OH, the battle between Sleep & our Thoughts sometimes.....LOL. While I am sure that most people experience this at one time or another; I am also sure that us AVM and/or Aneurysm Survivors can directly relate to how our sleeping behaviors may have been impacted by the Storm we've all had to persevere thru. And as Oprah Winfrey says; "Doing Your BEST at this moment only puts You in the BEST place for the next moment". And the Right time is "NOW" ... not Tomorrow or Yesterday,... but NOW is where it's ALL at! My wish for everyone is that you have a wonderful Tuesday filled with small Victories that lead You the Rainbows & Sunshine thru the Storm you've had to walk thru ... It's so important to remember that we are all here for a reason & Happy Tuesday ALL :)!
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Thank You Pat! And will gladly tell you that I've adjusted to the new sleeping pattern thru my healing journey. I've always been much of a night owl yet; early on in my recovery I could easily sleep the day away and did just that when my body told me to just rest! However, now that I've fully recovered; 3 years later, I'm back to being a night owl & an early bird too :))!
Were you told / advised of the potential impacts on sleep, body temperature, etc...before your symptoms / experiences began? Even after you had been asking your PCP or neurologist?
Were you able to return to work and normal activities?
I never had any symptoms nor did I even know I had an AVM until it ruptured and, yes, upon discharge out of the hospital (after a months stay), I was advised of the Fatigue the ongoing treatments (Embolization and Radiation) would have on me, long-term. Happy to say that I've been able to return to work and am back to enjoying all the normal activities and much more since being deemed "AVM-FREE" last year! There was no way I was going to allow for this Beast to control or define me in any way :)).
You are so right Pat and am Forever Grateful for my healing Blessing as well as the many other Blessings this trial has brought to my Life. Don't get me wrong, the Journey was long and very tough at times with its Ups & Downs yet I consider myself Blessed to have been given a 2nd chance with this thing called Life! After the embolization surgery, which they did the night of my rupture to stop the bleeding which ultimately saved my life and after being taken off the ventilator; I was scheduled for Open Brain surgery, however, this was cancelled due to the Risks outweighing the benefits and then the preparations for the radiation treatments began. And the data I was given upon discharge was clearly a result of many, many questions my family and I were asking my medical team given that none of us even knew what an AVM was until this torpedoed into my world. And can honestly say; I'm Thankful for this experience even given the trail of havoc it left behind. Wishing you ALL the BEST with your ongoing recovery and don't even worry about your memory slippage; this is just one normal aspect of Life itself :)
Hi Michele, thanks for all your thought provoking blogs. Yes, sleep is very important for recovery. I had both spectres of the coin, hence let me explained, when I first came home, from the hospital, I had PTSD. I would go to bed, as usual as I did early, and some time in the night, I would get up and hear, all the hospital noises. Even the paging of the nurses, and doctors, “Eerie,” I would swear , I was still in the hospital. Then I was unable to go back to sleep. So I suffered with insomnia. Afterwards, when I was no longer, having flashbacks. I started to sleep whole day, and most of the night and I was still exhausted. I’m happy to say, I’m back to my normal sleeping patterns, pre aneurysm- after 2 long years. So it does get better! Hold on and have Faith! With God and the love and support of your family. Through the storm, you learned to danced, in the rain!
You very welcome Kimlin. I tend to Blog on subjects that I've struggled thru & that also touch my Heart. Your recovery does sound very similar to mine as I too had PTSD when I first came home. I felt like I was plucked out of my medical nucleus and living alone made this ALL the worse! And even though I was in a serious, long-term relationship at the time of my rupture; because I looked fine when I walked out of the hospital 30 days later; he expected me to be back to my normal self instantly....needless to say; that relationship did not survive thru the Journey and was one of the many Blessings I'm now so very Thankful for. God certainly used this trial of mine to shape me and my life into a Life so much more amazing then I could have ever imagined :))! I had been helping out my sister thru a hard time before my AVM rupture and she had been living with me for a bit; yet she moved out right before my AVM rupture...so I summoned her back and I'm truly Thankful for her being right at my side thru my recovery! I did seek out some PTSD counseling and that helped me to deal with the effects of that as well as the REST my body needed thru my radiation treatments. Like you, I'm happy and just so very Grateful to say that I was also back to my normal sleeping patterns 2 years in and am now living the Good Life with just so many Blessings being showered upon me each & everyday ❤✞ 3 years later! May God continue to Bless YOU abundantly Sistah :))
I had my surgery almost a year ago and since then I can’t sleep more then three consecutive hours I can fall asleep quick but then wake right awake I don’t take any naps normal sleep is from 2/3am to 5/6am anybody else like this
Thanks for sharing and for the laugh Michele! It's almost 1am and my brain is on HIGH alert about $$ issues, work, etc. I have a full day tomorrow and need to sleep, it's not happening :(
Oh and I bet when that Alarm clock goes off Markelle; You could just sleep right thru it and for the rest of the day too, right? I wish there was a on/off button where we could go from HIGH alert to DON'T CARE alert ;). @ Rachel; that must drive you crazeee; are you able to function on just 3 hours sleep or do you walk thru the day completely exhausted?
Yes Michele, exactly! Today I allowed myself to do just that, I shut it OFF, kept my daughter home from summer camp, and we're having a fabulous lazy day.
