Karen,

Your idea of trying a night in the guest room first, is a GREAT place to start.
Requesting a sleep study might be the next if the issue isn't just your hubby's waking you up. Jumping straight to reguesting/receiving strong meds doesn't sound like it'll fix the underlying problem anyway. You could end up slapping a very powerful bandaid over the real issue, instead of exposing it.

If you request a sleep study and apnea and restless leg syndrome were ruled out, and there was documentation of a severely interrupted sleep cycle that was being caused from pain, that would provide your doc with important info.

You are doing you're homework and becoming informed, and I understand your concern about requesting certain meds. The one my doc offered me (and it's been a few years since I needed it) wasn't anything hard core, it was a step up from OTC supplements. Depending on where you live, asking for certain meds raises flags, and from my perspective asking for alternative meds within the same drug class is more appropriate. Asking for potent new drugs as your first step, might not be in your best interest from a medical standpoint, or with regards to your relationship with your doc. You DO NOT want to get labeled as having DRUG SEEKING behavior, that will only complicate your treatment. To go from high level pain to knocked out from a sleeping pill, might not provide a restfull night for you anyway.

Another idea--my doc has helped me stagger my dosages to accomodate my preferences. I choose to go with a low level time release med to keep my baseline pain level lowered (3-5 pain level) but not gone from the morning till a few hours before I go to bed. I have break through pain meds that I can use any time, (so if a situation raises my pain to the 7-8 ranges I use it) but which I try to avoid using until a few hours before bed most evenings. This lessens driving complications, aids sleeps, and gives me down time to relax with.

Consider keeping a pain journal until your next doc appoinment. If you need a copy, let me know. Then, you will be armed to discuss specifics with your doc about when/if your current meds are working well at different points during a regular 24 hr cycle.

If this works on ocassion, great! I've used this strategy myself. I made pancakes a month or so ago, because I had nothing else in the house other than flour and knew it would work like a charm. (And it did.) But, the fact that a small amount of carbs can drop your blood sugar and make you sleepy, is a warning sign IMHO. My blood sugar lab results show I'm in the normal ranges, but my body is still very sensitive to carbs. Add RSD into the mix...

If you haven't yet looked at Dr. Hooshmand's 4 F's Diet, you might want to test if it will decrease your pain and/or swelling. Food Plan is more accurate, since it is not a diet in the sense of weight loss being the goal!

http://www.rsdrx.com/four_f%27s_diet.htm

Dang nab it I will!!!!! Thanks for the pep talk, I sure needed it.

Once again L.L. YOU are the best!! Funny you should suggest a pain journal... I just started one a couple of days ago. I am going to bring it to my next appt with the pain doc-9/30/11 and see if he can see a pattern. Thanks again for the wonderful advice. THANKS to everyone on here who has givin me some outstanding suggestions!! Karen

Hi Jimbo, believe it or not I am already on Nortripyline. 75mg before bed. It really did make a huge difference when I first started it. I think my body must have gotten used to it at some point because it does not work the same way it used to. I am positive it will help you sleep, of course I am assuming you have sleep issues too? Hope you have a wonderful day Mr. Jimbo! Karen

Yup, that. The most important thing I can say is sleep when your body will allow. If that means you're in the middle of dinner and have to excuse yourself to go take a nap, so be it. If I don't sleep when my body tells me to do so, it may literally be a day or two before I can fall asleep.

Karen,
My issue was headaches in the middle of my head. The neurologist related this due to my atrophy causing headaches near the spinal area. Therefor gave me Nortrptyline and it's helps me sleep and so far so good...

Hi Jimbo, the Nortrptyline helped me too the first month I was on it. I probably slept 8 hours every night after I started it for about 3 weeks or so. I am going to ask my PM doc about my sleep problems next Friday. Hope you are getting some relief for your sleep issues with it! Have a super weekend Jimbo. Karen

Hi Karen,
My doctor suggested that I listen to Mindfulness Meditation for Pain Relief by Jon Kabat-Zinn. I'm not really one for meditation stuff, but I've been listening to it for the last week when I go to bed and its the first time in 4 months (that's how long I've had CRPS) that I've slept through the night. It's only $13 on amazon and $11 to download on his site so it might be worth a try. I hope you get some sleep!

The CD that I used years ago (I'm fairly sure) was from the SonicAid Sleep series available on iTunes or through Brookstone. It seems cheesy and is "new age" music, but it helped me when sleeping seemed impossible.