Pulmonary Embolism Support Group
By far the most common form of pulmonary embolism is a thromboembolism, which occurs when a blood clot, generally a venous thrombus, becomes dislodged from its site of formation and embolizes to the arterial blood supply of one of the lungs. Symptoms may include difficulty breathing, pain during breathing, and more rarely circulatory instability and death.
My husband was diagnosed with multiple PE and one huge one in his inferior vena cava in May. Since getting home from the hospital he has had the worse insomnia. His rheumy gave him Ativan but that did not help at all. Then he gave him Xanax and that hasn't helped. Now they gave him Lunesta but that takes hours to work and then when it does, he does some strange things during the night. Is insomnia an after effect of PEs????
If so, do you "veterans" now how he can handle his insomnia. He is always so tired and yawns non-stop. He tries not to sleep during the day so he will be sleepy but it is next to impossible when he just gets about 2 hrs of sleep every night. HELP!!!!!
If so, do you "veterans" now how he can handle his insomnia. He is always so tired and yawns non-stop. He tries not to sleep during the day so he will be sleepy but it is next to impossible when he just gets about 2 hrs of sleep every night. HELP!!!!!
I don't think that insomnia is necessarily a side effect of PEs, but it can pop up when we're under severe stress and anxiety. Eventually, insomnia can become its own thing. Even if you treat the thing that originally caused the insomnia, the insomnia still comes back because it has become an established pattern. Plus, something I've heard repeatedly when dealing with insomnia: The fear of insomnia is the biggest cause of insomnia.
It sounds like your husband is past the point where taking anti-anxiety meds helps with the insomnia, since Ativan and Xanas didn't help. I've also tried a ton of different sleep aids and very few of them were helpful for me--but of course everyone is different. I think Lunesta might have actually given me hallucinations, but it has been so long now that I don't remember. Also, if your anxiety is high enough, you'll still override most of the sleep aids out there.
First, keep trying to do what you're already doing. Don't let him sleep during the day and keep a rigid bedtime and wake-up schedule. Go to bed every day at the same time and get up every day at the same time. The days will be awful for a while because he'll probably be too tired to do much and will want to doze off, but don't let him. Stay mildly active (depending on the level of activity he can handle) and try to keep him alert as much as possible. I call it "playing hardball" with my body. If it doesn't want to sleep at night, it doesn't get to sleep at all. Eventually, we come to an arrangement...
Also, cut out caffeine as much as possible. I won't drink it after noon, myself, and I always regret it if I have a caffeinated soda mid-afternoon.
At night, if he doesn't fall asleep, he should get up and do something else quiet until he's tired enough to sleep. Lying awake for hours can make your bed and bedroom seem like an awful, stressful place. I've had nights where just getting up and going to sleep on the couch or in the guest room has made all the difference for me. I've also had nights where I've been up until 2am because I don't really get tired enough to sleep until then. But, I fall asleep quickly and getting five hours of high-quality sleep is better than having tossed and turned the whole night.
Also, I've done really well doing meditation activities at night to distract my mind and get me to sleep. I use a CD with subliminal rhythms on it to mimic sleep and it has worked really well for me. On really bad nights, I'll also take Benadryl to help me sleep. Doesn't affect my INR, doesn't have side effects, and doesn't require a prescription.
I know that not getting enough sleep makes everything seem ten times harder than it should be, but it might be a while until you get this fully sorted out. However, it is possible to sort out and it will happen eventually. In the meantime, try to be patient and try to tackle it scientifically.
Best wishes to you both!
Now I sleep very little every night, even when I am really really tired.
I will go back to Valerian pills. It's a supplement that I used in the past, and its use was also approved by the thrombosis centre in which I am an outpatient.
They always helped me in the past, perhaps your husband should try.
I don't buy my Valerian supplement at the drugstore, as the ones I find there are not 100% pure Valerian root and simply don't work. I advise you to get them at the pharmacy.