AAAHHH! I need sleep!!!

It started with my surgery. I had a laparascopic hysterectomy and kept my ovaries and cervix. For the first three days after my surgery, I MAYBE got 2 hours of sleep TOTAL. Insomnia continued after that.

My doctor first prescribed Ambien, which I am still taking. However, that only helps for a few hours. Then he prescribed zoloft. I'm also drinking chamomile tea and trying to keep busy during the day.

It's now almost 4:00 a.m. and I have been awake for two hours. I've never had sleeping problems before. This is driving me crazy! My body needs rest!!!

Really, I don't know what else to do??? Does this insomnia eventually go away??? Obviously the Ambien is only good for 3 or 4 hours... I'm exhausted and this is affecting my recovery.

Do you drink wine I swear, a glass of wine in the evening has nipped the insomnia in the bud.

I take Trazidone to help me sleep and for the most part it does ok. I have been taking it since long before the surgery. My doc says it's none habit forming might be worth checking into. I wish you luck.

Sue Huls
TVH w/vault and suspension with TVT sub urethral sling Oct 7, 2008

I am 8 wks post op. The insomnia was terrible. It has now finally worked itself out of my system and I can say it is only in the last 3/4 days I can say I am back to my normal sleeping habits.
It feels so good too!! I thought it would never return.

I take a Magnesium supplement as well as drink Monavie (acai berry drink). The Mag has 2 benefits, it helps with sleep and keeps you very regular. The way my doctor told me to do it is start with 200mg...then work up each night until you have loose stools in the morning. At that point you can either go back 200, or stay at that dosage and take nightly. But ask your doctor first before starting any supplements.

The Monavie drink has been an amazing healer. It has cured my daughter of asthma, and I believe has helped me through this process. As another benefit, it helps with sleep and the dreaming is incredible.

As a side note, my doctor said that is it fairly normal to have insomnia for about 6 weeks until all the drugs are out of your system. I realize you have had it longer, but just thought I'd throw that out there.

I hope you find sleep soon!

Thanks for the advice! I will have to start trying new things. I know exercise would be helpful, but I was just put on two more weeks of bedrest due to complications with my recovery, so that's not an option. I've tried wine, but it actually keeps me awake.

I'm 9 weeks post-op now. I had NO IDEA insomnia would be such a serious problem! I feel like I'm not getting the rest that I need to get better, plus people tell me I look terrible! AAAAARRRRRRRGGGGGG!!!

I have always suffered from insomnia,it only got worse after my hyst, I tried ambien, and like you I would only get a little sleep, mostly due to the horrible nightmares it caused, my Dr then prescribed me remeron, I now sleep alot better, I still don't get a full nights rest, but I am not waking up every 2hrs either.

I had serious problems with insomnia after my hysterectomy. Like you Dr tried Ambien, still only a couple hours sleep. I tried herbal with no help. After I returned to work and was back into my old schedule the sleep just seemed to fit right back to normal as well. I found thee best thing was to take the few hours I got and when I woke up to get up and do something to keep myself busy. Don't let yourself get angry or frustrated it just magnifies the problems, accept it is a temporary problem and give it time. If it continues tell your dr it is really impacting your life.

Have you tried melatonin? It's a substance your body naturally produces to regulate sleep, but sometimes our bodies get out of whack and need a little help.

I usually need no more than 3-5mg on a bad night to help me get back to normal. If I need even more help I'll take a valerian root capsule and then there's no further argument from my body

You can find melatonin at almost any health store and at a lot of drug stores and even some places like Wal-Mart will have it.

I hope things work out soon. If you're anything like me your body will decide it's had enough of the insomnia soon enough and you'll find yourself conking out early several days in a row to make up for it.