Re: can't sleep, shoulder pain`

[Guest guest]

Hi Les,

First, I assume that you have talked to your doc about this pain and

that he or she is addressing it as much as possible. I know RA can

affect your neck, though it hasn't bothered me there (yet!<g>) but I

do have problems with my shoulders. For me, having my shoulders

injected with steroids as needed is a " miracle cure " , even if it is

temporary. My rheumatologist said they don't like to inject a joint

more often than every 3 months, but my shoulders have been fine for

6-7 months now.

As far as beds are concerned, I got lots of advice when I first was

dx'd and came on this BB. The best " comfort " advice was to get a

mattress topper made of memory foam. It needs to be thick, and made

of good quality foam so that it doesn't compress too flat. I got

mine at Linens'n'Things. It has a fether bed layer on top of the

foam. It was expensive, but worth every penny in terms of

comfort. My husband calls it me " princess and the pea " bed.<g>

I also use a contoured memory foam pillow. I actually had this

before the RA dx, but it is even more important now. You can get

the expensive version at tone, but I got a very nice one at

BJ's for about $20. I think, in your case, where your neck is

affected, aligning your spine with a pillow like this would be a big

help.

Finally, I have a long " body pillow " (also from Linens'n'Things, but

you can get them elsewhere too) that I use to keep my knees, hips

and shoulders aligned. Like you, I prefer to sleep on my side. I

find that if I don't have a pillow under my upper arm, it can become

more painful than the one I'm sleeping on. When my shoulders have

had it with side sleeping, I lie on my back and slip the body pillow

under my knees. This seems to keep my hips more comfortable.

I can't say that I don't wake up from discomfort during the night,

because I do. I take Ultram almost every night, and when it's bad

(when my Enbrel wears off at the end of the week) sometimes I take a

Percocet. But my soft bed and my " pillow pile " help me get

comfortable enough that I can usually just rearrange things and fall

back to sleep again.

Hope that helps!

--- In , " " <leslielick777@...>

wrote:

>

> Hi everyone,

>

> I am pretty new here and new to RA. I have posted just a couple

times

> but am grateful for the support and information that is exchanged

> here. I was wondering if anyone has dealt with this and if so,

what

> outcome they had.

>

> I started having shoulder/neck pain with stiffness in my neck

lasting

> now for 3 weeks. It's not the first time this has happened. I

have

> been dealing with episodes of this from anywhere from a week or

more

> every month or two for about 1 1/2 years now. It has worsen to the

> point where I have difficulty sleeping because the shoulder and

neck

> pain are so unformfortable that it affects my ability to sleep and

> stay asleep.

>

> Do I need a soft bed now that I have RA. Are there other options

that

> help? I am at my wits end and need to get a quality nights sleep.

> I'm a side sleeper, so it's hard for me to be in other positions,

but

> am trying to find any position that will give me some relief when i

> lay in bed to sleep.

>

> Any advice and suggestions is grately appresciated.

>

> Thanks, and I hope you all have a pain free weekend.

>

> Les

>

[Guest guest]

Hi Les,

I, too have chronic shoulder pain. Mostly I sleep on my left side

because it hurts to on the right one. I use a special pillow also

that cradles my neck and my head rests normally. Bed, Bath & Beyone

carries them, too. Since I have pain most of the time I wear the

menthol patches. Salonpas patches are smaller and stay on my

shoulder very well. They have menthol and salicytate in them.

hugs,

Debbie L

--- In , " " <leslielick777@...>

wrote:

>

> Hi everyone,

>

> I am pretty new here and new to RA. I have posted just a couple

times

> but am grateful for the support and information that is exchanged

> here. I was wondering if anyone has dealt with this and if so,

what

> outcome they had.

>

> I started having shoulder/neck pain with stiffness in my neck

lasting

> now for 3 weeks. It's not the first time this has happened. I

have

> been dealing with episodes of this from anywhere from a week or

more

> every month or two for about 1 1/2 years now. It has worsen to the

> point where I have difficulty sleeping because the shoulder and

neck

> pain are so unformfortable that it affects my ability to sleep and

> stay asleep.

>

> Do I need a soft bed now that I have RA. Are there other options

that

> help? I am at my wits end and need to get a quality nights sleep.

> I'm a side sleeper, so it's hard for me to be in other positions,

but

> am trying to find any position that will give me some relief when i

> lay in bed to sleep.

>

> Any advice and suggestions is grately appresciated.

>

> Thanks, and I hope you all have a pain free weekend.

>

> Les

>

[Guest guest]

>

> Hi Les,

>

> First, I assume that you have talked to your doc about this pain and

> that he or she is addressing it as much as possible. I know RA can

> affect your neck, though it hasn't bothered me there (yet!<g>) but I

> do have problems with my shoulders. For me, having my shoulders

> injected with steroids as needed is a " miracle cure " , even if it is

> temporary. My rheumatologist said they don't like to inject a joint

> more often than every 3 months, but my shoulders have been fine for

> 6-7 months now.

>

> As far as beds are concerned, I got lots of advice when I first was

> dx'd and came on this BB. The best " comfort " advice was to get a

> mattress topper made of memory foam. It needs to be thick, and made

> of good quality foam so that it doesn't compress too flat. I got

> mine at Linens'n'Things. It has a fether bed layer on top of the

> foam. It was expensive, but worth every penny in terms of

> comfort. My husband calls it me " princess and the pea " bed.<g>

>

> I also use a contoured memory foam pillow. I actually had this

> before the RA dx, but it is even more important now. You can get

> the expensive version at tone, but I got a very nice one at

> BJ's for about $20. I think, in your case, where your neck is

> affected, aligning your spine with a pillow like this would be a big

> help.

>

> Finally, I have a long " body pillow " (also from Linens'n'Things, but

> you can get them elsewhere too) that I use to keep my knees, hips

> and shoulders aligned. Like you, I prefer to sleep on my side. I

> find that if I don't have a pillow under my upper arm, it can become

> more painful than the one I'm sleeping on. When my shoulders have

> had it with side sleeping, I lie on my back and slip the body pillow

> under my knees. This seems to keep my hips more comfortable.

>

> I can't say that I don't wake up from discomfort during the night,

> because I do. I take Ultram almost every night, and when it's bad

> (when my Enbrel wears off at the end of the week) sometimes I take a

> Percocet. But my soft bed and my " pillow pile " help me get

> comfortable enough that I can usually just rearrange things and fall

> back to sleep again.

>

> Hope that helps!

>

>

>

Hi ,

Thank you so much for your thoughts and suggestions and of course your

support. You hit the nail on the head. I seem to have similar aches

and pains that parallel yours. I have talked to my Rheumotologist,

and she really just took it down as info without offering suggestions.

I can't take steroid medications because of a history of avascular

necrosis (bones died) so that's really not an option. I will however,

check out the memory foam topper and not get too thrifty minded and

get a really good one. )) Most of the responses to my questions

have indicated that they have had help after sleeping on the memory

foam mattress topper, and pillow. So, that's on my agenda of items to

buy.

Thanks again for all the help.

Take care and I hope you are doing well.

Les

[Guest guest]

>

> Hi Les,

> I, too have chronic shoulder pain. Mostly I sleep on my left side

> because it hurts to on the right one. I use a special pillow also

> that cradles my neck and my head rests normally. Bed, Bath & Beyone

> carries them, too. Since I have pain most of the time I wear the

> menthol patches. Salonpas patches are smaller and stay on my

> shoulder very well. They have menthol and salicytate in them.

>

> hugs,

>

> Debbie L

>

>

>

> Hi Debbie L,

Thanks for the suggestion. I will look into the menthol patch.

Take care,

Les

>

[Guest guest]

HI again Les,

Just so you'll know menthol patches are either IcyHot and WellPatch for

pain or Walmart generic patch for pain. All have 5% menthol. I buy the

cheapest ones.

Debbie L

> >

> > Hi Debbie L,

>

> Thanks for the suggestion. I will look into the menthol patch.

>

> Take care,

> Les

> >

>

[Guest guest]

Good Morning all,

I also have sever shoulder pain. I was diagnosed

w/Degenerative Joint Disease. I haven't had shots nor

pain pills as of yet but have discovered that when it

is bad at night I can sleep on my side with my arms

crossed over my chest to relive most of the pain. I

have been fortunate to have a high tolerance to pain

over the years. It does seem to be getting lower tho.

I do have a pillow top mattress and a special pillow

that I use which seem to help.

jen

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