Cannot sleep - what is this?

It's 2:32 am and I've been lying in bed since 9:30 and have slept a total of about 10 minutes.

I'm not in pain when lying down, I am not sick (I was very nauseated earlier, but that's passed), i haven't been on pain meds since day before yesterday, I'm not upset about anything...I am just utterly exhausted and unable to sleep.

This has never happened to me before. No matter what was going on I've always been able to sleep. Sleeping is like my superpower.

I've tried sleepy time tea, binaural relaxation vids (which usually work in under 5 minutes), reading boring stuff, mediation...nothing is helping.

It's not too much sleep during the day as I haven't been able to nap since I left the hospital last Thursday. Since then I've been sleeping in 3-4 hour blocks at night, but I was always able to go back down. This is ridiculous and I don't understand how I could be so tired yet unable to fall asleep.

What after effect of surgery could possibly be giving me insomnia? I do not get it.

If I log in and work I'll never get to sleep. There is nothing I can get up and clean without bending or lifting so that's out. I'm just laying here watching my dh sleep (not as exciting as that sounds) and getting more tired snd frustrated by the minute,

I know a lot of sisters have posted about trouble sleeping...does anyone know what causes this? Thanks for the place to vent.

We have an article about it. Insomnia after hysterectomy. I think it's mostly hormonal whether you kept your ovaries or not. I had really bad nightsweats at first too, so whenever I did manage to fall asleep, I would wake up soaked and freezing. Finally my doctor prescribed me something for sleep that helped quite a bit and then told me to take benedryl for a couple more weeks. After that, I have had a couple bouts of insomnia, but it did get much better over time. Fortunately, you can usually find several other hyster sisters lurking about at night who have the same problem

That's so interesting that it could be hormonal. I was prepared for sleeping ovaries, but since I haven't had any mood swings or hot/cold flashes I thought that meant no hormonal issues. That makes me feel a lot better, knowing there could be a logical reason for this.

It's funny, when I think of mood swings I think of my PMDD and thought if I had them they'd be worse than that. Anger for no reason, hyper critical and touchy...but since my surgery I've been really emotional. Weepy, needy, with periods of being really docile and much sweeter than I normally am...I chalked it up to being a ginormous baby when in pain (I am always like an annoying child when sick) and the pain meds...which I'm now off. Maybe this is my hormonal mood swing? I just swung in the other direction?

Makes life easier for my family this way...

Benedryl is so helpful! I was already taking something for sleep before the surgery but I was having trouble sleeping after even with meds. So I started taking Benedryl right when I went to sleep along with my pain med and it works great. I actually got great sleep last night finally. I read somewhere that when your body heals it releases histamines so Bendryl is an antihistamine so I guess it makes sense.

Yes, unfortunately a lot of us suffer from insomnia after surgery. I do believe it is the hormones. I did not have the hot flashes or the night sweats, but had the insomnia and weepiness. I am not sure if it was time or switching my meds that helped me to sleep again. My GYN upped by HRT dose, and my general doctor took me off Prozac and Ambien and put me on Cymbalta and Flexiril, a muscle relaxer, short term. I did not sleep for 8 weeks but have been sleeping ever since the meds were switched and my mood is even. I cannot take Benadryl but like the other ladies mentioned, perhaps it would help. I know how you feel...exhausted but you cannot sleep. It is a terrible feeling.

I definitely have a hormonal link to my insomnia - since starting HRT I am sleeping better than I have for years

I didn't have problems with insomnia after surgery, but I often do when I'm under a lot of stress. What works for me is to accept that it's okay not to sleep. Instead, I focus on relaxing: on the fact that I'm in a safe, low-stimulus environment (dark, quiet, appropriate temperature) and that I'm physically comfortable (if I'm not, I add/subtract blankets and/or pillows until I am). If my mind is revving around in circles, I willfully turn it to something else that will take a while, such as remembering a favourite hiking trail step by step or a favourite piece of music measure by measure.

Sometimes I end up falling asleep. Sometimes I don't, but at least I feel more rested because I've spent the night relaxing both mind and body instead of being frustrated.