I sincerely thank you for taking the time to respond to my question. I guess I should have mentioned that I do have severe obstructive sleep apnea and have been using a CPAP since 2001. I had surgery to remove my uvula and tonsils and repair a broken nose also in 2001 prior to going on the CPAP. I also suffer from chronic pain due to severe degenerative disc disease. I was hit by a truck 25 years ago and now have about 13 or more protruding or bulging discs with 2 levels of stenosis in my cervical spine and 3 levels of stenosis in my lumbar spine. I do take a low dose of oxycodone (5mg) 2 or 3 times a day to help manage my pain. I don't know why I am having such trouble sleeping. I was doing fine before my heart surgery and would usually get 5 or 6 hours of uninterupted sleep. Last night was another bad night. I went to bed about 10:30 and slept for about an hour. I then fell back to sleep until 2:05 am and could not get back to sleep again for the remainder of the night. I am considering asking my doctor for some medication to help with the sleeping. I have read that melatonin helps with sleeping and am going to check with my doctor and maybe try a supplement to see if it helps.
Am I correct in assuming that you normally like to sleep on your side, and not on your back? If you are suddenly forced to sleep on your back, you're more likely to stop breathing because your tongue falls back more easily, especially when you're in deep sleep due to muscle relaxation. If it doesn't get better, see a sleep doctor. Many people with heart disease have undiagnosed obstructive sleep apnea, which can cause or aggravate heart disease.