Sleeping

[dmb]

I am adult woman who has had scoliosis and was diagnosed at age 12 where my curve was only 45 degrees as i got older the degree of the curve progressed to 65 degrees at which point I had spinal fusion. I had a great great surgeon and he corrected my curve from 65 to almost 32 degrees. However, I am 17 months post surgery and still have problems sleeping at night and awake feeling tired and restless. I sleep on an electric blanket, as this helps relax the tightness of the instrumentation to some degree. Does anyone else have these problems? If so, what do you do to relax and sleep at night?

DMB

[HGD24]

I found that getting a new mattress (a Sleep Number bed) helped me to sleep through the night and not be restless. I also began exercising a few nights a weeks after work and that helps too.

[dmb]

sleeping

Hi Hiedi,

Thanks for your reply. I too got a new mattress, a more firm mattress. Do the sleep by number beds help? I too also exercise several times a week. I walk 3-4 times a week and do my stretches and light exercises that my therapist gave me.


Surgery: 5-16-06
Pre-op Thoracic 65 degrees
Post-op Thoracic 32 degrees

Pre-op Lumbar 35 degrees
Post -op Lumbar almost completely straight.

[lisanicole]

Electric blanket...

It's obviously different for everyone... but I found sleeping with a heated blanket, actually keeps me awake and makes my back more stiff. For a year or so after I had surgery (and even still) I would take hot baths with lavender oil - which made me drowsy before bed. There is also this cream by a cosmetics company called Arbonne that is a herbal muscle relaxant, that seriously does wonders for me. I have arthritis in my back, and I have had tons of prescriptions topical & oral, and none work as well as this cream.

As for beds - my hubbie has Ankylosing Spondylitis (another form of arthritis, calcification of the joints) in his lower back, and we have a Sealy Posterpedic with a pillow top of memory foam, and firm springs underneath. It is amazing.. I have never been so comfortable on a bed. It has firm support, but the memory foam pillow top allows for my "hump" (my ribs that stick out in the back) to sink in and I can actually lay flat.

I'm not 100% sure if you have Sealy in the States (I'm in Canada) but this bed has changed my life (cheesy but true!)

Hope this helps some!

Take care!

[dmb]

sleeping

lisanicole,

thanks for the advice. I'll have to see if I can find Arbonne and try that herbal muscle.

Take care of that back!

Dawn

It's obviously different for everyone... but I found sleeping with a heated blanket, actually keeps me awake and makes my back more stiff. For a year or so after I had surgery (and even still) I would take hot baths with lavender oil - which made me drowsy before bed. There is also this cream by a cosmetics company called Arbonne that is a herbal muscle relaxant, that seriously does wonders for me. I have arthritis in my back, and I have had tons of prescriptions topical & oral, and none work as well as this cream.

As for beds - my hubbie has Ankylosing Spondylitis (another form of arthritis, calcification of the joints) in his lower back, and we have a Sealy Posterpedic with a pillow top of memory foam, and firm springs underneath. It is amazing.. I have never been so comfortable on a bed. It has firm support, but the memory foam pillow top allows for my "hump" (my ribs that stick out in the back) to sink in and I can actually lay flat.

I'm not 100% sure if you have Sealy in the States (I'm in Canada) but this bed has changed my life (cheesy but true!)

Hope this helps some!

Take care!

[MariHOU]

Arbonne

Lisanicole,

Thank you so much for sharing about the Arbonne. I realize that things work differently from different people; however, I cannot wait to try what you suggested. Thank you so much for sharing.

Marilyn

[dmb]

arbonne

I found a website for arbonne, do you know the name of the muscle relaxant cream you use? Thanks!

Dawn

It's obviously different for everyone... but I found sleeping with a heated blanket, actually keeps me awake and makes my back more stiff. For a year or so after I had surgery (and even still) I would take hot baths with lavender oil - which made me drowsy before bed. There is also this cream by a cosmetics company called Arbonne that is a herbal muscle relaxant, that seriously does wonders for me. I have arthritis in my back, and I have had tons of prescriptions topical & oral, and none work as well as this cream.

As for beds - my hubbie has Ankylosing Spondylitis (another form of arthritis, calcification of the joints) in his lower back, and we have a Sealy Posterpedic with a pillow top of memory foam, and firm springs underneath. It is amazing.. I have never been so comfortable on a bed. It has firm support, but the memory foam pillow top allows for my "hump" (my ribs that stick out in the back) to sink in and I can actually lay flat.

I'm not 100% sure if you have Sealy in the States (I'm in Canada) but this bed has changed my life (cheesy but true!)

Hope this helps some!

Take care!

[lisanicole]

Bio-Nutria Herbal Muscle Massage Gel....

Ladies,

Isn't this forum so great for things like this? Honestly I don't know where I'd be without it.The cream is called Bio-Nutria Herbal Muscle Massage Gel. It's $15.50 USD, and so worth it. But be warned you don't need much! It is strong stuff.
Also there is this Herbal Vapor soak, that you put in the bath - it has eucalyptus leaves & oils in it. The funny thing about this stuff is it doesn't dissolve so you're sitting in a bath full of floaties, but it's really relaxing and soothing for my back.

Let me know how these work for you!

[MariHOU]

Thank you Lisanicole! I can't wait to try it. Yeeepie!

Marilyn

[HGD24]

Hi Dawn,
Even with the pillowtop, I felt like something was jabbing me. It turned out to be the pressure of the mattress against my hardware. After getting our Sleep Number, I found that a really soft setting was what I needed. I no longer have that jabbing feeling and I feel more comfortable and I can sleep through the night.

The way I chose a mattress was to go the stores and lay on a mattress for at least 15 mins. (which is the method recommended by Consumer Reports). After finding the Sleep Number most comfortable, I went back to the store a few times to try it on different days when my back was feeling good and when it was bothering me. Good luck...I know how frustrating it can be...