Kickas.org Forums Ankylosing Spondylitis General Discussion Helpful Tips heated mattress pad, good for back spasms

was gonna add to an older post about heated mattress pads, but can't find it. think it was bridget that inspired me to buy one, so thanks bridget (or whoever it was)

bought it a month ago, not to keep warm, but for muscle spasms really. afraid it would overheat me, and it does, have to rethink blanket situation.

but, "tweaked" SI 2 days ago, muscle spasms on right side: butt, lower back, muscles all along spine. all hard as a rock.

so last 2 nights have slept with heated mattress pad on high. really helped those muscle spasms. able to sleep for several hours before waking up. normally i get very little sleep, and fitful at that, when this happens.

thus, i highly recommend a heated mattress pad when the muscle spasms are intense.

probably not great for inflammation, but for muscle spasms, excellent!

just don't wear too many covers to bed! that advice seems obvious enough, but still trying to determine how many are too many.

cheers!

that sounds heavenly on a back spasm! Glad it helped you!!

I love mine. I turn it on about an hour before I go to bed to warm up the bed, then I turn it down to lo. When my SI is hurting, it makes all the difference in the world. It's like a big heating pad.

thanks donette and donna

the only downside i'm finding.......sleeping in........when not in as much pain, easier to sleep.........or oversleep..............but not complaining..........wish i had gotten this thing sooner

Don't know if you have hot flashes with your peri, but if so, did they get more frequent with this mattress pad? That would be my biggest issue. In the winter, I use an electric blanket, but find my self using the high temp to warm up the bed, then turning it to low. Even then, I still have a couple of times during the night where I throw the covers off for a bit. That would be impossible with this mattress pad.

And I need to check if I can use it on my tempurpedic bed. Off to do the research....

only using it a few days thus far, so don't know about the whole hot flash thing. but now that i'm in menopause, haven't had hot flashes for awhile now. did wake up rather sweaty one morning, last night after it warmed up, turned it down a bit before falling asleep, still playing with it. not sure if i'll always use it, but nice to know its an option. i wondered too how the heat would be to various bedding material, if it would break it down, just don't know.......

Although I have a heating pad on my back most of the day, I'd be nervous about EMFs using an electric mattress pad all night. It could be great to warm up the bed in the morning to help me sleep later and be less stiff when I get up.

I go to bed with my 5 and 6 year olds for some quiet time and usually wind up having a mild hot flash during that time. Last night, I thought of your heated mattress pad and decided it is probably not for me at this time.

Just checked Tempurpedic's website...they don't recommend heated mattress pads. Bummer. Of course, they don't recommend electric blankets, either. Well, I'm not giving that one up. LOL. But no heated mattress pad for me.

I don't think I'd want to use an electric pad or blanket on a tempurpedic. Do you think it might increase outgassing?

bummer!