I was diagnosed about 4 months ago with an AVM in the corpus callosum with major AV shunting. My only real symptom to date has been headaches. I am now finding it hard to get enough sleep, even sleeping 10+ hours on several occasions. Historically, I am a person that feels great after 6-7 hours per night. Has anyone else had this issue? if so do you/your doctor think it is from the AVM or maybe just a side effect of stress?
I have had this issue however i did have a brain bleed from an unrelated aneurysm, which i know can cause an increced need for sleep.
Even before my bleed i was noticing that i needed more sleep then normal, however i think a lot of this has to do with getting older, getting more physical activity (i was training for a marathon), and stress.
If you are able to get the 10 hours of sleep a night and are fine the next day then i wouldn’t worry about it too much. However if you are finding that after those 10 hours you are still very tired i would talk to your doc to rule out any issues.
If you have any changes such as excessive sleeping that is something you would want to discuss with your doctor. Most members do sleep more after a bleed/craniotomy/gamma knife. In most instances after those situations…the brain is healing itself. Also, if you are taking anti-seizure meds…you will require more sleep sometimes too.
I had my AVM removed August 2011 and I still find it hard to get enough sleep! I have 2 kids and even if I sleep all night and take naps with them during the day I’m still tired and wore out!