Pt II Fear of Falling at Night
Last and most, I worry about falling, getting up for the toilet especially. A bed rail might help and other adjustments might be desirable too (a high bedside commode?). Waking - rather half-waking - from a sound sleep, could be very dangerous for me. I’m already prone to problems with sleep, and suffered over the summer from extreme insomnia when I had to self -detox from a very high dose of narcotics.
The insomnia was the hardest symptom. The powerful sleeping medicine ( the only thing that finally allowed me to sleep), threw my coordination off. It was a rough period, and falling several times, I broke furniture and ribs. I didn’t even go to the hospital figuring nothing needed to be done unless I had a pneumo-thorax (perforated lung) . And besides, how to get there? But, yes, it hurt. Seven ribs in all, which later showed up on X-rays.
That was bad enough, but what could happen after this surgery? Perish the thought!
I still have trouble getting up , and lose my balance sometimes. Even in the morning, the first few steps throw me off, because of pain in my lower spine. Maybe when I sleep I curl up in fetal position, so uncurling to stand, hurts.
These are realistic concerns. Basically, I’ll be “walking under the influence” - a risk to myself. My S.I.L reports that after her knee joint replacement, my mother (early 80s) had to be physically restrained from climbing down from her four poster bed to use the toilet when she was half awake. It was the pain medication that affected her. (haha. I’m immune to pain med side effects, having lived with them 24/7 for so long! The only one that still gets me is - you know - constipation! ).
The “influence” I’m under, will be some combination of: exhaustion, pain, pain medicine, pain medicine withdrawal and/or that sleeping medication. I can’t even count on fluid restriction to avoid getting up at night, since I have neurogenic bladder (it’s probably from cord damage). I may have to self catheterize bedside - done that before - but it requires scrupulous hygiene or bladder infections result. What's wholly unknown, is how post-surgical pain will add to the mix.
This is not something I can just “will “ myself through. I’m good at the will part (otherwise I couldn’t have toughed it out without sleep so much in my life) . I had to survive on only a few hours sleep/week when detoxing from narcotics. “No choice” is a great inspiration! My insurance didn’t cover a facility to make it easier.
I don’t see how I can avoid going through it again, though, especially if I’m not allowed to use NSAIDs for the first three months after surgery. Without them, I’ll need more opiates no matter how stoic I try to be. As one surgeon told me, without narcotics, I won’t be able to go through PT which is indispensable - meaning, lots of walking, to start.
But I dread getting addicted to opiates again, and most of all, I dread the withdrawal. Now I have the added fear of what falling could do to me. The sleep medicine to treat the insomnia is just as bad (no, nothing else works), but the alternative - exhaustion from sleep deprivation - is just as dangerous.
The nights are what I fear the most. When I get up at night to pee, I won’t be fully conscious and coordinated. If the lights are turned on full blast to wake me, I won’t be able to get back to sleep (unless I take more medicine ).
Before my surgery for cervical stenosis, I worried about falling (falling could have led to total paralysis), but this is a thousand times worse - maybe because the other was only a possibility, but this would be a certainty. (Do we ever get beyond being endangered by falls?)
Has anyone else worried about falling - at night especially, or when you’re not fully conscious from exhaustion or pain or pain meds? How did you handle it?
Last and most, I worry about falling, getting up for the toilet especially. A bed rail might help and other adjustments might be desirable too (a high bedside commode?). Waking - rather half-waking - from a sound sleep, could be very dangerous for me. I’m already prone to problems with sleep, and suffered over the summer from extreme insomnia when I had to self -detox from a very high dose of narcotics.
The insomnia was the hardest symptom. The powerful sleeping medicine ( the only thing that finally allowed me to sleep), threw my coordination off. It was a rough period, and falling several times, I broke furniture and ribs. I didn’t even go to the hospital figuring nothing needed to be done unless I had a pneumo-thorax (perforated lung) . And besides, how to get there? But, yes, it hurt. Seven ribs in all, which later showed up on X-rays.
That was bad enough, but what could happen after this surgery? Perish the thought!
I still have trouble getting up , and lose my balance sometimes. Even in the morning, the first few steps throw me off, because of pain in my lower spine. Maybe when I sleep I curl up in fetal position, so uncurling to stand, hurts.
These are realistic concerns. Basically, I’ll be “walking under the influence” - a risk to myself. My S.I.L reports that after her knee joint replacement, my mother (early 80s) had to be physically restrained from climbing down from her four poster bed to use the toilet when she was half awake. It was the pain medication that affected her. (haha. I’m immune to pain med side effects, having lived with them 24/7 for so long! The only one that still gets me is - you know - constipation! ).
The “influence” I’m under, will be some combination of: exhaustion, pain, pain medicine, pain medicine withdrawal and/or that sleeping medication. I can’t even count on fluid restriction to avoid getting up at night, since I have neurogenic bladder (it’s probably from cord damage). I may have to self catheterize bedside - done that before - but it requires scrupulous hygiene or bladder infections result. What's wholly unknown, is how post-surgical pain will add to the mix.
This is not something I can just “will “ myself through. I’m good at the will part (otherwise I couldn’t have toughed it out without sleep so much in my life) . I had to survive on only a few hours sleep/week when detoxing from narcotics. “No choice” is a great inspiration! My insurance didn’t cover a facility to make it easier.
I don’t see how I can avoid going through it again, though, especially if I’m not allowed to use NSAIDs for the first three months after surgery. Without them, I’ll need more opiates no matter how stoic I try to be. As one surgeon told me, without narcotics, I won’t be able to go through PT which is indispensable - meaning, lots of walking, to start.
But I dread getting addicted to opiates again, and most of all, I dread the withdrawal. Now I have the added fear of what falling could do to me. The sleep medicine to treat the insomnia is just as bad (no, nothing else works), but the alternative - exhaustion from sleep deprivation - is just as dangerous.
The nights are what I fear the most. When I get up at night to pee, I won’t be fully conscious and coordinated. If the lights are turned on full blast to wake me, I won’t be able to get back to sleep (unless I take more medicine ).
Before my surgery for cervical stenosis, I worried about falling (falling could have led to total paralysis), but this is a thousand times worse - maybe because the other was only a possibility, but this would be a certainty. (Do we ever get beyond being endangered by falls?)
Has anyone else worried about falling - at night especially, or when you’re not fully conscious from exhaustion or pain or pain meds? How did you handle it?
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