Monday morning panic - fibro - Fibromyalgia Acti...

Fibromyalgia Action UK

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Monday morning panic - fibro

ArielLondon profile image
17 Replies

Hi guys, every Monday morning is the same. I wake for work and struggle for up to an hour to get out of the bed. I have awful shakes and the fog is insane.

I know that it's because of the shock of going back to the work routine, but I keep on trying to make it as easy as possible but it's not working.

Current routine is amitrypt at around 7pm the night before, asleep by 10pm and then waking at 6am (to be ready at 7am to be in work by 8am). I've tried getting up earlier but it's not doing the trick.

Any help would be really useful.

xx

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ArielLondon profile image
ArielLondon
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17 Replies

Hello there ArielLondon, thank you for your message! :)

I have had similar waking problems in the past and found an easy solution after doing a bit of research. I too take Amitriptyline, 50mg daily. I used to take one 50mg tablet just before bedtime which got me off to sleep within about an hour. The problem was that it knocked me out for most of the next day as well! I only really woke up in the afternoons and evenings! It suddenly occurred to me that maybe if I changed the time I took my tablet to say 2pm that I would get tired earlier and hopefully not be zapped the following day. So that's what I did! I now take my Amitriptyline around 2pm every day and by midnight I could sleep, more importantly getting up the next morning was so much easier. I felt more awake than before too and my routine felt more normal. If your Doctor has told you to take your Amitriptyline at a particular time of day, please have a word with him/her first before you change the time, so they are aware of what you are doing. It might work for you too hopefully! Good luck and take care. Hope this helps you! :) :)

ArielLondon profile image
ArielLondon in reply to

thank you so much!! I do indeed take later in the day.

I will speak to my doctor (appointment booked for the 23rd). I find that taking it at the end of the day means the any pain relief is gone by about 2pm in the afternoon! And co-codamol is giving me the side effects from hell.

Will def speak to my doc.

Thanks so much.

in reply to ArielLondon

Ariel, it's my pleasure! I really hope what I said will help you! Amitriptyline is stronger than most people realise and the effects from the medication can be enormous. Wishing you all the best for your visit to the Doctor, please report back and tell me how you got on! Fingers crossed for you! :) :)

nadine1974 profile image
nadine1974

ASK FOR THE MODIFIED RELEASE AS SIDE EFFECTS TEND TO BE MILDER XX

ArielLondon profile image
ArielLondon in reply to nadine1974

I had no idea there was another one! I shall ask.

nanatre profile image
nanatre

Amitriptyline dried my mouth up so bad I had to have fake spit. Not good..........

and if I rush, or dont take things easy when I wake up I vomit. I dont know if its another part of this Fibro!

ArielLondon profile image
ArielLondon in reply to nanatre

Hi there. I get the same thing. If I'm rushed or late for something I stress, my pain shoots up, I feel really sick and I get the shakes. I even get this if I'm 5 minutes late for a dinner reservation!

Dixiesdaughter profile image
Dixiesdaughter

Hi Ariel

Heightened anxiety is deff a big part of fibro isn't it? and it doesn't take much to set it off. I work term time which means i'm off all over the summer and coming up to the end of june (my last working month before sept) I become a complete basket case lol so far this June I've had too many panic attack too count :-( coupled with a dread of day turning into night and a severe aversion to bedtime!!!! (weird I know but in my defence I do have fibro lol) neways I'm currently trying out complementary therapies (massage) and a hypnosis relaxation tape at nite Il keep you posted on whether it helps or not, I also try to do some light exercise when possible as it helps to clear and calm the mind. theres also loads of info advice and support groups on one for anxiety suffers. Hope this helps x

ArielLondon profile image
ArielLondon in reply to Dixiesdaughter

Totally - I never used to be like this. My boyfriend and I nearly had an argument at the weekend because I was having a major panic attack about being late to see my friend.

I def need to find some complimentary therapies - my only problem is the cost!

x

martinarapley profile image
martinarapley

I am the same on busy days. Today very foggy and really shakey. Forgot meds last night and very bad sleep. Hope better tomorrow because I'm working.

suejayjay profile image
suejayjay

Well, that's answered another of my anomolies!! I too have to get up at 6am to be able to be OK to drive my car to work just after 8am. I wake up feeling sick and shakey and sometimes even feel I am going to faint. It takes me over half an hour to just get dressed. But by the time I have followed the routine of feeding the animals, having breakfast and getting teenage boy out of bed!(enough to raise my blood pressure on it's own!) and walked my dog round the block, I am feeling well enough to drive the car and to go to work. Mondays are worse, probably because I have a different routine at the weekend. Thing is, since starting my new school job in September, I have got slower and slower at getting out of the house. I used to have all done and leave just after the 8am news. Now I struggle to be out by 8.15am. I know only an extra 15mins, but that has happened over the last 8/9 months. Hate to think what will happen if I carry on getting slower and slower at getting up. I have one more year to work and intend retiring next July, but I have already noticed a difference in my work and have had issues over some side effects of fibro. I then get emotional, which again is a new thing for me. My Boss must wonder who they actually employed! This in turn makes me feel as if I am being seen as untrustworthy and not pulling my weight. I too forget my meds. You would think the pain would remind you?? But I often am trying so hard to block the pain out, it becomes a way of life and anyway, no pain killer works for long before they seem to loose there effectivness.

Sorry, seem to have got onto a Me,Me.Me jag again.

Best wishes to all. Sue. X

ArielLondon profile image
ArielLondon in reply to suejayjay

Hello Sue - I'm so pleased you made that post. I have a similar routine for work.

Wake at 6, try to get out of the bed for 30 minutes (sometimes I have crazy fog) then it takes about 1 1/2 hours to get out of the flat.

I'm a sensitive person anyway, but have found that I am getting more and more emotional, and crack at the silliest of things.

I'm 33 and all of this is so scary for me. Many of the people I know who have it are in a position where they are close to retirement or have the support to be able to go part time with work. Sadly I can't do this. And yesterday I ordered a walking stick as sometimes walking (especially up stairs) can be a struggle.

I've only been diagnosed for a month and I'm still trying to get my head around it all, but it all does make me rather sad.

x

suejayjay profile image
suejayjay

I am sorry you are feeling so sad, but I do know what you mean. I had been going on for several years with what I thought was Rhumatoid Arthritis. In 2010 it got so bad I was refered back to the Rhumatologist with a view to finding out long term prospects and work etc. I was then told you definately do not have RA. At that point I sort of switched off as I thought "Oh No, now how do I justify all these pains and odd symptoms." He then went on to say you have Fibromyalgia. I thought this was just a 'sop' and another way of saying I was imagining it all.I had never heard of Fibro before. I left the consultation very upset and despondant. I then went back to my Dr. and she said, you do have quite a disabling condition and gave me a print out from the internet. That was last year. From then on I have had to come to terms with what seems to be a progressive disability. I too feel very despondant at times when I read on here how disabled some people are with Fibro.Also the aparent inability to get any proper benefits in most cases. As you rightly say, I am now nearing the end of my working life and intend retiring this time next year. I just have to struggle on for one more year. For you I can see the senario is some what different. You obviously have many years ahead to support yourself. I hope that in the not too distant future there will be more understanding of how Fibro affects people and how working full time is just an impossibillity for most of us. You don't say what you do for work. Are your employers supportive and sympathetic? Or are they like the majority. Have no idea what Fibro is!!! Even working part time in a Pre School. Only been employed with this school since last September. I have had difficulties because of how my condition has responded to the stress of this last year.I just feel I am letting people down.

I hope you will be able to get some help as I can understand how scary it is for you. Take heart that there are a lot of us out here and all have the utmost sympathy for you and the respect that keeps you going. Best Wishes. Sue.

ArielLondon profile image
ArielLondon in reply to suejayjay

Hello Sue, thank you for your very kind reply.

I work in marketing and the nature of my job means that the hours are long and deadlines are immediate - which means I pretty much feel rough most of the time! 6 months ago I would have been fine, but now it's a stuggle.

Work have been kind, but I've only been there for a short period and I think that some people think I'm mental as they can't see anything wrong with me. I often wear a wrist support and it's amazing how much more sympathy I get when I wear it.

They have agreed to be more leniant (apols for spelling!) on my timekeeping. So if I'm 30 mins late they know it's due to a bad morning. They would consider more flexible hours if I needed it.

I live in London and my hours generally are 8.00 - 6.30 (if not later). Yesterday I ordered a walking stick for support for when I'm bad - I feel like I'm rapid decline :(

x

suejayjay profile image
suejayjay

Oh my Dear. How do you manage those hours??? No wonder you are feeling stressed and scared. Hopefully you will have some better days and with your wrist support and walking stick, perhaps others will be more tollerant. I'm sure they must value you as a worker and will give you as much support as they can. My very Best Wishes. Sue.

ArielLondon profile image
ArielLondon

Right now Sue I really don't know! By 2pm my pain has well and truly kicked in and it's very difficult to think straight. But they seem to be understanding and hopefully I can get some sort of balance.

Again, thank you for your kind words.

x

Sarah-Jane profile image
Sarah-Jane

Talk to your doctor about all of this as it sounds like your meds balance is not right for you. Have you tried co-dydramol instead of co-codamol? I use it for break through pain and its helping me a lot. I am only up now because I forgot to take my amytrip at 7pm and it was nearly 10pm, even with my boxes of meds to make sure I remember which meds when, and my phone alarm going off at 7pm to remind me to take it! Oh yes, I turned it off to watch a film last week. Have not needed since, but will have to sort out again. I have it go off at 8 in case I forget and again at 9 to warn me to go to bed! I also work term time and look forward to school hols next week!

Thanks for mentioning the panics though. Thought I was alone with that. I am being observed tomorrow and am thinking of pulling out of the summer school position - panic!

Talk to your doctor. Get a Pain Management sorted, see your Rheumatologist. I am also on Lyrica, are you? 24/7. One bomb at 7pm one at 7am.

Good luck.

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