Hard time sleeping with pain..

[lauralee77]

Do any of you experience this? First of all, I'm an insomniac and have a hard enough time falling asleep. But the worse part is that i have this chronic chest pain that i've had for over a year. The rhumie has tried many different medications, but nothing works. I have inflammation in the chest and some pericarditis. I go to a cardiologist as well. Some nights the pain is not so bad, but other nights I can't get in a comfortable position. The pain spreads around from my left side to my right side and also to my back. This is the worst part of my lupus. The joint pain is not so bad in the last few months. Does anyone else have this problem or have any advice?

[Maia]

You can try taking some sleeping pills to help you get to sleep... some heavier duty narcotic pain medicine just at night to help you get to sleep... but what I've read is that to really treat pericarditis, you need prednisone and often through an IV for a few days to get the inflammation down. Has this been tried already? A higher dose is usually needed if taken orally (40mg a day or more for a while at least).

It sounds like you've already tried a few other drugs, but might need some heavier duty immunosuppressants as well.

I hope it improves for you soon.

[moatsville]

Sorry to hear you're having problems with pain and sleep!

I've dealt with pericarditis, too. Sleep can be hard to come by when this is an issue - lying down was the worst for me. I found that I could sometimes get relief by sleeping in a recliner since my head (and chest) were raised.

If you've been dealing with this for a year, you may want to see a cardiologist (rather than rheumatologist) to see if there's a better way to address it. Prednisone isn't the only option for medication - and if you're not taking medication for this at all, that could be a major issue. If I remember correctly, a cardiologist with experience with imaging usually is the best bet. There may still be info at the Cleveland Clinic website on this; Dr. Allan Klein is their expert. I used 'chronic pericarditis' for my search there.

Hope you find something here that helps!

Kathy

[peonyprincess]

I have the whole not being able to sleep as well. Man, does it ever get frustrating!! Then to top it off, I have horrible pain. I am now taking 30mg of Flexeril at bedtime along with Lortab 10/500 for the pain. That ususally does the trick. If push c omes to shove and I cannot get to sleep and I really need to....I might take a Xanax or a Trazadone. Then it is off to dream land for me!

I think you should talk to your doc and let him know what is going on so he can give you something to allow you to rest at night!!

Nancy

[Janna]

I have nocturnal panic attacks as well as pain that wakes me in the night. I have been on Xanax XR for the panic and Pamelor for pain and panic. Last week I started a small dose of neurontin for both the pain and panic.
Wish I had better/more advice for you just wanted to let you know that you aren't alone in this!