Sleeping modifications??
 

Ok,
I think the worst part of MS lately has been trying to sleep. I used to LOVE sleeping but now its so painful and I toss and turn all night.. on the other hand I'm so fatigued that I have to nap or sleep sometime during the day.

I didn't know if anyone had suggestions on sleeping better/more peacefully. I am numb/hypersensitive on my left side. I currently sleep with a pillow in between my legs to take off pressure. I don't know if I should buy an egg crate mattress to take pressure off the lower leg or maybe start taking sleeping pills.

Or maybe I'll just hang from my ceiling fan like a big bat. This really stinks and hurts and :hissyfit: ggrr..

What can I do to make my sleeping better? Or.. is this just the way it is with MS..and I just need to suck it up and deal *sigh* :(

Monique

First of all, thank you for the chuckle (hang from the ceiling fan like a big bat :D)

I say to my husband frequently that going to bed is so complicated it's almost easier to stay up. I have MS issues and also arthritis. I sleep in the recliner two or three nights a week. I have a certain pillow here, a folded blanket there, a certain bolster thing behind my neck...you get the idea.

If I sleep in bed every night, my hip hurts (arthritis) and my legs spasm (MS). If I sleep in the recliner every night, my back hurts. I have a knee support that I use in bed, which helps. All kinds of other assorted gizmos, depending on what happens to be hurting or otherwise giving me grief.

I've had to do a lot of experimenting, and I also have to watch what I eat and drink close to bedtime (caffeine) and the timing of my meds.

It's like a broadway production just to sleep at night. I need a pillow there and a blanket there and can't sleep on my back but I am not comfortable on my sides and then sometimes the 4 yr old wants to sleep next to/kick mommy while sleeping. I don't like the next day hangover from the sleeping pills but I'll toss and turn all night.

Maybe when I go to this MS wellness thingamabob in June I will learn something on how to sleep, maybe I'll find a sexy doctor to sleep on.. *sigh* but I digress ;) I am not trying to see my Neuro. because he doesn't know how to ever help me or what to do.. but I guess I'll break down and see him soon, just so I can sleep.

What kind of disease is this, I can't sleep at night and I can't stay awake in the daytime.. grrrr..

Monique

There are probably meds you can take, but I can't help in that department. ;)

I have learned deep breathing exercises and self-hypnosis. I have used Tylenol PM and two puffs of marijuana (which is legal here).

When I am in considerable pain, like you describe, I often sleep on the couch so that my back is propped against the backing.

Sleep problems, both insomnia and non-stop sleeping, are common with MS.

Cherie

Monique
I so can relate to your frustration. I have a hip that won't let me sleep on my left side for too long. But I so prefer that side.

I got a thing (can't think of word now) foam mattress pad, about 2 inches high, that conforms to you and springs back in shape when you leave. It does gather heat (great in winter) we'll see this summer. Anyway, my first 2 months were pure heaven. I still have trouble if I spend more then 10 hrs at a time in bed. But frequent naps compensate most of the time.

Maybe someone will come along with the right verbage. I know mine came from JC Penney, but are available in alot of stores.

I hope you find some relief.

:hug:

i feel for you monique,

i have fibromyalgia, a painful muscle and connective tissue ailment + my MS.
it's common when you have fibro to have a sleep disorder. mine's documented (sleep study).

at one point i tried a 25mg benadryl. it's the ingredient in things like tylenol pm. that may help you.

i also got an egg crate and a feather bed. that helped too.
most recently i spent big bucks on a tempurpedic mattress that i really like.
i don't wake in the morning with so much pain.

i also use pillows to "nest" with.

i now am taking ultram with tylenol for my pain and it really helps.
i think if i take it an hr before bed that the decrease in my pain helps me to sleep better.

can you see your pcp? most often my neuro isn't too interested in helping with these "side" issues. your internist may be more inclined to prescribe something.

Cherie,

I have never even smoked a cigarette..so I know one puff of anything else and I would be out cold :) I heard it also gives ya the munchies! :D I am just going to see how this summer plays out, I can afford not to sleep much but when I'm back in school something has to change! Maybe if I go back onto the gabapentin that will help my left side and my sleep problem.. Thanks!
Monique

Beth,

Is it a Memory foam mattress?? I have a memory foam pillow I sleep on ..and that kinda sounds like it. I have to sleep on my sides, I just can't on my back or front. And with my left side hypersensitive/numb and my right side is the side that gives me muscle spasms I don't know what I'm going to do. Maybe I'll just keep experimenting until I can find something. Thank you!!

Monique

Judy,

Well..my regular doctor is my UGA doc. and she hasn't been in lately so I have seen another one. He was kinda clueless today. He first wants me to stop taking my Trileptal but check with my Neuro. first about the dizziness and headaches.

I asked him how they can test to see what my blood pressure is while I sleep (wanted him to say sleep study) and he said.. well.. you have a blood pressure cuff, have someone press the button while you sleep *lol* wow.. never expected THAT great answer *sigh* so I'm trying to ask experts (you guys) ;)

Ugh... I shouldn't complain. .I can see.. I can walk for now, albeit slow so I shouldn't complain about lack of sleep. I just miss sleeping :(

Monique

It seems like we all have a customized bedtime ritual. Mine includes Unisom every night, the rx ones wrecked my days more than the fatigue. I do my Zanaflex, then use a percussion massager on my thighs which helps the foot/calf spasms settle down, my heels go over the edge of the foot of the bed which helps keep them relaxed; and I must have my feather pillow to keep my head from rolling to the side because of vertigo. I stick my hands flat under my hips to hold them still and open. I rarely wake in the night but I do wake each morning to find myself in the traditional fetal position.

For me, the getting to sleep is the hardest part and I find that my window of opportunity is about 30 minutes after the ritual. If I ignore it, it will be a long night.

I didn't have sleep issues until the past couple of months and I guess I'm just trying to adjust to it all. I realize that my Baclofen and other meds cause sleeping problems and hope that as my body gets use to the dosage it might be slightly easier. I definitely do not want the muscle spasms in the middle of the night so I don't mind taking the baclofen.

I will probably go to the mall this wk end and see if they have some mattresses 'cause the local walmart only has the eggcrate stuff. Grr.. I wish I could sleep on my tummy 'cause I don't think it would be as bad 'cause of my spinal lesions and the numbness/hypersensitivity on my left side. Maybe I'll just get some sleeping pills that won't make me groggy the next day! Thanks!
Monique

I had the two inch memory foam mattress pad. Got it for Xmas in 2005, and slept on it for about 4 months until I developed numbness in my right thigh in April of 2006 (first obvious sensory symptom I had. Was told it was a sprain :eek:)

Slept on the memory foam for another month or three until I couldnt stand it anymore. It was like I would get even more numb in areas that didnt seem to have numbness when I would sit or sleep on the mattress pad.

I ended up giving the matress pad away to my boyfriend's roommate when my parents gave their old king sized waterbed to my boyfriend. (rolled up the pad and stuck it in with bedframe when boyfriend and roomates came to collect the bed)

The memory foam even made my fingers numb when I touched it. I thought for the longest time I was allergic to a chemical in the mattress pad (which is pretty much made up of dead dinosaurs aka petroleum based products)

Made my weird hip pain worse to lay on that mattress pad. At first I only had hip pain in my left hip (numbness in the right hip) and I slept pretty much excusively on my left side. It was when the numbness moved onto my right hip and thigh that I couldnt take it anymore and that's when I gave it away.

For my sleeping problems, I now occasionally take amitriptyline. Which I might not take for much longer, since it seems to exacerbate the dry eyes I've been having problems with lately.

Sometimes seems like everything I take for one problem causes me another problem. Ahhh...modern medicine is just wonderful.

I take Elavil (amitriptyline) every night to blunt the pain and if the pain and spasms are bad I add Zanaflex to it. I can only sleep on my right side - the pain is less there.

Yep, memory foam, now why couldn't I remember that? :confused: Must be MS. :D

Have you tried doubling it, by folding it in half? I did that for about a month, then I went back to a single layer and feel better now.

I'm a side sleeper too. I'm so sorry you can't enjoy a good side sleep. Much luck as you try and try to find the right relief for you. Please share any good hints you discover.

:hug:

Sleep..what's that??? (see time of post)

I'm a chronic insomniac, and have been for many many years. Xanax helps me alot, but I'm past my legal limit tonight and still as awake. I've tried valium, and it's like candy. I've tried Lunesta, and woke up dumping hot coffee over my hand that I made in my sleep.

What makes me this more frustrating is in the morning, I'll be exhausted, just in time to start another day.

grrrrrr....

Are you allowed to take Nyquil with your current meds? It worked for me in a pinch, but can't take it with my xanax.

I'm not sure what is going on with me but I am having trouble staying asleep.

I get sleepy, fall asleep and then wake up an hour or two later. Go back to sleep, sleep an hour or two and then wake up again. It's maddening!

I take Trazodone before bed (50 mg) and I'm wondering if I can up the dose. I don't take anything else with it because I'm not sure if I can take Baclofen and/or Neurontin with it.

I just wish I could get at least 5 consistent hours of sleep. I've never needed a lot of sleep but this one to two hours thing is for the birds!

Gosh..
Now I feel bad about my 3 hours of sleep before I wake up...and then sleep for another couple hours and then I'm up for the day. I am going to call my Neuro. today not that it'll help much but I really think the headaches/dizziness and vision probs. are from blood pressure issues since it only happens when I wake up even though the UGA dr. thinks its the trileptal.

Grr.. I feel like I never should of went to the dr. for the vision probs because that was my only symptom and now I have a ton of symptoms and on a ton of medication.. what can of worms did I open? See how grouchy I get with lack of sleep! :mad: What's trazadone? Does it give a grogginess the next day like reg OTC sleeping pills?

Monique

Trazodone is an antidepressant used for a sleep aid. It's an old drug - been around forever - and my Neuro said that it was safe to take. It makes me very sleepy soon after I take it but it doesn't seem to make me groggy the next day. I take a 50 mg dose at bedtime but I'm wondering if I can take more since I seem to wake up a lot during the night.

My xanax helps me sleep without making me all groggy, but I only get about 3-5 hours at a time. I now pop one quite often , and the effects are wearing off. When I don't take them, I don't sleep, and cry constantly. May ask about the trazidone.

I have some Trazodone. It makes me feel weird, kind of nervous feeling the next day, but then so does the Amitriptyline.

I never take my sleeping meds at full strength. I break the pills in half and then break the halves in half and only take a 1/4 of a pill. Seems to get me to sleep. I'll wake up every 3 hours tho, but that's better than either not sleeping, or waking up every hour.

I also take 50 mg Zoloft for sleep, I have for about 3-4 years now. It helps me to get to sleep and stay asleep.

I take 10mg of Baclofen and 75 mg of Zoloft at night too. That combo works pretty well for me and I've been on it for a long time.

Trying To Sleep For Bats.haaaaaaaaaaaa
 

SOUTHCOUNTRY IN CANADA
I break up my rests/sleep? and go to bed about 1 am until about 8am, and then rest for about 2 hours in the afternoon. I think it is not sleep now, but passing out really. I remember sleep and it was nice and relaxing. This is not! But it does let my body recover some energy that I need to stumble through my day. So, haa I also do not need to hang like a big bat.

That should have been 50mg of Trazodone! :Oops:

My nightly "cocktail" for sleep and pain is 300 mg Neurontin, 1 mg of Requip, and Elavil.

Luckily it helps me to sleep and wake up feeling refreshed.