Kickas.org Forums Ankylosing Spondylitis General Discussion #1 AS Web Support Group How do you sleep?

I have a few questions about how you sleep...

1. What position do you sleep in?

2. Are there certain positions you can't sleep in?

3. What kind of bed do you sleep in?

4. What kind of pillow do you use if any?

5. Do you have to take any meds to help you sleep and if so what?

6. Do you do anything else to help with pain or comfort to be able to sleep?

1. What position do you sleep in?
I have to sleep in the fetal position on my left side.

2. Are there certain positions you can't sleep in?
No positions are comfortable to me. If I sleep on my back my neck kills me in the morning. I can't seem to sleep on my side with my legs straight. I have to bend them kind of like the fetal position but it's uncomfortable still. I have pain between my shoulder blades.

3. What kind of bed do you sleep in?
I bought a firm mattress with a pillow top. Wasn't too cheap but I suppose I could have paid a lot more. It was really comfortable at first but now it's not. Don't know if it's my back getting worse or the pillow top that lost its fluff. I definately miss it when I go somewhere and have to sleep on another bed though. I'm thinking of getting a hard side waterbed. It's like a regular mattres only filled with water for heat and to vary firmness. I'm thinking the heat will help keep my back relaxed and if it gets too hot in the summer the water may keep it cool. I once slept on a waterbed with a broken heater in the middle of the summer. Talk about cold!

4. What kind of pillow do you use if any?
I've struggled with this. I change out different pillows a lot. I have tried a regular pillow, feather pillow, cervical pillow, memory foam cervical pillow, one of those skinny barrel-like pillows you insert inside your pillowcase and use with your regular pillow, no pillow, two pillows. It think I've tried just about everything.

5. Do you have to take any meds to help you sleep and if so what?
I take a muscle relaxer each night... Soma. Didn't think it helped but I went without it one night and couldn't sleep. At least it helps me sleep if it doesn't relax the muscles. I'll take a pain pill if it's bad.

6. Do you do anything else to help with pain or comfort to be able to sleep?
I use a microwave heat pack if my neck is hurting too bad.

If I'm not too hot I will make a cup of hot chocolate and drink it. Seems to warm my neck from the inside so sometimes it helps. Warm milk can help me sleep anyway and the chocolate is just makes it that much better.

During bad times I pace with my heat pack back and forth, back and forth until the pain gets better. It's harder than heck to do that when you are sooooo tired. But it's the only way I can ease a little pain.

Sometimes if I just have discomfort and not too much pain I will get online and research some kind of topic or chat with a friend online who can't sleep either or I will look at a gardening magazine or book.

Sometimes I will snuggle with my heat pack (the thing is attached to me a lot) in a recliner sideways with my legs curled. I'm lucky to be small enough to do that. Laying the normal way is kind of uncomfortable on my neck.

Well I think that's all I can think of for now. Hope some of you can give me some ideas since I had a really rough night last night and tried everything with no luck.

Sharon

Sleep What is that??

1: I can only sleep on my left side.

2: All other positions are impossible do to the shape I am in now.

3: Just a normal bed Queen size. I had a Hospital bed and it didn't help.

4: 2 normal pillows.

5: I take 3 of my pain meds and that gives me about 2 hours of sleep a night every night.

6: Just load up on pain meds but it doesn't help.

I probably joke or offer silly replies too often here. I see that the first reply to your question was from you so both the qestions and answers are serious to you. I like the idea.

First the on oin but bad joke. How do you sleep? Well the old jok goes---- a man gos into a Doctor's office and says, "hey DOcit hurts when I do this!" Doc says, "then don't do that--- that'll be $250." SO hw do I sleep it hurts when I sleep, so I try not to do that.

I know Dragonslaer is a NSD guru, but if I could find a way to survive without sleep I'm pretty sure I could cure AS. Whenst I sleep my AS sneaks in and ravages.

Like you if I sleep in my back, flat as recommended in the books my neck becomes blindingly painful. The muscles spasm and weaken. SO I turn from side to side in a semi fetal position. I have a firm mattress with a feather bed mattress over it. I have a water pillow. Very helpful. Whchever side I sleep upon hurts less the next day. For example if I sleep mainly on my left side my rigt hip and shouder hurt like blazes.

Mainlythough I toss a bit, turn a bit and wander about. Like the Doc in he joke says, if ithurts then don't do that. Sleep hurts.

1. Mostly in a fetal position-both sides, and in the mornings I lay on my back before I get out of bed.

2. Can't sleep on my stomach (I guess that was a given).

3. For me, a king sized bed is a must-I need room to turn during the night and don't want to disturb my wife doing so. Firm beds kill my back--for me, it's a soft mattress with pillow top-individually wrapped coils-supports body and lets hips and shoulders go where they need to. Also keeps the spine straight. I may not be able to afford TNF blockers, but I won't skimp on my mattresses.

4. Tempur-pedic neck pillow!!! Accept no immitations-memory foam pillows are not all created equal. It must be Tempur-pedic. I swear, it was a gift from God the day I got mine (two years ago). When I'm on vacation I have to travel with it as any other pillow seriously hurts my neck.

5. I take Zyflamend PM (the herbal CoX inhibitor)before bed, sometimes with a NSAID. The valerian in the Zyflamend gives me a good, deep sleep and keeps me from waking up stiff.

1. I go to sleep on my side, wake up on my back.

2. No, I can sleep in most positions. Only when I'm flaring I find I cant sleep on my back unless I place 2 pillows under my knees.

3. Orthopedic 'firm' mattress.

4. Regular pillow, sometimes 2.

5. I dont take any meds.

6. A few years ago I 'smoked' something to get me sleepy so I could get some hours in. otherwise I was up at 2,3,4,5 in the morning awake in agony.

Sadie
x

aloha, sharon
1). on my tummy
2.) on my back
3.) same one i've had for forty years, got a new mattress...Ethan Allen
4.) a nice one...soft...foam filled
5.) yes, klonopin
6.) yes, neurontin ( 90 minutes prior to bedtime)

ps...before enbrel, i had not slept thru a night in twenty years
best
aB

1. What position do you sleep in?
Depends on whats going on with my body, if i can i like to sleep on my tummy or my right side.

2. Are there certain positions you can't sleep in?
Again, depends on whats going on with the AS, at the moment i can't sleep on left side and if i sleep on my back i need a pillow or 2 under my legs because of sciatic pain.

3. What kind of bed do you sleep in?
A normal double bed, I would like a bigger bed to make it easier to sleep when my boyfriend stays though (we went on holiday to the Florida Keys and had the biggest bed I have ever seen, amazing!)

4. What kind of pillow do you use if any?
Normal foam pillow, sometimes sleep without any.

5. Do you have to take any meds to help you sleep and if so what?
I take my diclofenac slow release before i go to bed which makes a bit of a difference, pain killers make me feel sick if I take them before bed.

6. Do you do anything else to help with pain or comfort to be able to sleep?
I have a little 'smoke' to help relax me into bed. Also make sure the temperature of my room is ok. One day i would like a king size bed and a tempur matress......!

I am currently pregnant and having a hell of a time sleeping due to arthritis flares at night so I can relate.

I sleep in a recliner with my legs elevated at times or on a firm mattress on my right or left side. I always use a thin pillow behind my head, sometimes a pillow inbetween my knees, a pillow in front of me to elevate my arm to prevent my scapula from winging and sometimes a pillow behind my back. Also, I try to keep my back as straight as possible to prevent fusing in a bent position.

I cannot sleep on my back or on my stomach. I believe sleeping on your back wuth your spine straight and a thin pillow behind your head and a pillow under your knees is the recommended sleeping position for AS to prevent fusing bent over.

Sometimes I can't sleep in any position because the pain is too severe so I get up and walk around, warm my heating pack up in the microwave and then try to go back to sleep with heat on my back. There have also been times where I have taken a hot hot shower and gone back to bed. Also, I take Tylenol if things are really bad but it doesn't do much. Prior to pregnnacy, I took Ambien to sleep but it only worked for 5 hours. Also, I have tried Tylenol PM, cold medicine and amitriptylline, all which helped a bit.

I hope our advice helps you get some zzzzzzs soon.

Shari

1. What position do you sleep in?
On my back.

2. Are there certain positions you can't sleep in?
No.

3. What kind of bed do you sleep in?
On the floor, and use no soft cushioning. Just use a bed spread.


4. What kind of pillow do you use if any?
A thin, hard pillow.


5. Do you have to take any meds to help you sleep and if so what?
No. Take muscle relaxants every day, but no anti inflammatory or specific pain killers.


6. Do you do anything else to help with pain or comfort to be able to sleep?
I do meditation and yoga at night just before sleep.

Ram