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Pacemaker & ICDs: Introduce Yourself & Meet Others
Pacemaker & ICDs | Last Active: Aug 11 1:29pm | Replies (234)Comment receiving replies
@jc76 I struggled with sleep long before I got my ICD (9 months in). There is no pharmaceutical that produces true, regenerative sleep. Read Dr Matthew Walkers book, Why We Sleep, and observe his 12 guidelines. He has a website with the hints if you want to jump to the conclusion. BTW, I tried Trazodone for about a year and was another deadend.
Replies to "@jc76 I struggled with sleep long before I got my ICD (9 months in). There is..."
@dynamited I have always been a light sleeper with difficulty falling to sleep as well. I hate the idea of taking more pills, however. My technique, which works well for me, is to watch TV.... or turn on the TV, anyway.
The type of TV show is very important. Nothing tooooo interesting. No movies or action shows. No game shows. Something like "Nature" or a travel show works best. Something calm, relaxing. No sudden loud noises. No late night TV or politics that make me too angry. "House Hunters" is usually banal enough. (The most excitement is "oh, wow, two sinks")
I just need something interesting enough that it takes my mind off all the other stuff racing through my mind and I fall asleep. I usually wake up again much later and turn the TV off, but can fall back to sleep quickly.
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@dynamited
I think you need to keep trying to find what works for you. When I first started having sleep problems after being diagnosed with PTSD they first put me on a sleep medication (Ambien) that did nothing at all.
I had already tried the over the counter Melatonin and it does help but really made me groggy in mornings. Mayo then put me on Trazodone and it did work. It (at least for me) did not work at making you sleepy, it help you mind from racing. If I allowed it to work (let is work and not let myself try to think and worry) I would go to sleep.
It is not long acting though at least for me and found I could take 1/2 tablet and then the other half when I woke up 4 hours later and wide awake.
Have you tried reading? I am going through a sleep study in the upcoming weeks to make sure I don't have sleep apnea. I am a heart failure patient and want to make sure I am getting a good night sleep.