Every Morning I Wake Up In Pain

[Srain]

There isn't a morning I don't wake up without a pounding headache. I wake up throughout the night with it and try to ignore it to squeeze out a little more sleep or my moods get frayed if I don't. Once I've been up for awhile I begin to feel better but these are horrid headaches that make me sick to my stomach.

I have an allergy resistant mattress cover, pillow cover, all that stuff. Still need to clean the rugs and vents. I have checked my night meds but I really think it's because whenever I wake up I'm clenching like a frozen animal. I just NEVER fully relax, ever.

Anyone else go through this?

 

[victoria]

I have checked my night meds but I really think it's because whenever I wake up I'm clenching like a frozen animal. I just NEVER fully relax, ever.

Hi Srain,
I never fully relax either. Most mornings I wake more tired than when I went to bed. Sometimes my body is very tense, I can't move a muscle, I'm stuck. As time goes on though, it is getting better. Best of luck to you.

 

[BloomInWinter]

((((Rain))))

Do you have an appliance for teeth-grinding? Bruxism seems to be a common complaint on here.

That has helped me a bit with the headaches...but it took me many years to find one that worked, and I crack it every few months!

If your symptoms continue it'd be good to demand a sleep study if you can. You never know what they might find that could bring you relief.

I am learning as I become less adrenalized I have fewer of 'those' mornings, FINALLY!

Hope you give yourself permission to keep seeking solutions...you deserve good rest!

 

[victoria]

If your symptoms continue it'd be good to demand a sleep study if you can. You never know what they might find that could bring you relief.

Hi BloominWinter,

May I ask, did you go for a sleep study, and if so, what happens. My psychiatrist recommended I go, but my GP kind of ignored the suggestion. I didn't insist on it because I don't know if I could get up the courage to go. Thanks.

 

[The Albatross]

Yeah. I am. I have a mouth orthotic for apnea that I bite so hard it makes my jaw and teeth sore all day. I clench my fists so hard that both hands go numb. I get stomach pain that hurts so bad I don't sleep well. It is hard for me to relax, though with sleep apnea I don't have a problem going to sleep (less than three minutes), I have a problem staying that way now that I'm getting REM and memories of my traumas.

I can so some conscious relaxation during the day, but at night, I haven't been very successful. I got mega allergies, and got some relief for the air quality when we installed a special filter on our air intake for the heat/air conditioning unit and I wash all my bedding every week in really really hot water. I put Odor Ban in a small dish in the intake too. It is not, though for people allergic to eucalyptus (I'm not). It is an antiviral, antibacterial, antifungal and though I'm really environmentally sensitive, I'm not allergic to my house (much). My husband helps because he dusts, sweeps when he knows I won't be home and I have a "safe room" where I can wait out everything that hangs in the air (took out the carpet, drapes and turned the small bedroom into a devotion room/sanctuary with my inspirational literature).

 

[The Albatross]

Oh yeah, if you haven't incorporated it already, I do nasal irrigation as part of my self care with saline and also eye irrigation. I haven't though gone the extra mile and started wearing a face mask when I have to clean. It's something I just haven't been able to accept yet. I'm hoping I'll recover and my immune system will calm down and I won't have to. (pipe dream? I don't know)

 

[BloomInWinter]

did you go for a sleep study, and if so, what happens. My psychiatrist recommended I go, but my GP kind of ignored the suggestion.

I haven't had one...am in the US where my GP loses her 'bonus' at the end of the year for every referral to a specialist.

But my hubby's GP ordered one for him. He went in, wore sweats and t-shirt. The women sleep techs put electrodes on his head, chest, and an oxygen monitor on his finger, and watched him sleep from the monitors. He set off all the alarms and was woke up right away! Now he has a cpap, doesn't snore unless he's sick....and if he ever falls asleep elsewhere without it, he wakes up so groggy and achey it scares me.

So far the sleep meds and CBT are making mine better, but if they weren't, I'd demand that study. Untreated sleep disorders can take decades off the end of your life. Once they know the problem, they can adjust your treatment properly.

Hope that helps...

 

[The Albatross]

Sleep studies are no big deal, I've been through 5 in the last 7 years. They can be immensely helpful. For instance I know that if I'm on my back I can cause the apnea because of obstructed airway, and I have learned to avoid stuff that depresses my ability to rouse (sedatives, alcohol, or anything that makes me drowsy like over the counter allergy relief meds). I think that's why I'm actually able to dream now.

 

[Srain]

Oh yeah, if you haven't incorporated it already, I do nasal irrigation as part of my self care with saline and also eye irrigation. I haven't though gone the extra mile and started wearing a face mask when I have to clean. It's something I just haven't been able to accept yet. I'm hoping I'll recover and my immune system will calm down and I won't have to. (pipe dream? I don't know)

I do nasal irrigation daily, have for years due to Chronic Migraines. Good suggestion. I had a mouth guard for years but when I lost it the cost, I found, had gone up hundreds of dollars and the OTC type have never worked. I've tried them over and over. I've had this conversation with my dentist. However, but since my new sleep meds my jaw doesn't seem to hurt so bad it's mainly elsewhere.

I've been getting the Occipital Nerve block in my neck which helps with my neck a bit so that's helpful, especially for being able to turning my head. My husband does most of the vacuuming as it does set off my allergies which in turns sets off my Migraines so I, too, must leave the area. He loves it though, go figure! Man, we were made for each other!! :tup:

It does seem to be try try try and thank you for responding. :)

Rain

 

[The Albatross]

Rain, I hear you loud and clear on the expense for the mouth orthotic. My insurance carrier changed the way they cover apnea supplies... 1200 a year deductible but instead of supplies every three months they stretched it to every four. Well I'd never be able to make a claim... and be out of pocket 1200 bucks every year. It was tough, but I got my mouth orthotic last year and saved my pennies, rolled change, and my dentist did one for me. I can't do the OTC either as my mouth is not adult sized, but the largest peds. When I asked him about a spare (he has had stomach cancer twice and I don't know what I'll do if he stops practicing because he's been awesome), he laughed and said the cost went up, alot. But when I see him, this summer, I'm gonna work on him some. It is helping me alot.

I can really relate to the vacuuming also. And woke this morning at 4:30, covered in sweat and conjested, from the sweeping and vacuuming yesterday.

If I had a magic wand, I'd bonk both of us on the head Rain. :tup:

 

[Abbi]

Wait hold on a moment! You mean everyone doesn't wake up with pain of one sort or the other? People relax in their sleep? People sleep restfully and awake alert, ready to meet the day?

This is news to me.

Just kidding srain, yep of course I get it. It takes me a good 30 minutes just to be able to move around; I assume this is from tension while I sleep, because by morning everything hurts. I think for me lack of restful, restorative sleep chronically is probably one of the most damaging parts of PTSD. Yea I get it......unfortunately.

 

[ronin47]

My advice for anyone struggling with sleep in one way or another is to excercise and stretch. That was what my doctor suggested when I told him I was having trouble sleeping because of anxiety around school related things. As you may know, it causes your brain to produce a natural opiod that causes you to relax. That's what some call a "Runner's High" because it allegedly (I wouldn't know) feels similar to a dose of morphine. Some of the most restful sleep I've ever had came after a full day of hard manual labor or a long day at the gym after I hadn't gone in a while.