survey on us all regard sleep time

[minka]

how many hrs per day do you get in sleep time from going to bed at night to waking up with the aches and pains

be interesting this would just how much are we all getting on average

regards john

[minka]

im doing about 6 hrs at night for about 6 months now

[sylvi]

4 hours if i am lucky nothing more than 6 hours.xx

[Neverwell]

A out 7 hours but on sleepers but when pain bad they do t work that well x

[Hidden]

I average about 2 hours a night, even with 50mg amitriptyline and knock out pain killers. My new best friend is my night time iPad! Xx Virge

[Hidden]

8 solid hours makes my RA much, much better. But mostly sleep is so interrupted - not by pain, just random waking - that I don't know how much sleep I actually get. Looking at how little sleep others get makes me realise how lucky I am, though.

Luce x

[miss]

Last night 10.5 hours !!!!!!!!!!! I been soooooooo busy really was exhausted last night!!!!!

[fastball]

i would have guess at about 6hrs max uninterrupted sleep sometimes less. Then down stairs to the dogs and then i sometimes get another 2hrs after more pain killers if i'm lucky

Chri

[Hidden]

I never sleep through the night either due to pain, loo visits, not being able to sleep, so probably about 6 hrs if I'm lucky!

[sammiebabe70]

I get about 4-6 hours a night x

[nellysgran]

I get about 5-6 hours if i'm lucky but interrupted by loo visits or cramp or taking painkillers, or just waking then being restless and not being able to get back to sleep.

Wendy x

[aligator]

I get about 4-6 hours of sleep a night. Pain is the problem. Alison x

[cris1728]

I get about 4 to 6 hours max a night, but no longer than 1.5 hours at a stretch and wake about 5 times a night not always able to get back to sleep

crisxx

[earthwitch]

4 hours maximum before waking in pain - when I go to try and roll over. Can't turn over without waking up. Some nights I can get as little as 3 hours sleep total. Other times I can get another couple of hours once I have got up, done a toilet trip and moved around to loosen up a bit.

[mille]

I waken on and off all night, usually sleeping a maximum of 3 hrs straight through then on/off for a few. I can't remember what it's like to sleep 7-8 right through.

[Hidden]

six on a good night one or two on a bad night x

[allanah]

About 4 hours due to shoulder hip and knee and ankle pain. Used the tip from on here about lying on a doubled over quilt, that has helped a bit xx

[minka]

hope we get some more people to add to this as you can see this is getting interesting on what people are getting as resting periods with the ra and at pressent its averaging out between 4-5 1/2 hrs of relaxation and rest.

tells us just how much peoples bodies have to recover from pain etc.

i hope you are finding this as interesting as me cos im supprised

[tilstongal]

6-8 hours mainly due to amitriptiline and co-codamol. Get codeine dreams/nightmares though!

[stbernhard]

I never get more than four hours at a time. This has probably more to do with my age and bladder rather than RA. At times though it is joint stiffness and pain that stops me from getting back to sleep during flare up periods.

[ladydog]

past four nights lucky if had 4 hours sleep got another 11hous shift today very tired and hands and freet swollen but seems to be going down slowly las night had wheat bag for warmth also tried ice packs nothing seems to ease it till 4.45 this morning when pain subsided a bit an managed sleep xx

[helixhelix]

How do you all manage? If I don't get enough sleep/rest I'm useless....so generally sleep from 11 to 4am, so 5 hours. Then get up to do some stretching exercises to stop pain & aches and usually that's enough so can manage to doze on and off until about 7'ish. All in all if I don't rest for at least 8 hours I know I'll be in trouble the next day. I seem to be the reverse of you all, as pre-RA I got by with max 5 or 6 hours sleep but now need loads more. Polly

[jeanabelle]

I have been suffering from depression since I was in my 20's, I'm now 63. My doc prescribed chlorpromazine for me years ago to help with sleep. I find now that they have been a great help with getting a really good nights sleep. I am not on as many pain killers now that I am on Tocilizamub infusions, only 1000mg of paracetamol. I know I'm lucky to get so much really restful sleep at night. I bought a really expensive memory foam mattress too so that might help as well.

[Ozzy]

I sleep for around 2/3 hours after trying for what seems like ages to get comfortable, the I wake up in pain and my legs are so stiff that I don't know what to do with them. Get up and wonder for a bit back to bed and then finally back to sleep before alarm goes off. I don't know how I get to work some days as I feel as if I am wading through a swamp.

[lynn-bel]

Hi John:

I generally get 7 or 8 hours, I do need that much (always have). Dont sleep very soundly (a bomb wouldnt wake my husband!) and awake several times to make a loo visit, but I usually take paracetemol before going to sleep to ward off pain and very often have some camomile tea about an hour before going to bed - that really does help me relax and feel sleepy. It has been said that you shouldnt watch TV, use laptop, etc etc for at least an hour before retiring so that your brain can switch off. I also find that reading gets me off to sleep quickly.

Lynn x

[mandy_59]

I seem to sleep for two hours then wake due to pain or needing a pee. Then take a while to get back to sleep only to wake again after an hour or so. I spoke to my GP and he thought tablets would solve the problem, they were about as much use as a chocolate fire guard

Amitriptiline are crap. Told GP they have never worked for me but he said try again. So l still have disturbed sleep. I do not sleep in the day in the hope l shall sleep all night but no joy there yet. And so l am very grumpy & unsociable.

The thought that being accepted on a clinical trail for weekly embrel would improve my condition was an exciting prospect but l find l have just added to my problems. The injections are too hard for me to do on my own due to pain in hands, injection sites are painful and my skin feels so itchy l claw at it which adds more problems when sleeping. I do not like the condition rheumatoid arthritis at all. It is nasty and has hidden add ons they don't tell you about at diagnosis. Dry eyes, constant tiredness, and mood swings that go off the scale. And so although l said l don't sleep in the day l am going to try to have a nap coz l am so tired.

[Hidden]

I've just woken from an afternoon snooze. I sleep terribly but always have done. It used to be itching and the pain of eczema that woke me - now its sometimes my bladder, always hand and wrist discomfort and stiffness, sometimes the boys coming in late and banging doors, sometimes the dogs whining or the wind on our skylight, often anxiety, recently stomach pain and sometimes excruciating RA pain. I sleep an average of 5 hours a night I would say but once a month treat myself to a zopiclone for a proper sleep. That was last night - bliss! X

[Tinwoman2]

I cannot turn off my mind without a sleeping pill. I was always a night owl, but recently I've started getting sleepy around 10:30 pm & usually go to bed by midnight. I either walk or volunteer in the mornings so I probably sleep about 6 or 7 hours-depending on if I want a shower or not. When I flare, sleep won't come even with the sleeping pill.

[ellybw]

Max of 4 hours a night, sleep is still broken because of aches and pains and a little man who stills wakes 2-3 times a night!

[Hidden]

love my sleep recently not good cant get to sleep wake up early, prob 4 hours non broken sleep then another 2/3

[shirlthegirl]

I have more than all of you, I love my sleep to, if i don't get enough i am a bear with a sore head, before i started having joint pains, i was lucky if i got 4 hours sometimes a night, and then 2 months before i was diagnosed there was nights i never sleep at all with the pain,

but since taking the Amitriptyline and Tramadol i sleep like a baby, to be honest to much which i know doesn't help, If i don't set my alarm i will sleep for more than 8 hours and then my joints are so stiff sore and weak so i will pop a couple of pain killers and lay there thinking i should get up and then i fall a sleep again, not good at all because then i am sleeping until 12 noon, so if i don't set my alarm I've had it,

It is so odd that some tablet work well for some people and not for other, if i never had the Amitripyline i don't think i would sleep at all,

Now you are wondering why am i up now at 6am, Well, i am of to do a boot sale and i have only had a couple of hours sleep as i slept 12 hours yesterday, naughty naughty that will teach me, I will be knackered later, Take care xxxx

[minka in reply to shirlthegirl]

shirl you seem to be sleeping more than anyone

a right little rip van winkle you are

which is good

[Chalmers in reply to shirlthegirl]

I have just slept for 12 hours, I would still be asleep if someone hadn't knocked on my door. I am definitely over sleeping and not taking any medication. Relived to read that someone else is sleeping like me.

[avjh]

Four hours maximum.Any longer and I'm in agony and can't get off the bed.I have a riser recline chair and occassionally pinch an extra couple hours in that.xxx

[Hidden]

I cannot remember the last time I slept eight hours solid! Usually 45 mins when I fall asleep, then in two hourly slots thereafter, pain and nausea being the stimulants I think. I do got to bed about 10 pm and that gives me 9 hours of rest in bed. Stop myself falling asleep during the day and if really tired will allow rest time on the sofa. Gosh I sound as if was a terrible parent ...... seriously though I do remember recently getting 8 hours sleep solid and it was amazing and my RA that day was improved

Are you compiling a report or graph? Would be really good to see

Xx

[minka in reply to Hidden]

its so other people can see what everyone is getting in sleep time should be between 7-8 hr per day to rest your body none of us are getting that

[Franbie in reply to minka]

I wake up quite often even taking amitriptylene which should help. I go to sleep fairly quickly but I wake approx every hour to 1.5 hours. I would love to get a proper nights sleep can't remember when I last did.

[Hidden]

Depends on how I am ... during a flare (average time for that is about two weeks) I sleep a total of 14-16 hrs a day but its disturbed sleep from the pain and its probably exhaustion that lets me sleep any length of time in one hit.

Normal sleep for me ... I wake every time I roll over and I have do that quite often to stop the aching in my hips and shoulders. I also go to the loo about 2-4 times a nite. Occasionally if things get too bad I take endone pain medication and that helps me sleep for a few hours, but on an average day I end up napping for an hour or so during the afternoon and early evening.

[Sharon56]

My sleep varies from night to night. However much I get I am always tired but did have a good night last night.