had trouble sleeping for years...falling asleep on the couch waiting for the husband to stop snoring and then creep into bed but the act of moving from one place to another would wake me and I'd lay there for an hour or two before finally drifting off and if he started snoring again before I fell asleep I would have to just get up and sleep on the couch. I have had another sleep pattern...sleeping well and waking almost as if I had set an alarm at 2 AM, theyn it shifted to 3 AM. sometimes I would go back to sleep sometimes be awake for an hour or two or three. lately I've been sleeping well because I have been sleeping in the back bedroom now that that it's all done. that 3 weeks in Portugal sleeping by myself I had no trouble sleeping! seems the marital bed was just too crowded and noisy with him and the 30 lb toddler wrapped around his stomach and the dog and cat. I found my general mood has improved with a steady good night's sleep. I asked him if he minded me sleeping in the other room. he told me I was a big girl, I could sleep wherever I wanted. so I do.
ReplyDeleteThe longest that I have slept in decades is six hours and that was always interrupted by me waking up at least twice in the night. I took sleeping pills for a few months and I started having very restful nights. However, I stopped when the warnings about forgetfulness were made. Now I just accept the fact that I won’t ever have a long night’s sleep unless I go into a coma.
ReplyDeleteThat is true about food banks; most of us who work there are old, retired people. The paid staff where I am are younger. Very few young people today want to be low paid social workers. It doesn’t pay enough to pay back their student loans.
I only know that I have fallen asleep when I wake up and realize I had been sleeping.
ReplyDeleteI know I am dropping off when I drop the tablet from which I have been reading.
ReplyDeleteI know I have fallen asleep when my book hits the floor - or my face. It happens more than you'd think.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry you're having trouble sleeping. A good night's sleep makes it so much easier to face the day's troubles or to enjoy the day's special moments.
My I envy anyone who can go to sleep early enough and better yet, sleep for 8 hours or so. I haven't been able to do either for a very long time. I hope your sleep improves :-)
ReplyDeleteI take melatonin 1mg half an hour before bedtime and sometimes wonder why it does not really help.
ReplyDeleteHari Om
ReplyDeleteSleep does change pattern with age, following menopause and, indeed, wfrom general anaesthetic... but it is also highly individual. In the end what we all need to do is adapt to the rhythm our bodies have now, rather than hanker for the rhtyhm that was. That said, there is also a minimum requirement for health both physical and mental and that is when I might also suggest the short term use of a sleep agent. I did exactly that for four nights after recent incident and whilst I did not enjoy the 'lag' each morning, it did set me to my own version of normal! YAM XX
I often fall asleep listening to the radio. At some point, I stop listening to it - or so I think. I will wake up if someone says something very interesting or shocking. Whole hours can be spent like this in the kitchen. You are probably asleep as I write this. I hope it is a good one.
ReplyDeleteFrom reading the comments, it seems that sleep is illusive to many folks. I have found that my sleep changes depending on pain, a snoring husband, waning hormones... I remember being little and playing outside all day long and just falling asleep the minute my head hit the pillow. One thing I envy of people is the ability to have a nap. I cannot nap, not even when I'm sick. -Jenn
ReplyDeleteNo clue. I'm always surprised when I wake up to realise that I've been asleep. Weird isn't it?
ReplyDeleteInteresting question at the end. I don't think we do know when we fall asleep.
ReplyDeleteI haven't slept 8 hours straight in decades. I used to get up and work or write, now it's just laying there. I've put it off to age, but I know there are geezers who sleep very well. Hope things work out easily for Laura.
ReplyDeleteprobably as we age we revert to more natural sleep rhythms...a sleep cycle is 90 minutes and often I'll wake halfway after about three hours...and return for more sleep.
ReplyDeleteapparently this is more a pre-industrial revolution sleep pattern. Night-time lights are definitely disruptive.
Since Laura is involved in her community service during the day, I would imagine all the people she works with would be "old." The "young" ones are either in school, working, or raising children. It is good though that there are workers, no matter what age, that are willing to volunteer :)
ReplyDeleteI don't think we know exactly when we fall asleep. Clinicians in sleep labs would know for sure as our brain patterns I think alter with sleep, but I don't know for sure we make that distinction among ourselves. I can go periods of time with getting good sleep but then struggle with insomnia at times.
Good luck with your appointment today!
betty
You and me both. I used to sleep regularly until about 7 am, then suddenly I started waking at 4 or 5 am. Whatever I try, I seldom get back to sleep. Usually I resort to reading and a cup of tea until it's a viable getting-up time. The sleep deficit often means I'm dozing off during a TV programme, even quite dramatic ones.
ReplyDeleteI read myself to sleep with my Kindle and can tell when I fell asleep - somewhat - by comparing what time I lay down to where my kindle turned itself off.
ReplyDeleteI have some insomnia, too....But usually I sleep 4 hours. Get up and take the medicine I'm supposed to take then. Sleep two more hours. Awake. Go back to sleep for another two hours. Usually....
Oh, also, I have sleep apnea and use a CPAP and an oxygen concentrator at night. I think this helps me sleep better than I would otherwise. Well, it helps with quality as well as quantity of sleep.
ReplyDeleteOh, yes, I know what you are saying. Until recently, I had only a few hours at a time. Now, I use a cannibis tincture, which helps immensely. It does not have the hallucinogenic properties.
ReplyDeleteDoes Ohio have legal medical marijuana laws? Let me know.
No, it does not.
DeleteI sleep very easily when I go to bed. I read first and then I get too tired to read suddenly and so I put the book down, turn over, and go to sleep. I have always been a good sleeper and I keep to a routine. I do not sleep during the day.
ReplyDeleteOh how I miss my regular schedule. Being retired has allowed it to lapse in all direction. No discipline I guess...:)
ReplyDeleteThere's a certain silence.
ReplyDeleteSorry you and Laura aren't speaking. I hope she recovers her tongue soon. My kids didn't recover and be open until their fifties. LOL
Yes, you cannot exactly build up a well of tiredness with all those broken parts. I hope they get it over quickly and you are home soon.
Oh, Laura and I are reasonably chatty. She says the people at the food bank only talk when waiting for something to do.
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