Does most everyone wake up in severe pain?

For a very very long time now I wake up in severe pain.  We even bought a very expensive bed (we are still paying for it) it was a Serta and you know they are supposed to be comfortable.  Well I still wake up in a ton of pain (I do have Chiari Malformation and have had surgery for it 2 years ago but I don't think that is why I wake up in pain) I do have pain every day like if I sit too long or stand for a period of time or ride in a car or drive - is the worst.  However again, the waking up is the worst.  This might sound strange but it has become so normal for me that I just assumed everyone as we age (I am going on 37) woke up in this kind of pain.  My husband (I just got married a few months ago) said no it is not normal and he does not wake up in pain.  It is my neck and upper back area.  I just wondered why this could be?  And if anyone else has the same thing happen to them?  I can't stand it, as it makes my headaches worse.

Thanks ahead of time...p.s. I can't go to a chiropractor because people with chiari shouldn't go to one.  I have been to PT and OT and it only makes my daytime pain a ton worse and sometimes I can't go back for days so I finally quit going bc it just got worse and worse

[ggreg]

No, you should not wake up in pain.  Some people are a little stiff when they get up, and after they've been up a while, everything works more smoothly.  That's usually caused by a little arthritic changes.  Now, I used to wake up in terrible low back pain for months and months, would take me 30 minutes just to get out of the bed.  It was an old car wreck injury to my spine that had gotten worse.  Finally I had to get some medicines to make the pain stop, which I take Neurontin for it, woke up without any pain in my back.  

One thing you can do about your sleeping situation is, get a solid foam pillow, you can get it at a quality department store, and also you can get a foam mattress topping, it looks like an egg crate the way it's formed, and you lay that under the bottom sheet, and both of these things will help all-over body aches.  You can also take an alka seltzer before bedtime, might help, too.

But I think you should have that old surgery looked at with a scan, to see how that place is doing now.  And you may need to go my route and take some pain killers of some kind to stop all that discomfort you're dealing with.  It's hard to get through your day when you don't rest well, makes a person frustrated, moody, and it's hard to concentrate.

[Dr. A. Srivastava]

Thank you very much for your question; although it is quite hard for me to give you a precise opinion here without being able to examine you, but I would try to provide you some relevant information about your health concern.

In Chiari malformations, the pressure in brain increases which manifests itself as dizziness, diplopia (blurring of vision), migraine like headaches, muscle weakness, facial pain, hearing problems, and extreme fatigue. Sometimes this malformation causes dizziness while working with hands above the shoulder level (which is a common part of your military routine). Treatment of Chiari malformation depends on the form, severity and associated symptoms. No treatment is required in asymptomatic cases other than regular monitoring. Symptomatic patients may require surgery (posterior fossa decompression surgery). The requirement and pros and cons of surgery in your case should be discussed with your doctor as he knows the severity of problem. Hope this helps.

[deb46466]

Hi there, i also take Neurontin, and i have been for about two years, it doesn't help me at all, i was just wondering what strength you take.

[shanmomof3]

Hi! I'm not a dr, but from personal experience this pain is most likely from the chiari or a related condition. Before your surgery were you checked for tethered cord, a syrinx, stenosis, DDD, or EDS (Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome) Also, is your chiari being monitored? Although the decompression surgery will stop the progression and help relieve some symptoms, its not a cure and in some cases a second surgery has to be done. I wish you well and good luck. Shannon

[ggreg]

Hey Deb,
To answer your question to me, I've been on Neurontin for a couple years also, altho I started out with Lyrica and had to switch because of expense.  But the Neurontin, I take a total of 1800mg daily, which is two 300mg capsules, three times a day.  I take the last dose a couple hours before bedtime.  Neurontin and other gaba type drugs have to be increased periodically in the first year, until you reach a plateau of comfort, or they'll stop working.  My dose is considered about average, some people go up two or three times what I take.  

BUT the thing that helps my stuff work much better is I take the tranquilizer Klonopin with it, 1.5mg daily, which I have heard of other people having the same experience combining the two types of medicines.  However, if you wind up going that route, you won't need more than .5mg daily and even that will probably need to be broken in half, in the first year or two.  It doesn't need to be increased but about several years at a time.

I might add that for aches, which is diff from the sharp pain in my spine, I take a codeine mixture, also something you don't need to increase very often, really helps my muscles that spasm a lot in my lower extremities, not to mention my overall body aches from being an older person.  But from what the other posters here are saying, and what I said originally, you need to have your old surgery site scanned to see how things are going there now.
GG  

[ggreg]

Sorry, Deb, for the last sentence, got you mixed up with the original poster for a few seconds there!  GG