Ambien?

[OakLeaf]

Medical marijuana is legal in Colorado. Will your doctor give you a script? That should help with both the pain and the insomnia.

[jessmarimba]

Ya know Oak...I was mulling that over this morning. I don't know.

Actually my doctor was next to useless. I told him that I haven't slept through the night since the surgery, since I can't roll over and sleep on my stomach. He repeats back, "so the tenderness at the hardware has made it difficult to sleep lately? If you can't sleep by the next appointment (in 4 weeks) we can inject a muscle relaxant into the muscles that go over the screws."

Ummm no, that's not what I told you at all. (P.S. nice weak dead-fish handshake, my friend). I almost cried after I left. I figure I'll try the triage nurse again in a few days, they seem like they'll call in anything.

But Clock, you're absolutely right. Woohoo, I can still walk! And a week til I can start PT and not wear this stupid brace ever again!!

(Possegal, you may be closer than you think. I'm not sure if it's a physical problem of rolling in my sleep, or if part of it IS knowing that I shouldn't sleep on my side without the pillows or on my stomach at all, and I wake up in fear)

[Dogmama]

As somebody else mentioned, a different sleeping place might help. When I had my neck fused, I slept in a recliner so that I did not have to worry about tossing & turning. Took a percoset first & usually managed 4 hours of continuous sleep. It wasn't my preferred way of sleeping but it beat hanging upside down like a bat.

I'd be cautious about Ambien, given that it has made people do weird stuff. You may wake up doing the rumba. An elderly gentleman friend of mine (80 years old) wandered outside in his underwear in the middle of the night. He woke up when the cops got there. A tad embarrassing.

Sounds like your doc is a jerk. Fatigue can exacerbate pain. I agree with the Possegal - maybe a muscle relaxant would help?