too much pain to sleep-ideas? | Arthritis Information

Would appreciate any suggestions. I called my dr. today but haven't heard yet. I have pain seemingly in all joints and abdominal pain and, I suspect, pleurisy again. Does RA suddenly take over like this?

Laker

Sorry things are not going well for you right now (((hugs))). Sleep suggestions....hmmmm. Warm bath with a soothing scent in it like lavender (oh man I hope you are female lol otherwise I'm super embarrassed lol). Half-hour before bed, turn down the lights, turn the tv down or off, and start relaxing as much as you can. Meditation works well for me to calm my ever running brain. Reading for 30 minutes or so before bedtime makes me very sleepy.

Yep, ra can take over just like that (pretends to snap fingers cant really do it lol).

Do you take anything to help you sleep? I would thin the Pamelor would make you sleepy. In fact years ago my doctor prescribed it for just that reason. I didn't think it helped as much as plain old tylenol PM. They also have an Advil PM now too.

Now a days I take Tramadol and muscle relaxers at night and both of those help me sleep. In the early days I took one tylenol PM just about every night.

My days are always better if my nights are peaceful.

Sweet Dreams.

I need some sleep help too!!!!

If I take Tylenol PM, I always wake up feeling like I have a hangover

I generally don't have any trouble sleeping...maybe it was that nap I took yesterday???

Phats

What time did you nap and what time did you try to go to bed? I have a more unusual situation where I can nap when I want since my husband works 2nd shift and we are up late anyways.

I have heard that Tylenol PM makes people feel all dragged out hung over like in the mornings. When I was on a high dose of steroids I was given...umm...gimme a sec here.....Ambien...that was it...Ambien. No after effects in the mornings and I got up just fine.

Ambien is great, but in my experience it is hard to get docs to prescribe it long term. I ususually get a script for 30 with no refills until I see the doc again 3or 4 months down the road. Hope others have had better luck. A newer version of Ambien is Ambien CR which helps you fall asleep and later releases another dose to keep you from waking up in the middle of the night. I also tried Lunesta which did not work as well for me. There is a new one called Rozerem, have not heard too much about it yet. A tip for colder weather - a heated mattress pad, (not blanket) is wonderful. Good luck! Pat

I have a prescription for Ambien CR and I do like it but I sleep like a log with a rock on top of it. My husband says I snore like a sailor and I can't remember anything he tells me the next day. I don't like to sleep quite that hard. I do take them occationally though. A prescription last me forever.

The thing for me with Tylenol PM is I can only take one. I also take it a couple hours before I actually intend to go to sleep. They don't work real fast for me. I'm big on laying in my bed watching TV and knitting for a couple hours before I actually go to sleep. If I take it early enough I'm good the next morning. If I don't take it early I do feel really groggie the next day. I never take two. Mainly because just one works so well I don't need it.

I take Simply Sleep, Tylenol PM minus the tylenol. Then Icy hot if my hands or elbows are keeping me up, on to hot pads and finally a really hot shower if everything else fails. I add Vicodin at the hot pad stage and oxycodone if I have to take a shower. I hadn't been sleeping well for years but didn't really get it until I started dreaming again last summer. The other night I dreamed a BIG black spider was dropping down a thread by my face, I sat straight up in bed screaming, and I could swear my eyes were open when I saw it, then I couldn't get back to sleep.

My husband has a bad spider phobia and wakes on many occations freaked out about a spider in the bed. He'll wake up and turn the light on and practically strip the bed down looking for the spider. It's like he's sleep walking while he's doing it. It takes me a while to get him to wake up and calm down. It's like a total panic attack. He's always so embarrashed after he wakes up and realizes what's happened.

I can usually count on the tylenol pm to knock me out but I had run out. I don't know why I didn't take a warm bath-that would have helped I'm sure. Too stressed over the pain to think straight. I was extremely nasauseous (I will never be able to spell that word but you all know what it is! LOL) I could not even bear to pull the covers back up over me because my hands hurt so much. My doc put me back up to 20mg of pred today and I took 10 at noon and my pain is already about 1/2 or less what it was except for abdominal pain. They had me go today for a urinanalysis also. I am bummed about the pred but so relieved to have a break from the pain. I think they saw this coming since the doc had me get a dexascan a while back "just in case" they had to up the pred again. oh well at this point I don't have a choice and it is only for a week.

Laker

What is a dexascan?

It's a bone density scan. You made me laugh with your "I hope you are a female" comment. I love a nice bath and am definitely female. I got pinned with the nickname when I moved to a nearby rival town and rival school, thus no longer a "buccaneer" but a hated "laker".

Laker

My husband just got over pluresey, I'm sorry you may have it as it is very painful. When I can't sleep I listen to the radio with earphones or my mp3 music player, It is really awful to be in pain I hope you can get something to help you! so sorrrry, sarahHi Laker,

I hear you, I talked to my GP about the amount of pain that I was having at night. My husbands says I moan in my sleep. She also prescribed Ambien CR. I don't need it anymore, but it sure helped me get the sleep I need. I also am an advocate of the warm bath and good scents.

We live in the Northwest and the days are LOOOOONG in the summer. I found putting a light blocking shade on the window helps. I also found a noise machine from Homedics that just plays sounds all night long. We have teenagers and sometimes the noise they made disturbed me. It plays the sound of the ocean, rain etc. I can't believe how much it helped.

I also ordered a special pillow for under my legs from the online store "healthy backs". I had it for lower back pain, but boy does it help when my legs and feet hurt. Sometimes I put it under my knees and sometimes I simply elevate my feet with it.

I resisted taking anymore meds than I am already on, but if really helped get over the "hump" of the most painful nights.

Good Luck!

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