Thank You
Sarah
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What To Do When You Can't Sleep..
Started by
sarah : )
, Oct 13 2009 05:55 PM
16 replies to this topic
#1
sarah : )
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Posted 13 October 2009 - 05:55 PM
Every so often when I lay down to go to sleep all of a sudden I'll have both of my legs tingling from the feet up. Its so uncomfortable that I won't be able to go to sleep for hours unless I use a sedative because I'll be tossing around trying to get comfortable. Does anyone else have this problem? and what did you do about it?
Thank You
Sarah
Thank You
Sarah
"Holy crip! It's a crapple" : ) -Family Guy- ( :
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#3
araitn
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Posted 13 October 2009 - 08:15 PM
I have the same pain all day, every day. Some days are worse than others. I've not found any medication that can touch it. Others have some success with Lyrica, Neurontin, Amitriptyline, and some depression medications. You might want to ask your doctor, if you've not already been down that road.
The only thing that helps me is to distract my mind. I try to keep busy by reading a magazine or book, using the internet, playing with the dog, going for a push, or whatever else will wear my mind or body down to the point where I'll finally be able to get some sleep.
Now, the shooting, stabbing, throbbing, electrical pain from hell..... that's an entirely different story! Just have to ride it out until I pass out from exhaustion.
I hope you're able to find some relief.
The only thing that helps me is to distract my mind. I try to keep busy by reading a magazine or book, using the internet, playing with the dog, going for a push, or whatever else will wear my mind or body down to the point where I'll finally be able to get some sleep.
Now, the shooting, stabbing, throbbing, electrical pain from hell..... that's an entirely different story! Just have to ride it out until I pass out from exhaustion.
I hope you're able to find some relief.
#4
wheeliebear75
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Posted 13 October 2009 - 08:30 PM
Likewise with the every day just some are worse than others. Although I liken the sensation to that of ants crawling all over my legs & biting as being a sort of status quo kind of pain. The shooting pains.......they're pretty hard to ignore; although get high enough & THEN I don't care so much about it & it in a way it helps more than the Rx meds do by a long shot. I have tried quite a few Rx meds in the past.....but they either didn't work OR they made me so dopey that I felt too sleepy to feel the pain rather than actually making the pain itself go away or decrease. Now for the most part I just use pot & save the narcotic pain killers & heavy sedatives & muscle relaxers when I WANT TO be in oh say a 12+ hr drug induced coma. During the day I try keeping my mind busy......the busier it is the harder it is for your brain to get stuck on the "ow ow ow ow.....yikes......crap this hurts!" type of messages.
Just because I felt the Rx solutions were not for me does not mean that you shouldn't try something different, since clearly what you are doing isn't working for you.
Best of luck & hope you find a solution that works for you.
Just because I felt the Rx solutions were not for me does not mean that you shouldn't try something different, since clearly what you are doing isn't working for you.
Best of luck & hope you find a solution that works for you.
*Enjoy every sunset, but be grateful for every dawn.*
*Wheelchairs are made of a special ocular magnetic alloy......they're "eyeball magnets".*
*I USE a wheelchair, that does NOT make ME a wheelchair!*
*Wheelchairs are made of a special ocular magnetic alloy......they're "eyeball magnets".*
*I USE a wheelchair, that does NOT make ME a wheelchair!*
#5
qbounce
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Posted 13 October 2009 - 08:31 PM
I generally find myself wasting some time on the internet . . . . and more specifically, in here. 
Either this or sudoku. I've been dealing with pain also, but in my arms. The doc gave me Gabapentin, but it really knocks me on my ass the next day. So I've opted to just endure the pain for now.
Hope you figure it out. Not getting enough sleep makes me cranky!!
Either this or sudoku. I've been dealing with pain also, but in my arms. The doc gave me Gabapentin, but it really knocks me on my ass the next day. So I've opted to just endure the pain for now.
Hope you figure it out. Not getting enough sleep makes me cranky!!
When we remember we are all mad, the mysteries disappear and life stands explained. - Mark Twain
#6
Trinity
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Posted 13 October 2009 - 08:36 PM
I think that nights are often the worse, in my opinion part of that is the lack of distraction as well as being so conscious that you need to sleep. The more I focus on trying, the less likely it becomes that I can fall asleep. I go for the distraction technique, watch a movie, read a book, catch up on emails etc. I have had limited success with relaxation or meditation, consciously trying to block the pain doesn't work to for me and I seem to lay there thinking about it more and getting more and more worked up about it. I have taken sleeping tablets but I find that although they allow me to get to sleep they don't keep me asleep and I end up feeling worse the following day from them than if i hadn't slept.
I agree with Araitn, the buzzing feeling is tolerable, the shooting electric burning pain is not, no amount of distraction seems to help this. When that gets bad then it's just a case of take a lot of painkillers so I just don't care
I agree with Araitn, the buzzing feeling is tolerable, the shooting electric burning pain is not, no amount of distraction seems to help this. When that gets bad then it's just a case of take a lot of painkillers so I just don't care
Memento Vivere
Memento Mori
#7 *Tortfeasors*
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Posted 13 October 2009 - 08:44 PM
araitn, on Oct 13 2009, 04:15 PM, said:
I have the same pain all day, every day. Some days are worse than others. I've not found any medication that can touch it. Others have some success with Lyrica, Neurontin, Amitriptyline, and some depression medications.
What to do when you can't sleep
& what meds help with neuropathy
will get 2 different answers from me...
I spent 2 years where I literally did not sleep, could barely get out of bed... I got an average of 4 hours of sleep every 4 days, and let me tell you, the world did not look good from this side of things. I was extremely sick in so many ways, and after insomnia med after insomnia med, they finally just put me on a double dose of Duragesic -- fentanyl patch. It saved my life because I was at the point where no part of my body or mind could sustain that amount of sleeplessness. I soon, however, developed a bad reaction to the fentanyl, though did not realize this medicine was the cause. My hands and feet were swollen all the time, I had a constant low grade fever, a sensation of being freezing cold and burning hot at the same time (unlike any fever chills, it's hard to describe, a uniquely miserable feeling), and all my joints seized up like the tin man (polyarthritis?). They tested me for lyme disease, lupus, and all the other autoimmune stuff which all came back negative. So, I started trying to discern if there was any pattern to my symptoms, and it turned out that I flared more on the 3rd day when I would change the patch -- so, I realized it must be the fentanyl doing this to me. My doctor was out of town at the time, so instead of waiting for his return so he could prescribe titrating doses, I just ripped the patch off and then went into a narcotic withdrawal like what you see on drug films. Indescribable. But, eventually I came out of it, the neck pain reached its normal baseline, I stopped sleeping again, but soon enough to spare my life I found an interventional treatment injection that helped with the neck problems and reduced the pain from a 9 to a 7. Moral of this story -- be careful with medications, but get the pain relief you need. Don't waste your life suffering so much you are unable to eat, drink, and sleep, because your body will shut down if you don't meet your most basic biological needs.
On a much more optimistic note...
With regard to neurogenic pain (mine is caused by nerve root compression at several joints in the lumbar region), I have found that Cymbalta works wonders. The pain is still there, I go more quickly from moderate pain in my legs to numbness of the legs (--used to go more predictably from moderate pain to severe pain then to numbness), but the pain is no longer that severe intensity where you are crawling the walls all night long and imagining things best not uttered.
The only downside to Cymbalta -- extreme nightsweats as a side effect, and it does interrupt my sleep. But, better to have to get up a few times to change my clothes or rotate towels on the bed than not sleep at all. So, see if Cymbalta is something your doctor feels appropriate for you. Cymbalta is in the class of SNRI antidepressants (serotonin/norepinephrine re-uptake inhibitors) and is labeled for diabetic neuropathy in addition to depression. And hey, who in this amount of pain over a long period of time couldn't benefit from a mental boost, eh?! Downside to SNRI meds -- not many choices. The classic SNRI prescribed for nerve pain at Spaudling Rehab (where I did all the outpatient spinal injections) is Effexor, but I have heard too many horror stories about side effects and withdrawal to want to try that one. As for Lyrica -- helped with the widespread muscle soreness from my fibromyalgia, but did not have a noticeable effect on the nerve pain, and rendered me as forgetful and befuddled as an Alzheimer's patient -- so glad the doctor listened to me when I said I need something that will not interfere with my cognitive skills as I was soon starting law school! Withdrawal from that was unpleasant, but I made it. As for Neurontin -- I took this years ago before the nerve root compression was an issue; was prescribed for my constant muscle spasms surrounding my unstable cervical joints. Result -- didn't notice any relief of spasm or pain, but I did develop an increasing amount of muscle twitches that got so frequent and forceful that my limbs were flying all over the place to the point where all that was missing for it to be a seizure was the lack of consciousness. But, I have learned from others who take Neurontin for nerve pain that it does help them and does not cause the seizure-like issue I had. These kinds of meds are trial and error, and everyone's bodies and circumstances (diagnoses, symptoms, other meds, etc.) are different. But, I try to warn people about potential side effects to prevent them from enduring some of the misery I have dealt with. I feel that it gives meaning to my suffering when I use it to spare another person's suffering.
So, in summary, if you're in pain, you have the right to relief -- so don't let idiot doctors deny you what you need or give up on you. And, if nerve pain is part of your constellation of pain symptoms, Cymbalta might help.
Best of luck. I hope you feel better soon.
Edited by Tortfeasors, 13 October 2009 - 08:55 PM.
#8
Chris
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Posted 13 October 2009 - 10:45 PM
Ratticis, on Oct 13 2009, 06:35 PM, said:
I drink till I pass out
Thats what i would do. LOL I haven't had a UTI in over 2 years, but you need to get out and be active. Wear yourself out so you can have a restfull, relaxing night of sleep...
CHEERS!
Sorry about the reply. It's been a while since i've done this... LOL
Edited by Chris, 13 October 2009 - 10:49 PM.
#9
Kwag_Myers
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Posted 14 October 2009 - 01:38 AM
sarah : ), on Oct 13 2009, 01:55 PM, said:
Every so often when I lay down to go to sleep all of a sudden I'll have both of my legs tingling from the feet up. Its so uncomfortable that I won't be able to go to sleep for hours unless I use a sedative because I'll be tossing around trying to get comfortable. Does anyone else have this problem? and what did you do about it?
Thank You
Sarah
Thank You
Sarah
The only thing I can suggest is to try different positions like moving to a recliner, or putting a pillow under your legs.
'Cause that's how I roll! 
#12
Jax
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#13
Kwag_Myers
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Posted 14 October 2009 - 04:20 PM
Another thought I had last night when I couldn't sleep - compression socks. Walmart has them for about $20.00.
'Cause that's how I roll!
#14
eleanorigby
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Posted 20 October 2009 - 05:45 PM
I used to have the same thing to the point where I would be crying. I experienced tingling, burning and shooting pains in my legs at night whenever I would lay down to go to sleep. My doctor in the hospital put me on a low dosage of nortriptyline and it did the trick. Not to say that I never experience some pain once in awhile, but nothing like it was. Nortriptyline is normally used as an antidepressent I guess, but it's also used to treat neurological pain with pretty minimal side effects (in my case none). I've been taking it for over ten years now without increasing the dosage and it still works, but if I go off of it, the pain comes back, so I know it's still working.
Insert witty, intelligent and deep quote here.
#15
allister
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Posted 21 October 2009 - 11:20 PM
Suffered the chronic pain in legs/feet for years. Be awake crying with the pain in the night too.
The meds that eventually helped ease things for me is amitriptyline 2hrs prior to bed, and gabapentin.
It hope you find away to ease your pain too
Cheers
Al
The meds that eventually helped ease things for me is amitriptyline 2hrs prior to bed, and gabapentin.
It hope you find away to ease your pain too
Cheers
Al
Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow.
#16
dangerousdave
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Posted 22 October 2009 - 09:10 AM
Pain reminds us that we are alive
Pharmacutical meds are for junkies
Natures natural herbs are your answer
But dont smoke that just makes new problems
Vaporise
One hit should be enough to relax the body and dull your pain
Love to Live.............Live to Love
Pharmacutical meds are for junkies
Natures natural herbs are your answer
But dont smoke that just makes new problems
Vaporise
One hit should be enough to relax the body and dull your pain
Love to Live.............Live to Love
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