Tremendous back pain only in the morning

Good Morning Ram,

Welcome to the forum.

Being you only have the back pain when you wake up in the morning, it is possible that your back is not "comfortable" with the mattress you are using. Do understand that in the past your back may have been able to adjust to the mattress but as one gets older the back is less able to "adjust".

It is also possible that when you are realatively still (like in bed), not moving can cause a feeling of pain. Sure does for me. I have found that for my back I need to move (exercise) and my back feels much better.

AND most importantly I'd recommend that you seek the advice of a spine surgeon and/or neurosurgeon.

Take care. Let me/us know how things progress.

RichT

Hi Ram,

Only to add to the great input that you’ve received from RichT, I’d like to say that we often overlook the importance of our sleep surface. We don’t necessarily notice the small subtle changes that take place with our mattresses, nor do we tend to replace them as often as we should. It’s not usually until we’re no longer comfortable or it begins to affect our sleep and/or the quality of our sleep that we actually stop to think about how old our mattresses are. But given your current complaints, I’m guessing that it might be time to go shopping for a new mattress set.

RichT,

It’s good to chat with you again. Now that winter is approaching and you can put your garden to bed (pun intended) are you considering moving forward with back surgery? If you would be so kind, I would appreciate an update regarding how you’re doing. Have you made any final decisions regarding your treatment options?

Good luck and best wishes to the two of you,
Tyton

Hello Tylon,

First, you stated the mattress issue much better than I did. RIGHT ON!!!! The ONLY mattress I can sleep on (for past 1/2 yr) is the Aero air mattress.

I had to chuckle about "you can put your garden to bed". Actually I only stop gardening when the ground is frozen. I finished my planting for the year yesterday by transplanting 5 astilbe (40-50lb root balls). My back was complaining a bit when I finished, however, I was pleasantly surprised that by evening the ole back was feeling fairly good. Back is fine today as it rained a lot last night so no gardening today.

Okay, enough gardening or the moderator will send my post to the GardenWeb. LOL

I had my 2nd epidural injection a week ago. Except for some pain early Monday morning and again Tuesday evening (most likely my arthritis with the cool damp rainy weather) the ole back has been almost pain free. My PM doc is doing a fine job keeping that knife and the screws/rods away from me. I will continue down the current path as long as I can. NOWWWWwwww my spine surgeon has different ideas. He thinks I need surgery NOW (fusion two places, etc., etc.) His concern is my age, and perhaps more nerve damage if I wait. I saw another well respected spine surgeon and after doing his "testing", and looking at the MRIs he said "No way would I suggest surgery for you at this time". When I asked him about the age factor, etc., he said "Forget the age issue". I then asked him how long he thought I could delay surgery. His answer "When you can't walk across the living room."

Enough.

How have you been doing? I'd appreciate an update.

Thanks for your kind wishes. Take care.

RichT

RichT,

I speak from personal experience about the mattress issue. Like many people, as my mattress set aged I bought a variety of mattress toppers and pillow tops and by the time that my physical therapist convinced me that it was time to look into getting a new bed, our mattress resembled more of a hammock than a bed. It’s funny, but I knew that I wasn’t sleeping well and certainly couldn’t say that I was overly comfortable. Through time I spent more money trying to improve the quality of my sleeping surface than I would have on a new bed. In the end however, I bought a solid memory foam mattress set manufactured by Restonic and I am so in love with this bed that I can’t say enough good things about it or the affects that it has had on the quality of my sleep, when I do sleep.

I’m glad to hear that the epidural injections are alleviating your pain and am confused about the conflicting reports from the surgeons that you’ve seen. I’d be curious to know why the second surgeon feels that you aren’t a surgical candidate (not that you’re seeking surgery at this time) until your symptoms deteriorate to the point that you can’t cross a room? If I remember correctly, don’t you have mechanical instability at two levels of your lumbar spine?

I have recently started working with a new PM doctor, who has slammed me pretty hard with meds, which I’m happy to say are helping with some of the neuropathic pain despite the rather unfavorable side affects. We (PM doc and myself) have been discussing doing a trial with an implanted neurostimulation unit to see if it might be a successful option to all of the meds they have me on. But before we can do the trial we first need to confirm that we didn’t break my sacrum during my last surgery, and determine why it hasn’t healed if in fact that’s the problem. And right now money is tight so it will have to wait for a while. Thanks for asking.

And Ram,

You haven’t been forgotten about. With the week end approaching, it might be a good time to grab your significant other, if you have one, and go bed shopping. If you haven’t been bed shopping for awhile you might be surprised at the variety of construction materials and options that are available. Don’t forget to ask about the stores return and exchange policy, since some stores will allow you to exchange mattress sets if you aren’t completely happy with your original choice, you might want to confirm that any store you do business with will honor that policy.

Good luck and best wishes to you both,
Tyton

Hello Ram,

Tyton and myself are probably bombarding you too much with the mattress issue. HOWEVER, we both have been there and truly want you to find the "perfect" mattress for YOU, if in fact you even need one.

Okay, here goes - Tried the pillowtops, and to us (and especially me) they are about the worst. GREAT to try out and maybe okay for a year, but that soft "pillowtop" compressed very rapidly. They just do NOT last.

Mattresses with all that foam - Many pillowtops have foam in them and that is one reason they don't last. For the mattress portion itself - again the foam just does not last. It compresses from your body weight and pretty soon you are sleeping in a hammock and that is NOT good. Frankly, anytime a sales person says the mattress contains foam, stay away from it.

Oh yes, by "foam" I'm talking about the usual cheap stuff. Frankly, even some of the "memory foams" don't last but for 3-4 years before they start to cave in. I can't mention brands here, but do send me a PM if you would like more detailed info.

QUALITY solid memory foam mattresses may be a good way to go though I have no experience with them.

Take care.

RichT

Hello Tyton,

Thanks for your update on how you are doing and your current situation.

May I ask how long you have had your solid memory foam mattress?

I chuckled at "am confused about the conflicting reports from the surgeons that you’ve seen". Chuckled because I have seen about 6 spine surgeons, all of whcih have seen the very same MRIs, and received a variety of opinions on what I should do or not do. Different opinions is not unusual at all. Though, doesn't give one much confidence to say the least.

Okay, the "scoreboard"

First doc - Said I had three options - Epidural injection, surgically doing only what absolutely needed to be done, and third doing the WHOLE surgical bit to my back at one time. Oh and what was he going to do? I have no idea because before I could ask he was walking out the door.

Second doc - Told me I didn't need surgery because I could still walk. Try epidural first. Then he literally ran out the door.

Third doc - First told me I probably didn't need surgery, and then flipped and said it probably would be a good idea to have surgery. How is that for not saying anything.

Fourth doc - Need surgery within six months (4 months ago), with a 12 inch incison, two fusions, etc., etc.

Fifth doc (PM) - Stay away from the knife as long as you can. Try an epidural and PT first.

Sixth doc - No need for you to have surgery at this time as you can move and walk far batter than most your age. Come back when you can't walk across the living room.

Seventh doc - You are a candidate for the spine surgery we do. We will do this and that, but no fusion.

So Tyton your pick. LOL

Hate to say this but I cringe every time I read that a doc is prescribing pain meds. Most are narcotic drugs and very habit forming and hell to break from taking. They may be a stop gap measure, but they only cover up the problem. They are not a cure.

Epidurals that contain a corticosteroid are aimed at reducing the inflammation and thus can reduce the pressure on the nerve and its associated pain. Unfortunately they don't work for everyone. Frankly, I'm getting more and more convinced that the major player in whether an epidural works or does not work is the DOCTOR. He/she REALLY has to get the medication to exactly the right spot.

Well I've taken up enough of Ram's "space".

RichT

RIGHT ON!!!! Dutch.

I have had to use a cervical pillow for a good 20 years. That pillow goes wherever I go. I had had neck pains in the morning for some time and my doc recommended the cervical pillow. That solved my neck pain.

I have been using an air mattress since January. I literally can't sleep on any other mattress because of my back pain. Nice thing about air mattresses is that they are very reasonable in cost.

Ram, if interested in the pillow and mattress I use send me a PM.

RichT