Why is it that my TOS and back pain always gets worse from 3 pm on into the evening???? I just don't understand it!!!

My daily schedule is up at 6:30 am, get kids off to school, then back to sleep for a couple of hours. Then I get up, do dishwasher, other house stuff. About three to four, the pain sets in massively and is there for rest of night. Am I nuts?

I also read about the hip pain thread. I've experienced hip pain in both hips. Have been trying PT again for the past two months. He's been trying to lengthen both my hip muscles. They have some nasty sounds coming out of them. I have massive pain in my left leg and hip which corresponds to the worst of my TOS sides. However, he was surprised that my shoulders weren't worse than they are. I'm hunched but not that hunched. He's been trying to stretch my clavicle area and shoulder blade area.

Once again I hoped for miracles from this PT. Every time I try a new treatment, med or something I hope this will be the time that will cure me. I guess it won't happen this time either. The best outcome will be that I again have "proof" for my dr that I'm not faking it or anything. I always feel that my dr thinks I'm just after the drugs. My PT can tell her that I have multiple hot spots on my body, that I have multiple snaps, pops and other creaking type noises when my arms and legs are shifted. I have witnesses to my misery other than myself and my family.

So, again, if anyone can explain the timing on this pain thing, I'd appreciate it.


(Hello to all you old timers. I'm the ex-Sweet Pea from long ago.)

Funny, i was just complaining of exactly the same thing to my kids...3PM is when it just really sets in..my back just sort of feels like someone is pulling me down, and watch out world cause mom is generally not very happy..

soemtimes if i have a very careful day it won't start till 5 or so...but it always comes on at some point.


my hips are definitely tender....i have had the stomach flue a couple times this winter and after a day of laying in bed on them i have to stick lidoderm patches on them because they ache so badly. i think the outer part of the hips is a fibro tenderpoint, wonder if it is just prone to tenderness on everyone?

I certainly don't have an answer as to why this happens but my pain does get worse about that time every day too!

Wow... I found this post to be very interesting! It is amazing to see how some of us have very similar symptoms and things going on. I have been telling my doctor and physical therapist that by three o'clock in the afternoon.. I'm done for the day. I'm usually pretty good in the morning and slowly gets worse as the day goes. Some days I can get to 4:00 but that's as far as it goes. After four o'clock I can't do anything. My whole evening is spent on the couch. doing nothing.

My pain management doctor has been trying to adjust my meds so that I don't have this problem but it's not working. I am still having the same problem but she keeps fluctuating my med schedule to try and make it work better for me.

If I find anything that works better for me I'll let you know. Take it easy and hang in there.

I'm so grateful (in a strange sort of way) that I'm not imagining this. In my mind, over the years, I'd begun to think I made this up because my family was home in the evenings and psychologically, I didn't want to be with them. I know that is stupid but you think nutty things when you're in pain. I couldn't really explain it otherwise. I also felt guilty for being a mess in the evenings.

I've tried the med route and scheduling. All I can do is load up on methadone and sit on the heating pad.

Thanks, you guys, for making me appear more normal. I appreciate it.

Gosh do I hear you on this....3 is when i start picking up kids from school, shuttling them around, and then the whole dinner/bedtime routine with the little ones. One day a week i have to drive for about an hour straight getting everyone where they need to be, and I always always have extra trouble that day... My only real solution is that i start popping breakthrough pills when i can't do what absolutely needs to get done, then spend the next morning recovering.

I always wondered in the back of my mind if it was because i had to come out of my personal comfort zone at 3- something about being alone i never feel too much pressure and i can relax my way through lots of things that i can't do when people are around me. But as soon as i have to start getting kids i know the tough evening lies ahead...

I go to sleep almost every night on my heating pad. My hubby hates that thing, he says it stole me from him

It is rather comforting to know that we really aren't crazy! My heating pad is my biggest relief these days....the doctors I've been able to see so far haven't been willing to give me much for pain...Naproxen (only bothered my stomach and did nothing for the pain), Elavil (I still hurt but didn't care that I hurt until I broke out in a rash all over and itched horribly), and Lyrica (on a very low dose but it made me extremely goofy and unable to function as well as very depressed and angry...I hated everyone for the 2 weeks I was on it).

I have had really good results with Lyrica. I take 120 mgs at bedtime. At one point I ran out and had to wean off of it. The nerve pain was unimaginable. I hadn't realized how well it worked until I didn't have it.

However, the weight gain is nothing to sneeze about. I heard on the news tonight that 95% of all overweight people can loose weight. You sure as heck don't hear about people that take 3-4 pills daily that have weight gain as side effects. I wonder how many people on these diet and exercise shows have to take meds like we do. Would they take unhealthy people like us onto their shows and show us how to exercise and loose weight? No! Their liability insurances wouldn't allow it. Sorry my rant for the night.

Thanks again for all of you that have responded to my thread.

I don't want to be one of THOSE people, but......
I am one of those people that takes meds that cause weight gain and constipation. I started in January the Herbal Magic weight loss program, and have so far lost 26 3/4 pounds and 31 1/4 inches.
I am not saying it was easy, but it can be done. And I am not hungry.

hi all,
it became quite apparent to me that as the day wore on, my thoracic spine became tighter as more muscles went into spasm. one way i was able to control this time clock was when i started wearing a shoulder brace. before the brace it was a case of the more i used my affected arm the worse the thoracic tightness would get.
if i had a function that i had to go to i would place my arm in a sling to stop me using those muscles in my upper back that cause the thoracic tightness. other things that i found slowed down the onset were- not eating, laying on a bolster and using medication which stopped chest breathing.

best wishes towelhorse