Unable to stay asleep post surgery, please help with setting adjustment

[Zzera]

Just had a hiatal hernia and toupet fundlipocation surgery this past Tuesday. I have been unable to sleep since. I am constantly being jolted awake during the transition phase of conscious and asleep. Is there anything here that is showing what's happening? I am extremely tired and desperate for help

When I am awakening constantly I wake up out of breath with my heart pounding. It is a very scary feeling. I have already contacted my surgeon and she has checked things and said everything is fine, I'm very unsure of what to do to be able to sleep.

EDIT:

Just spoke with the surgeon and she prescribed me Ambien as she believes it is anxiety/stress induced by the surgery. Is this a safe route to go down? Should I make any adjustments prior to taking?

Thank you for any help with this

[THEVGE]

Your description makes me think indeed about stress and anxiety, which is logical considering the operation. I had the same issue with going from awake to sleep. Stress reduction solved it but will take some time (days to weeks).

[Zzera]

Thanks for the response! Definitely have been extremely stress / anxious and the 3 days of no sleep have not helped at all

Adding one more chart with resp rate, not sure if needed:

[Zzera]

Tried napping with no success. Is there any indication at all for what is causing arrousals? Willing to pay for professional help if anyone know a specialist I can reach out to for urgent help

[Juan M Ortiz]

Hello Zzera. after surgery there are lots of changes in our systems that may be affecting the quality and quantity of sleep. Also there may be a psychologic factosr but I think they would be evident even before surgery. Are you taking pain meds like opiates? Or any other new meds that may affect your sleep.
I would not recommend Ambien because at high arousal level like the one you are suffering from, Ambien will not help and may make you more drowsy in the morning.
Just make sure its not a new pulmonary issue or a new cardiac issue after surgery. Get a CXR and look at other new findings. Avoid alcohol and other hypnotic medications. Make sure your nose is not stuffy during sleep. I would use at least a loratadine and over the counter steroid (Flonase) if thats the case. (both)
Look for other causes. May not be the CPAP alone.

[Zzera]

Thanks for your help. I have stopped opioids and am not in much pain anymore. Definitely avoiding all substances. What is the reason for no ambien? Doctor is advising for it and I am desperate for sleep.

[Deborah K.]

Ambien is used to help one sleep better. It should not be used long term, but it will help you as you recover from your surgery. I think you should use it.

[car54]

I would think that after a toupet fundlipocation surgery your body needs time to adjust. Have you tried different sleeping positions?

[Juan M Ortiz]

The dose of Ambien also makes a difference 
Ambien comes in short acting 5-10 mg 
And a long acting of 12.5mg
Depending on many factors I usually recommend for a few weeks max 5 mg (if the leisure is falling asleep. If it’s staying aslep, then the long-acting one may help better). Avoid it if you have to drive early next morning

[Zombie on my Lawn]

Dear Zzera,
I am so sorry to hear about the difficulty you had sleeping. It has been a while since you posted, but I wanted to follow up because I am wondering how the story ended.

The reason for my wondering is because my wife currently has hiatal hernia (no surgery planned) and recently experienced the type of jerks/muscle spasms you describe while in the state between awake and sleep (she experienced both hypnagogic jerks and hypnic jerks). She experienced the same scary feeling you mention: "I wake up out of breath with my heart pounding."

Eventually she realized she needed some sleep medication because the sleep deprivation was getting so bad. The first doctor she saw prescribed zolpidem. That helped her fall asleep initially but did not help much after she inevitably woke up and then needed to get back to sleep. Eventually she was given slow-release melatonin along with Dayvigo as a second resort.

I hope your experience was smoother sailing after these posts. It is nice to know she's not the only one out there who experienced this in relation to hiatal hernia.
I am no biologist, but it seems there must be some particular nerve connected to the hiatal hernia that gets over/understimulated and causes this? Just guessing.