Very painful sleep

Hi! I posted to you yesterday about this but you must have missed it. I had the same problems and would be awakened by pain at least five times a night. I would get up, walk around to loosen up, and then try to get back to sleep.

My doctor then prescribed a muscle relaxer caller Robaxin. It has made a significant difference in my pain. I only take half of what the doctor prescribed because I didn't want any side effects. I have taken this medication before and had great success with it.

I now only wake up once a night and it's because I need to use the bathroom. I can now roll over in bed and also sleep on my other side...which was impossible for years! So this might be a good thing to talk to your doctor about. There are several muscle relaxers on the market and some work better for some than others. Robaxin has been on the market for about 30+ years.

Sherrine

Good way to put it, PainWarrior--LOL! It surely can feel that way.

I've noticed that if I sleep more than the usual 8 hours I normally get, the stiffness is so much worse. Am still very stiff in the morning, but I try to walk it off for a few minutes (not easy to do when my eyes aren't even focused yet!).

When the stiffness gets nasty as in a bad flare, I sometimes take a Flexeril tablet before bed. I prefer not to take meds if I don't have to, but another good alternative that may work for you is heat. Do you have an electric blanket or anything like that? I have about 3 lightweight blankets on my bed and also dress in a couple layers, even at night (the cold Midwest!).

I keep forgetting to put a bed buddy in bed before I get in bed, but that or a heating pad for a little while helps warm up the area and seems to relax my muscles. Just make sure you unplug the heating pad before you sleep!

Hope it's better soon. :)

Are you just having the stiffness, or are you having the Charlie-horse type pain down your legs? I've been searching the board for MEDS other people are using so I can ask my doc about them. He currently has me on 10mg Flexeril 3x day, but it hardly touches the spasms. They run up into my low back and down backs of my entire leg into the outside/bottom of my foot. I'm usually am only hit with the vise-like pain one leg per night, although both still ache. He gave me 800mg Motrin 3x day which isn't helping either. I've tried Gabitrontin(sp?), but it didn't work at all.

Anyway, I'm so sorry you are having rough nights. I'm up an in pain commiserating with you!

So I took the Flexiril last nite and finally slept well!! What a relief!. Still a bit stiff in the morning but ill take that over the pain in the nite!! Thank you!

Painwawrrior,

If you find that person that sneaks in at night, pass them my way once you have straightened them out - I think I am due for a chat with them. It feels like their sole purpse is to ensure that i don't enjoy having had a full night of sleep. I recently, due to shoulder and arm pain, had to learn sleep on my back. i have been a side sleeper for years, but now sleeping on my side leaves my right arm and shoulder numb and useless the next day. So the gods of side sleeping are making me pay for the change.

Sometimes I think that every change, no matter how minor, ends up being a big deal as I figure out it's effects on other portions of my life (the IBS-D is connected to the fibromalgia which is connected to the CRPS/RSD,nwhihc is connected to the.... Well you get the idea.

As I read through the forums, I am happy to find so much knowledge in one place. My rhematlogist visit involved her saying....yup you have classic fibro... Try Lyric and consider whether you want to work up to 2 pills a day. I would really like to feel that someone is looking at all the stuff we do and what we take to provide cohesiveness to our efforts to get better.

I know we are our best advocates, but I do wonder some times if we should have to be the only advocate.