Sleep Issues
 

I've noticed a lot of people are nocturnal on this forum. Are you experiencing the same sleep issues I do?

I can get comfortable enough to sleep for 1 to 1 1/2 hours at a time but I wake frequently due to pain or effects of the pain meds. I'll do this during the week and "catch up" on the weekends when I can take heavier doses of Oxycodone for pain relief.

I've tried AmbienCR. It makes me do odd things in the middle of the night and has a depressant quality to it that affects my work the next day.

We bought a Tempurpedic mattress that's pretty comfortable but the comfort only lasts until I change positions while I sleep.

Does anyone have some "best practices" I can try?

Bob

Hi Bob,

Try taking the short acting Ambien, without the CR. I've been known to split a pill in half, taking a half at bedtime and the other half in the middle of the night should I wake up and not be able to get back to sleep.

It has a short half life of about 3 hours so it might be easier to gauge your dose according to need. You still might do odd things in the night but your days should be better.

Adrienne

Ambien
 

Thanks for the idea Adrienne. My pharmacist pointed me toward a non prescription sleep aid that gave me a better nights rest.

I really don't want to go back to any form of Ambien. I have a great fear of having the police called at 2 AM while I"m in the front yard belting out Julie Andrews show tunes while dressed in my pajamas.

I just can't carry a tune.....

Bob

Bob has a fabulous sense of humor and is a wonderful addition to the forum.

I always laugh when I read his posts.

I got a good mental image of the police arriving at his house at 2:00 AM :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

Welcome to the forum Bob, and may your holidays be blessed.

Terry Newton

Bob,

I'll second what Terry said! That was hilarious. I used to be on Ambien... good times, good times. ;)

EDIT: Here's some tips on sleep hygiene --> Click Here -- Tips on Sleep Hygiene If you can believe it, we actually learned all of this in our psychiatry course. A lot of it seems so elementary, but these changes in behavior really do work.

Damn.. why can't crazy stuff like that happen in my neighborhood at 2am, cause I am definitely up! Maybe I should slip some ambien into my hubby's tea :laugh:

sleeping
 

Well I had a huge sleeping problem for about a year. I would be up til 4 -5 - 6 am. It was horrible.

I have a cocktail of meds to take at night and almost always helps.
1) Ambien CR
2) muscle relaxor (cyclobenzaprine)
3) Neurontin
4) Vicodin

Ambien CR made a huge difference over reg ambien. But I have to take these meds early enough at night, like 6 or 7 pm depending on how early you need to be up.

The muscle relaxor makes me sleepy too, so it helps to "knock me out" I only take it at night with the Ambien CR.

Is there a pain med or muscle relaxor that makes you sleepy? It might be a trial and error thing you have to work through with your dr. There are certains meds in the past that drs have tried on me and also made me really sleepy like Darvocet, Amitriptyline (Elavil).

Maybe there is some combination that will help you. It may just take more than one to do the trick.

I am now trying Rolfing (Structural Integration) and it's fascinating. After 7 years of chronic pain, I am finding out that my entire body is messed up, stressed, tight and painful. I am hoping to gain some relief from this technique which I am hoping will help me reduce my medication intake and make me more comfortable to fall asleep. I am also seeing my surgeon tomorrow to see if he recommends some injections for inflammatory relief.

Rolfing
 

:)LBP
I am in my fifth rolfing session and my body is a mess,Things have improved and some things have gotten different! Each session has reactions to my body good and bad? let me know how it works for you?
Yes it does hurt but just for the session.
good Luck
Gil :)

insomnia and rolfing
 

great topic... i have struggled w/insomnia since my early 20s. in addition to my pain and discomfort i have trouble turning off my analytical brain to sleep.

like LBP usually Ambien (CR or regular 10mg) and Neurontin (600mg) work well for me (along w/a little vino) and i don't experience any side effects in the AM. the past week, however, has been rough and i've hardly slept at all. i don't get angry when i don't sleep, i just get looooney. of course our bodies can't heal if we aren't sleeping. i've experimented with muscle relaxers and other sleeping meds but no dice. last night i took an Ativan which allowed me to sleep for 6 hrs but i don't want to get in the habit of taking it b/c it's addictive.

sometimes epsom salt baths w/lavender help me sleep. i've also tried teas and the natural supplements like Valerian and Melatonin. I may try 5HTP but i believe it interacts w/some meds.

interesting y'all mention rolfing... i hope it gives you both relief. it's intense! i had two sessions pre-op but couldn't tolerate it w/all i had going on in my body. my osteopath thinks it's too aggressive for me and that it may make my spine worse (and more unstable), but i'm debating giving it a whirl with an experienced rolfer. i wish it wasn't so expensive. the approach makes sense to me and i know people that have benefitted from it.

keep us posted how you are doing with it.

liz

rolfing
 

Well I didn't know anything about rolfing...what a horrible name but I met a guy who claims he was facing multi level fusion or ADR after a car/bike accident and found rolfing...which helped him avoid surgery and now is very physically active.

After having lots of good PT and massage experiences, I do feel like rolfing has something new to offer. My IT band, especially left side is very tender and painful to touch, super tight. I couldn't tollerate his first approach to stretching out that fascia but I could tollerate it when he tried a different approach. My legs (IT/quads), back of head/neck, armpits, peck muscles were on fire the night after my first session... in a way I knew he was hitting some areas that really needed work. Not dangerous kind of pain but the kind of pain you know in the long run is productive.

I have my second session this week. This stuff should be included in a comprehensive insurance plan for people with chronic pain. Massage, PT, rolfing, accupuncture, whatever it takes to be productive again!

This is related to this sleeping topic because pre injury I was a stomach sleeper..I have not been able to sleep on my stomach since injury...makes my legs go numb. And I cannot sleep on back because my butt and hips need relief, so I sleep on my side, alternating back and forth which I've noticed has put a lot of pressure on my shoulders and I have had more recent problems with a tingling in my pinky fingers as a result. IN rolfing, I'm discovering that my shoulders have really rolled forward and tightened up in a way I don't think existed before I was injured and had all these sleeping problems. It is a big "hot spot" where the nerves flow from neck to arm via shoulder/front part of armpit.