Sleep

I was diagnosed with FMS. Has anyone else been told that sleep is the key here to keeping symptoms at bay? And not to nap?

[TrudieC]

I've been told sleep is key but hadn't heard about the nap.  I never slept well until I started Lyrica.  It makes a big difference.  I am about to change jobs and it will cause me to have to get up earlier so I hope it doesn't affect the fibro.

[geminigirl1963]

I also have been told about the link between poor sleep and worse fibro symptoms.  However, I have not been told about not napping.  In fact, my doctors have actually told me to get sleep when and where I can.  For me, sleep is a major problem - it doesn't matter whether I have napped during the day or not, so when I feel that irresistable urge to close my eyes for a few minutes, if at all possible, I do it.

I think probably the reason they said about not napping during the day is that a lot of people, if they have napped during the day, will have a harder time sleeping that night.  For me, however, it doesn't make any difference.

There actually is much documented proof about how the lack of sleep affects fibromyalgia symptoms.  It's a vicious cycle - you hurt because you aren't getting enough sleep and you aren't getting enough sleep because you hurt.  However, it's important to remember that JUST getting enough sleep will more than likely not alleviate all of your fibro symptoms.

Many fibro patients end up needing some kind of sleep aid - if you find that you're having a really hard time either falling asleep or staying asleep, it may be something you want to talk to your doctor about.  It's very important to not attempt to treat your sleep problems on your own with any type of medication without first talking to your doctor.

Here's to getting some restful sleep.....

[acker]

as above. i rarely nap, but when i have, i've clearly needed the sleep, and it's been the most restful deep sleep i ever get. i think the nap advice is so that theoretically, the main sleep will be more restful, but i'm not sure  it always works that way; when i've forced myself to stay awake, i then later have found it difficult to get to sleep, and the quality of that sleep has definitely been just as bad as any other crap night's sleep.

although sleep is never refreshing (enough), it's still necessary and the best we can do. any shut-eye adds to the trickle recharge we have, we need all the recharge we can get.

[geminigirl1963]

You got that right acker and I totally agree with you that quite often if I've forced myself to stay awake during the day, I have an even harder time sleeping that night.