sleeplessness?

[Dawn]

I'm wondering if sleeplessness is part of TBI. When I brought Bill home from the hospital he was wanting to sleep all the time & then gradually he started being awake more & more. Last week he was only napping for an hour or 2 in the late afternoon & then staying up until after 1 am. This is unusual for him...before he was shot his normal schedule was a 3 hour nap during the day & still he was in bed by 10 pm. The late nights weren't a problem during Thanksgiving break but today was back to school which means I need to be in bed by midnight to be up at 7 am for my crossing guard job. Yesterday he didn't nap at all & I thought "good, he'll be in bed early", but noooooo, I at midnight I found myself fighting with him. I mean really fighting. I had to finally manhandle him into his chair & then into the bed. I told him that if he would just start using his brace & get himself walking, then he can have control over his own bedtime, but until then I have no choice because he needs help in & out of bed so he has to be in bed before me right now. Anyway, I hope this wanting to be up all night goes away or I can at least figure out what is causing it so we can figure out the best way to handle it. My back hurts bad today from forcing him.

[sapphyre]

Hi Dawn

I found an article for you about sleep disturbances and TBI. It looks like it can be quite common.

www.tbihelp.org/sleep_disturbances_following_tra.htm

[Dawn]

Thank you, Sapphyre! Its great to know that there may be a reason for it!

[Dawn]

Well, my online friends at the Orange Grove also tell me that sleep difficulties are the norm with TBI patients. One tip they give is to cut the caffeine, which as obvious as that is, I hadn't thought of. Today I only gave him one cup of coffee & he drank root beer and water the rest of the day & he slept a lot! They also told me that different difficulties are apt to pop up (sleeplessness, sleepiness, disturbed sleep, early waking, etc) so I guess I just take it as it comes!

[jilly]

Oh Dawn I so feel your pain my hubby doesn't go to sleep till all hours of the night and morning . It's so hard I will remember to pray for that one.
Jilly

[jj]

I never even thought that sleep patterns could change but that article makes sense. I hope that cutting the coffee out will continue to help.

That must of been very upsetting to have to force him and hard. No wonder your back hurts.