Sleeping

Hi
I don't have a pm but someone I love does and I am trying to understand things. Did anyone ever experience the fear of dying while they slept and if so how did you learn to cope with that. I just want to learn as much as I can from others so I can better understand what is is like to have pm and what worries come with one and what to say and when.
Thanks

5 Comments

You Betcha!

by pacergirl - 2008-09-10 11:09:36

Hi, Yes I certainly did have some big concerns about dying when I went to sleep.

I used to go to bed and then do a "body scan" to make sure I was properly dressed... that my unmentionables matched my jammies! Just in case the paramedics had to come and fetch me after I was "gone"! Now... that is how serious I was with my fear! It all seems silly now, even funny... but it was NOT FUNNY THEN!

This stage did pass... I grew tired of always wearing jammies and so on.... I am back to being real again. It took some time though. My hubby and friends never laughed about this... they just hung in there with me. It sort of became a game with my hubby.,.. what color tonight? he would say and smile.... After awhile it turned into a game and I began to relax.

Please be patient, this to shall pass. Good luck, your special someone is lucky. You sound like a great friend to them!

Pacergirl

poor guy!

by Tracey_E - 2008-09-11 06:09:24

It's not a rational fear, so rational arguments may not help much, but the chances of dying in his sleep were a lot higher BEFORE he got the pm. Now he has a computer there for backup when his heart doesn't beat on its own. The odds of a pm failing are minute, if you search here or google it you can probably find some statistics.

That said, I'll repeat my advice from your other post. If this is still this bad after two years, it may not be something he can work through on his own. Good luck getting through to him. He's very lucky to have you.

Hi........

by AMB - 2008-09-11 08:09:10

I haven't posted a message for a long long time. When I was first diagnosed with Complete Heart Block and told my heart dropped to between 20 - 30 BPM in my sleep I had to wait 4 weeks before getting a pacemaker!

I remember being so afraid to go to sleep! I would sit up most of the night in an armchair and try to stay awake. I also wore a sports Heart Rate Monitor to bed with the alarm set at 40 BPM and when it went off I used to jump out of bed and do star jumps to get my rate back up again! It all seems so funny nearly 3 years on.

Once I got the Pacemaker I felt much better about sleeping, I had lots of other concerns but not about sleeping because I knew the Pacemaker would keep my heart at a healthier rate. I can tell you that this will pass in time. Time is a great healer and stuff that felt like a mountain two years ago are now molehills.

You may be interested to know that due to getting a very rare form of Septicaemia my Pacemaker had to be removed and I am now wearing a Medtronic Reveal Device to determine what they will do with me.........now that's another story. If anyone is interested look under 'Complications' or search 'Infection' for the low down.

I hope your loved one can ride this storm and with your help and support this time next year they will be sleeping like a baby.

I was the opposite

by Angelie - 2008-09-11 09:09:37

At night lying in bed my heartrate would be in the 40's. I had fear of falling asleep, because I knew my heart rate was so slow, and I knew it got even lower once I got into a deep sleep. I was scared I would fall asleep and never wake up. That was before the pacemaker.
Now I feel safe knowing that the pacemaker is there to keep me going and will never let me get that low again. YAY!

Hi.......

by Bionic Beat - 2008-09-11 12:09:38

I haven't had that particular concern but my late Mother had that fear for years when she had breast cancer.

I was just a teen, she felt that she had to stay and finish raising me.

She felt that she would die if she slept, it was a dreadful time for her and my father. All I knew was that she cried whenever I'd try to comfort her.

Took her about 5 years to explain it to me....the fear of dying if you sleep.

When I was so very ill, last year, I just wanted to go fast, didn't care if it was day or night.....but was worried about my Hubby or daughter finding me.

Your special someone is very lucky, as Pacergirl says....time and patience are the only solutions I know of....best of luck to both of you.

My heart goes out to you. God bless.


Bionic Beat

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