Bypass Surgey,Can't Sleep

[cerbear]

I'm 45 years old an had bypass surgery 8 weeks ago.  I haven't been able to sleep without an Ambien(sleeping pill) for the last 5 weeks. I was wondering how long it may be before I can sleep without a pill.  I'm currently taking Toprol, Iron, 81 Asprin, Plavix, Primovel and Lipitor.  My doctor wants to change my Lipitor to Vytorin.  I have heard the Vyrotin doesn't work.  Any thoughts?
Also how long do the grafts last in your heart?  Mine were taken out of my leg.

[geppetto]

I had a triple bypass in April 05, and like you I have part of my leg in my chest now.  I can't really say how long they will last, but I'm not doing to bad.  My EF has improved quite a bit and I would probably be doing even better if I exercised (as everyone around me recommends).  Prior to my surgery, my 'bad' cholesterol number was 169.  I'm not sure what the rest of the numbers were.  I started on Litptor but it made me itch - not too good with the blood thinners...  

My Drs. switched me to Vytorin and the itching went away.  I also changed my diet significantly.  At my last blood test the numbers were 71 and 51.  I'm also on 81 mg asprin and Plavix, and was switched from Toporol XL to Atenolol when I complained to my cardiologist that I was having problems concentrating.  I'm still not back to 100% but it helped quite a bit.  Early on I found the meds were making me very tired and in addition to my GP backing them off a little, I started taking them at night.  Also, from what I read, the cholesterol drugs work their magic best when you are asleep.  

My understanding of the Vytorin study results is that while it reduces your cholesterol level, you may be able to do it less expensively by just bumping up the amount of the generic drug in the pill - BUT - they aren't quite sure yet.  The people selected for the study fell into the group that had high cholesterol due to genetics.  Like jim62 said, I wouldn't worry too much about the Vytorin study results at this point.  

Regarding sleeping - as my cardiologist told me - you have been through a lot.  In addition to changing the time I take my meds, I found that if I avoid salt / sodium for several hours before bed it helps.  Even now sometimes my mind is racing when I am trying to get to sleep.  I like those little cups of diced peaches before bed.

I know I went from being invincible to 'can you give me a hand with this...(sometimes)'.  It's a lot of little steps to get back.

Hope this helps, good luck!

[cerbear]

thanks :)

[jim62]

That vytorin study was very small, and included a very select type of cholesterol problems.  I think it dealt with extremely high levels, like 3 or 4 hundred.  My doc says to not pay any attention, until a much larger study is done.