suggestions to ease shoulder pain

June 13, 2001

Rainbow,

So sorry about your pain and sleeplessness. At my last count on the

genetics site, I counted 53 types of CMT, so yours, like mine, may never

be found. I am sorry the Elavil did not work, may I inquire as to dosage

and how long to tried it? Most meds take a while (few weeks) to fully

kick in. Another med I tried was Neurontin and it worked very well, did

not knock me out, had a whole lot of benefits besides. Downside was

needs to be taken at regular intervals and way to expensive.

About sleep: Perhaps your Dr. might recommend a temporary sleep aid. I

know how important sleep is for me, quality sleep. There are over 500

sleep aids on the market (prescription ones) and most newer ones do not

knock you out OR give a hangover. In recent years I tried Restoril and

Remeron; I also keep a regular bedtime and have a 'nightly turndown

routine' to purposefully get my body to relax. This includes some

special reading, some light yoga and meditation.

Can you sleep on your side, in a fetal position with knees up to your

chest and a big pillow inbetween knees? That helps me tremendously.

The gentle stretching DOES help. Also, wondering if TENS would help and

maybe you could ask your pain doc about that. TENS helped my back pain

immensely. Also, do you use either hot or cold packs on the painful

parts?

There ARE much lighter medications for pain to get you through rough

patches too. Have you had EMG/NCV and sleep studies done too? Like me,

you may have a sleep disorder on top of CMT. Has you doc told you WHY

you have shoulder pain? That might indicate some treatment that would

ease the pain. Water movement helped my back tremendously.

Can you take short naps through the day? These help me stay rested and

focused, I am better relaxed at night also and I still sleep then too. I

have heard egg crate mattresses are good, although I swear by a

featherbed.

~ Gretchen

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