Hi everyone Just thought i would share my nightmare night with you all lol. Why is it that every night is a battle to get a few hours of decent sleep. Spent most of the night tossing and turning trying to get comfortable. Must have fallen asleep and woke up at 2.30 thought it was time to get up. Some nights just stretch on forever. What i would not give for a whole nights sleep.
Regards to you all Sharon x
Oh Sharon i know exactly how you feel,i have been down here all night. It is no fun is it. I try not to worry too much about as i feel it is just a hazard of ra. I know i will sleep another night. Like you i would love to have a full night sleep. A lay in for me is 7am,most days i am down here by 5.30-6.00am. sylvi.xx
hi sharon
I think most of us here have this problem but it really gets to you doesn't it! I just have to get up and make a milky drink before i go back to bed and take some painkillers.
Also i get my pillows right I bought the hollowfill pillows and a mattress topper which helped a little bit.
My friend bought me some lavender oil too which is supposed to help and i am looking into a lamp that was on TV, dont know if they are any help or not but it puts a light spot which slowly moves round the room and you stare at it and it helps you fall to sleep, but maybe not, might get my hubby to run around with a torch in circles to see if it helps first, at least i would get a laugh when i am sick to death of trying to get comfy!!! ha ha
Hope you have a better one tonight,
love Axx
I have the same problem - have had it for years prior to the RA. I find that taking an amitriptyline at about 7.30pm helps but only if I'm not going out or driving anywhere afterwards. I saw that eating kiwi fruit was thought to be very helpful last thing at night because it contains a vitamin or something that helps you sleep - on Food Hospital last week I think. Tilda x
Hi!
I struggle with sleeping too - but I do take Amitrityline at night which keeps me in a good sleep - I still moan in my sleep, but dont actually wake from pain - I dont normally like taking tablets,but they really work and now I can sleep and rest with out waking up.
Just a suggestion, as I know how exhausting not sleeping is with pain added on top!
Take care and happy sleeping!!!
Pen
hi im with tilda on this i saw the food programe and eating kiwi fruit
the woman who was on had not had a decent night sleep for a long time its worth a try isnt it.
Hi, I've been the same for weeks and weeks now. Either fall asleep reasonably well (11ish) only to wake a couple of hours later and cannot get back to sleep til half 4 or 5 OR - Cannot fall over at all til half 2 or 3. Makes me cry with sleep deprivation. Think I'll give the kiwi suggestion a try, everything else hasn't worked so far.
So sorry to hear you have such bad nights. I do sypathise. My nights are disturbed because, since I went on RA meds, I have to get up to PU two to three hourly and it is often difficult to get back to sleep when I am so rudely awoken. I have a good mattress topper. Also I have a radio by the bed which I switch on to help me back to sleep... it has a snoozer button which i put on to 20 mins to switch the radio off by which time I am usually back to sleep. I have also taken up twice daily 20 mins meditation which think helps. I also try to get out in fresh air every day. I sometimes take pain killers if I need them in the night. I hope some of these ideas help xx
I don't know how mobile you are, but I definitely sleep better when I have had physical exercise during the day. I also listen to the radio if I wake in the night. The right pillows help, as does being warm - I swear by my electric blanket.
thanks magglen and dotty7, I am still quite mobile just lots of pains and swellings. My daughter keeps at me to try meditation so will try that. Unfortunately I find that if i have had a lot of physical exercise during day I know I am going to have a bad night. I do take painkillers everynight. but I will give anything a go. thanks for all the tips.
Regards Sharon x
I've decided the fairytale of the princess and the pea is about a princess with RA. Mattress topper essential for me, no wrinkles or crinkles underneath, sheets and pj's nice and smooth etc, soft pillows etc.
I now have, thanks to many many drugs, the ability once again to be able to stretch and roll over in bed, wow what luxury. Stretching should be a god given right
I take magnesium before bed, and I feel like that must help. I've also been working on low-level meditation (not chasing after my thoughts, and concentrating on my breathing if it seems like my mind is racing). I find both to be extremely helpful. Pain, obviously is a huge deterrent to a good night's sleep, so certainly do what you can to resolve that (I hope that's not a case of "easier said than done"!). The reasons I often don't get a full night's sleep are 3 and 4. There are many midnight potty breaks or someone trying to sneak into bed with me (they seem all cute and cuddly until they steal your pillow!).
Prednisolone & sleep deprivation 
Sleep problems!
Sleep, lack of
