Where/how do you sleep?

[Lulu54]

Hi all,
I'm still trying to piece some information together from the clues my body gives me, and I would like to hear from any of you who have found you have to sleep upright (like in a recliner chair) instead of a horizontal position in bed.  

Why am I asking? If you read my journal entry this week you saw that I am still experiencing chest pains at night waking me from a dead sleep.  This has been going on for a year or so.  Yes, I am being treated for Prinzmetal Angina and taking drugs that are supposed to help.  But because these drugs aren't really helping, I'm wondering if perhaps the pains are some sort of spasm from my lesions.  I have long recognized these pains are not going to kill me but I sure would like them to stop so I can sleep through the night.

I find little discussion about sleeping positions for MS patients.

Can you tell me what symptoms drove you from sleeping in a bed to other places?

Thanks, Lu

[Lulu54]

Thanks everyone for the feedback - I appreciate you taking the time to answer my questions.
Lu

[Quixotic1]

Oh, and the recliner takes care of my GERD.  No inflammation seen on endoscopy!

Q

[Quixotic1]

I know this is well-known, but I have slept in a recliner for three years now.  If my body is flat,  my back goes into spasm down the right side of the lower back and through the hip.  Sitting allows me not to have to deal with that.  I lean back so that I am at least 45 degrees and bend my knees so the hip remains at about 90 degrees of flexion.  I have the same problem when standing or walking, so I stretch really frequently, but it remains a problem.

I have fashioned a little pillow that keeps my head from lolling around.

Quix

[slightlybroken]

As you know I'm unDX. I can't sleep flat on my back at night. It will cause me to go into spasms. I sleep on my side. I do good during the weekdays because I get up early with the kids for school and I take a Baclofen when I wake. The weekends are another story. I use to be able to sleep in, but now I wake with spasms because My Baclofen has worn off. Sometimes I'll wake up early...take a Baclofen..and go back to bed..that works.

Have you every thought about taking something like Baclofen (It's a CNS muscle relaxant) to see if that would stop the spasm? If it is a spasm caused by a lesion and not heart related than the Baclofen would help. It would be something to think about anyway.

Take Care

[JJFL]

Hi Lu,

Good question..

  I have problems with lying flat for years now.  Whenever I do my spasms will start getting worse.  I was told by a Nurse that it might be because when I lay flat my spine and nerves stretch and that means the nerve signal has more distance to go which causes symptoms to increase....

JJFL...

[ChunkyMonkeysMommy]

I'm sure your situation isn't this simple, but I have Tietze Syndrome, which can feel like a heart attack. For a long time, I was just dismissed about it (because of my age), and it scared me to death! yes, it often happens when I'm lying down and wakes me up. For that reason, I was even told that it was heartburn/GERD. AS IF I DON'T KNOW WHAT HEARTBURN IS!!! Yes, I suffer from GERD as well, but this was definitely not the same thing. There's a big difference between feeling like there's an elephant sitting on your chest, that lovely squeezing/crushing pain, and an acidic/burning sensation. I'm pretty sure I can tell the difference, lol. Finally, I had a doctor diagnose me with this and after reading about it, it really did fit! It doesn't happen all the time, and it doesn't happen because I've done something to injure myself. I just happens. Anyway, as I said, I'm sure this probably doesn't apply to you, but maybe we can hold on to hope? ;) Maybe try taking an Ibuprofen or something for inflammation and see if you're lucky and it helps? :)

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/costochondritis/DS00626

Hope you feel better and get an answer soon!

Btw, I still sleep in bed, so I can't help much with that. :(