Waking up very stiff

[debral09]

Hi All,
I was just wondering if anyone else has or is experiencing waking up either the middle of the night or first thing in the morning being very stiff?  For the past couple of weeks I have been waking up in the middle of the night as well as first thing in the morning being very stiff.  And I mean stiff from head to toes.  I have to sit on the edge of the bed for a minute before I get up to walk around.  I also hurt when I move around in bed, turning from side to side, etc.  I am not sure if this is related to my MS.  So I was just curious if this might be related to MS or if I truly live inside an 80 yr old woman's body when I am only 31!!!!!!!!!!

I have been DX for 2yrs but still feel very uneducated about the disease.  I have pains but don't know if they are related to the disease or not.  Guess I better start getting more acquainted with it.  I know that my previous neuro said that I would most likely have a bad flair up about 6 months after giving birth which is now but I really don't know what to expect.  I have only ever had sensory symptoms and some of those are showing up more.  The burning sensation that I get when I bend my head down to dry my hair is happening even more.  Happens now when I just bend my head down and the feeling goes all the way down my right leg instead of just my thigh.

Thanks for listening and hope you are all having a good night!
Debra

[Lulu54]

hi and welcome.  You may not have noticed you have found a very old post so many people might not stop and read your new reply...  you might want to start something new if you want more input from the fine folks here.

I'm smiling as i read you descriptions - this is so me.  I have a 20 minute commute and it takes forever to get moving out of the car and walk into the building. I wake up extra early to take my meds so they have a chance to get acting in this poor body.

Its hard to define what is aging (I'm 59) and what is MS, though I have significant spasticity in my lower limbs.  I hope your doctor will have some tactics to try, including drugs and stretching tips.  
I hope we see you around, Laura

[karryon55]

I assume my morning stiffness is from my arthritis but some could be from the MS......who knows!

I pop 2 paracetamol as soon as I wake up. I have had stiffness most of my life so I don't know any different. I think the best way I can describe it is that your body feels like an ironing board.

I know the only way to rid myself of this is to move my body slowly but surely. I don't ever sit too long but if I had to I would be stretching regularly. I've not had a sleep in for 20 years & get up early everyday. I also have to move my body every time I wake up throughout the night or I can't go back to sleep. I alternate between a bed & recliner but spend 80% of my time in the recliner.

It would be nice if someone said "here's a pill & it will help" but I haven't enquired if my stiffness is from a lifetime of arthritis or MS. I guess I should ask someone that question.

Sorry I'm not much help.  :-(

Karry.

[calamfred]

My husband is definitely slower moving when he first gets up. And it makes sense that since MS can cause spacticity, that it would attribute to the tight/stiff muscles. Hubby's Neuro actually had him on Baclofen 1st, for the spacticity, he unfortunately had to stop it as it caused major swelling in his hands, feet..this is a rare side effect.
Take care,
C

[Deludel]

This was an interesting post for me to read. I was just dx in Oct, so I am still getting used to "what is MS, and what is not" .. and understanding that sometimes we never really know.

Aside from MS - I have "a bad back" .. that's a label I've had since I was 18 (I am 40 now). Some disc bulging causes muscle spasms in my back and I have to be careful about not lifting too much.

My back has been worse in the last few months - definite lumbar issues, but I have had some new symptoms (cannot lay on right side without pain in hip) so I have an ortho appointment next week.

Due to the new symptoms, I have attributed the STIFFNESS I have had in the past few months to my "bad back". It's not just stiffness in my back though - it can go from my shoulders down to my feet. I have an office job, sit at my desk most of the day - and when I get up to go to the bathroom or copier ... I am VERY stiff, and walk as if I am 89 years old. It takes some moving around before I am normal again. Same at home - if I've been sitting and watching TV, I am very stiff when I stand up. Forget driving in the car .. I have a 40-minute commute and am ready for a nursing home by the time I get to work.

I am very careful about the shoes I wear (lessons learned from having a bad back) and am careful about lifting - I have 2 small children and even my 3-year old knows I cannot lift her because I have to be careful. My point is -- I do not "overdo" it, yet I am stiff every day.

I have a neuro appt this week, and will bring it up.

FYI: I have only been on Copaxone for 6 weeks, and am getting IV steroids once/month for 6 months as a "filler" until the Copaxone ramps up.

[carlton2]

I am 40 y.o. male that for last 18 months have woken with rigamortis stiffness all over! have to mentally crack myself out of it... after i do which is scary doesnt take more than one minute...i then fine... no symptoms...this in the 18 months has occured about ten times at random...i have no idea what it is...and have ruled out cold bedroom window breeze, robert.

[twopack]

I'm sorry to hear you are having such a hard time.  It's tough to be hurting when friends make running around look so easy and enjoyable.  How much worse it must be since you aren't feeling supported by your parents right now.

How long ago were you diagnosed with Scheuermann's?  I'm wondering if it has run its course or if it is still actively progressing and what kind of treatment (if any) you have had.  

A long acting anti-inflammatory medication might help.  If you dose with it at bedtime it could help reduce the morning stiffness.  Can you ask your parents to consult with the diagnosing physician again?  Besides helping you he might also be able to talk to your parents and school about how to best work within the limits this disease imposes on you.

You presented your situation to a community of people interested in and/or living with multiple sclerosis.  MS is a disease of the central nervous system.  Scheuermann's is a pediatric orthopedic disease.  In addition, you landed at the end of a discussion that hasn't had a response for nearly four years now.  

You may get a more satisfactory response from one of the many other communities of MedHelp.  You can find an alphabetical index of forums by scrolling to the top of the page and clicking on the "Forums" icon.

[shmegxo]

I am only 15, i have minor schermans disease in my middle spine. I also wake up feeling very stuff, and have to walk 2 miles each morning to get to my local school, i am often very late and was wondering if there was a way to help this? my legs also lock out first thing in the morning meaning i usually have to walk with a limp aswell. i don't know what to do and my parents don't understand that i cannot get out of bed, they just think i'm being lazy  

[debral09]

So I am still having this issue.  The only thing is now I am stiff and sore throughout the day!  UGGGGGGGGH!  This is very frustrating when I have to pick up my daughter or be on the floor with her to play.

I go see the new neuro a week from tomorrow but does anyone have any remedies that might work between now and then?

Thanks for listening to my complaining!

Debra

[LATW]

Oh yes. This is an issue for me too.  I was just started on Baclofen and I am hoping it will help.

I even get stiff if I sit just a little bit too long.  

LA

[Quixotic1]

Another thought about stiffness in the morning is the stiff soreness of spasticity.  This is something you would want to discuss with your new neuro.  Ask him/her if there is any sign that you have spasticity.

Do you know, do you have hyper reflexes?  Do you ever find that the faster you try to do something the stiffer you are?

Example:  I have spasticity in my lower R back extending to the toes.  I also have urinary urge incontinence.  If I need to make a run (yeah, right...) to the BR, the faster I try to get there, the stiffer my leg is, and the slower I go.  This is not a good combination and I am tired of mopping the floor!

Quix

[spastic]

Hey Sweetie, I just wanted to say hi, I don't think I've talked to you before.  I am not sure if this is MS related or not but I have the morning stiffness with my type of arthritis and I can relate to how your feeling.  The best advice I can give you is to kind of wait it out when you are feeling the stiffness.  On a good day I can crawl out of bed in about thirty to forty minutes, I usually turn on the tv and take my steroids and slowly start pulling myself up.  Always go slow though.  Try not to do it too fast.  It seems if you go fast with it, the muscles kind of stay stiff all day.  

I am worried about your neck being stiff like it is, I will recommend if it doesn't let up try to get in and see a Dr about it.  You might even need to take a muscle relaxer at bedtime, that should lessen the stiffness in the morning.  Please keep me posted, Sweetie.

Love,

Ada

[debral09]

Thanks for the reply.  I guess in a way its good to know that I am not alone with this.  Unfortuantely it is something else to deal with.

To April: I don't see my neuro until July 7th.  He will be a new one for me as I moved to AZ from CA.  I was on Copaxone for a few months and than got pregnant in March of last year.  So I have been off of it since than and I am sure that once I see the neuro I will be right back on it.  I had an MRI done in late of this year on my brain and it showed more stupid lesions.

To SL:  I am not taking anything new.  I am not on anything right now for the MS but will be soon.  This just started out of nowhere and I am not liking it one bit.  I am just thankful that for now my 6 month old daughter is not waking up in the middle of the night.  My neck seemed pretty stiff last night before I even went to bed!

To all of you:  I think of you and pray for you as well that one day we will not have to deal with the issues at hand and that they will find a cure for this uncurable disease!  Have a great day!

Always in my thoughts,
Debra :)

[doni54]

I'm not dx, but started with this same problem a little over a year ago.  It is a daily occurrence now.

I have the same problem if I sit for very long, can't get up!!  My hubby and I used to like to go driving around on Sunday afternoons, kinda like exploring new places, but had to stop cause I can't get out of the car when I get home!  ha.....ha...ha

Don't know how much is my age, 53, and how much is whatever this is that's going on with my body.  You are young so maybe this won't last long.  Maybe ask your neuro?

Take care and like SL, I'm praying for you to have stiffless mornings!!!

doni

[sllowe]

I'm with you.  Not sure what is related to the disease and what is not.  I woke up like this too pretty bad for 2-3 weeks straight.  Wasn't sure if it was the new med I was taking, but nothing would move for me, and now I'm still a little stiff but not like that thank goodness.

You taking anything new? Or, this just start up out of no-where?

Wishing you some stiffless mornings..lol...
-SL

[Terrie2008]

Hi

Most mornings the muscles in my back (mostly the right side) is so stiff,the pain is terrible,my husband has to rub my back before I can get out of bed once im up and moving,it starts to settle.

My Dr (6 months ago) put this down to polymyalgia rheumatica:

I really don't think I have that.

Best wishes Terrie

[mae1]

Hi Debra, I also wake up very stiff in the mornings. I also wake up with tremors at times but not every morning... the tremors seem to go away shortly after I wake up but the stiffness takes some time to go away. when do you see your neuro again???
april