Well, the milk only worked for a few days. I got a liquid calcium supplement from Whole Foods which also has magnesium. I also added a single 99mg potassium supplement a day. My pain has been gone since then (about 3 weeks).

Hi all. I have similiar pains too. I'll wake up in the middle of the night with lower back pain. I'll change my sleeping position and the pain goes away within 10 seconds. But then 5 minutes later it returns. I'll go back to my original position, and the pain goes away almost instantly, only to return 5 minutes later.

I go through this roller coaster ride every night. What I don't understand is why the pain goes away almost instantly when I change positions but comes back 5 minutes later. What gives?

Hi all. I have similiar pains too. I'll wake up in the middle of the night with lower back pain. I'll change my sleeping position and the pain goes away within 10 seconds. But then 5 minutes later it returns. I'll go back to my original position, and the pain goes away almost instantly, only to return 5 minutes later.

I go through this roller coaster ride every night. What I don't understand is why the pain goes away almost instantly when I change positions but comes back 5 minutes later. What gives?

I wake up in the middle of the night with lower back pain. I'll change my sleeping position and the pain goes away almost instantly, just to come back 5 minutes later. I'll change my sleeping position again, the pain goes away instantly, only to return in 5 minutes. What gives?

I started having "dry eye" at the same time as my back started hurting every night, and they both occur in the early morning hours and go away during the day. Anyone else have that?
Just curious, has anyone tried not eating after noon and seeing if it helps? Almost bought a second new mattress, but turned mine over instead to the harder bottom...didn't help. I'm a young 52, f, exercise regularly aerobic and weights, no health issues, no osteoporosis, no prescriptions, no alcohol, no coffee, no smoking, no drugs. Don't lift anything overly heavy. Lots of PC work, but vary position and posture.

I researched on the net if something about the colon could hurt the back and there were great articles about even the slightest indigestion, even if you don't know, even if you're thin--and maybe even more so if you're thin--presses on the nerves and muscles in the spine and back at night, causing terrible pain. Of course, I saw all the colonic ads, even the ones faked to look third party. Did a ton of research, rather than trust biased testimonials and came away with a big fat NO WAY. I didn't have time to buy the Calcium either.

So, I ate simply at noon and only had a large piece of salmon (chewed slowly and well) and some milk at 6 PM. Nothing but water afterwards. Usually I have a snack or nibble much of the evening. I'm not a heavy eater, though.

I know it's early in the experiment, but I know how much you all are suffering, so I wanted to share I had NO back pain and slept through the night. On my left side, on my right side, on my back, on my stomach. It didn't matter! Unbelievable!!! I'll update in a few days, but wanted to share right away. Let me know what your experience is. I hope this isn't a one-time thing, but a true solution.

had the same problem for years, nightly lower back pain that would wake me up every night between 4 and 5 in the morning. What has eliminated the problem is drinking as much lemon juice as posible. I drink it daily in pop, tea, water, and juice. I use fresh lemons and lemon juice. It took about two weeks before I noticed the pain was gone. I stopped for a while and the pain came back. Let me know if it works for you.

According to my MRI I have two quite severe herniations in the lower spine. The pain at night is not half as bad as when I try to get up in the morning. Backs are made to work and do not seem to like long periods of inactivity. I find that the more I exercise during the day, the better things are. Despite my efforts to delay, I will have to have surgery soon and so I am considering the latest surgical options - and a minimal option seems favourite. I am therefore really grateful to orthopaedic surgeon Mr Khai Lam for his incredibly informative article and I hope that this is helpful for others in the same position!

It is nice to know that so many are experiencing the same back problem and treatment problem that I am. At least I am not alone..............I can add that acupuncture doesn't seem to help either.

I usually get out of bed when it hurts and go sit in my recliner (but not reclining). If I throw my leg over the armrest and move my leg until my inner thigh is just uncomfortable, it seems to relieve the pain. A heating pad also seems to help.

I am surprised to find so many others like me. I am 42 yo female. These episodes started around 4 years ago - the pain starts around 3 in the morning - It is a radiating pain, both sides of the spine. A couple of tylenol and around two sleepless hours later the pain subsides, and I wake up with no pain. The episodes occur every 3 - 4 weeks, sometimes more often, sometimes do not happen for months. The only solution I saw - was about the milk - I will try that.

We all have low back pain that occurs only at night...waking us at around 3:00 a.m.....what else do we have in common? I am:
female
46 years old
very active, in great shape and otherwise healthy
great diet(mostly whole foods, lots of fruits, vegies, grains,legumes and lean meats)
play tennis 3 times week, workout, excellent cholesterol, drink a lot of water, drink green tea every day, drink red wine several times/week, take lots of vitamin supplements including a good quality multi from GNC for active people, vitamin c, coQ10, grapeseed extract, flaxseed oil, fish oil, accidpholis, accai berry, baby asprin and occasionally calcium......the milk thing intriques me and I will explore it. I am not a big fan of dairy and have probably been calcium defficient most of my life.....for some reason, the calcium suuplement is one that I often forget to take as I was told to take that one at night.....maybe there is something to that. regarding potasium, I eat a fair amount of bananas.....regarding the lemon, I go in phases with lemons in my water and other beverages. I will loook at that as well. Sometimes I wonder if maybe taking so many supplements is the problem. I'm wondering if the rest of you take supplements? I have had this problem for 2 years. I am on my 3rd matress, don't think that's it. I am pain free during the day. Let's figure this out....

WOW, that is all I can say. I have been to 6 dr.s, from neuro's, ortho's, to GP's. I have had MRIs CTs, Myleograms, and Xrays. They have not been able to find anything. This has been going on for almost 7 years now. I am going crazy. My pain is the same as everyone elses post. Starts after mid-night. I have to get up to relieve the pain (when I can) I also have started losing feeling and function in the right side of my body. It does make me feel a little less crazy to know others are experienceing the same symptoms.

I drink 2-3 glasses of milk a day, and over half a gallon of water a day. I am 34, active, in good shape. I have had 4 children.

I did break my back at l-4 l-5 about 11 years ago. Had surgery to repair. Will keep the faith and checking back for a hopeful diagnosis of someone that is accurate.

I have been religiously taking my calcium supplement at teh recommended dosage for almost two weeks now, also drinking warm milk at bedtime and my pain is virtualy gone. I still notice slight pain around 7:00 a.m., but at least it's not 3:00 a.m. and causing me to toss and turn. Try a good quality calcium supplement for a few weeks and report back (I already eat lots of bananas and a fair amount of fresh lemon, but you could try adding that too) I am sleeping well for the first time in years!! Good luck!

I suffered with very low back pain at night for 25 years. I tried different matresses to no avail. Then, 2 years ago I gave up wheat rye and barley to try to get relief for headaches. Within 2 weeks my 25 year history of low back pain at night was gone along with my headaches. I have had 3 or 4 weekends when I ate bread and wheat during that 2 years and within 2 days the back pain comes back. When I go off wheat, rye and barley, it goes away within about 3 days. Pain, arthritis, osteoporosis, balance/gait problems, peripheral neuropathy, indigestion, irritable bowel and more, can be a sign of celiac disease. Celiac is now being diagnosed 40 times more often than it was 15 years ago because of better tests. Have your doctor test you (blood test) BEFORE you go off wheat, because once off wheat the celiac test will not work. Going off wheat was the best thing I've ever done. I also have a big boost in energy and reduction of fatigue.

I've had real problems with lower back pain in the middle of the night. And after trawling around the net, have realised it is due to a poor sleeping position. I've been told to sleep on my side in a foetal position due to back pain, but this wasn't helping. Now I realise that the upper leg was rolling forward and outward, therefore skewing my body position. I read something that said put a pillow between your thighs to avoid this. It works. If sleeping on your back, put a pillow under your lower back and top of your backside. I'm amazed that something so simple is actually working for me. Hope that helps.

Often dysfunctional muscles are the cause of this pain. When you sleep the muscles naturally tighten as the blood leaves them and goes to the organs to help with repair and recovery work the body does at night. As these muscles tighten they trigger the pain mainly because they are on the edge in the first place. If you apply heat when they tighten it will help relieve the symptoms.

Often dysfunctional muscles are the cause of this pain. When you sleep the muscles naturally tighten as the blood leaves them and goes to the organs to help with repair and recovery work the body does at night. As these muscles tighten they trigger the pain mainly because they are on the edge in the first place. If you apply heat when they tighten it will help relieve the symptoms. Ultimately you need to release the muscles and deep tissue massage is often the best way of doing this.

Hi everybody,
have a very similar problem, lower back pain towards the end of the night. Its relieved when I get up or turn to the side, but worse when I sleep on my tummy or flat on the back. Putting a pillow between my legs while sleeping of the side or under my buttocks when lying on my back makes it better. Its worse on weekends, probably because I am sleeping longer than on weekdays.
Have this pain for the last 7 years, quite constantly, no getting better or worse. Am now 38 years, fit, slim and otherwise healthy - and no problems during the day at all ...
Have not found a solution yet, but would be nice to hear your experiences, particularly if there was anything making it better !

Hi everyone,i have a similar problem. i am 30 yr old woman with all over back pain at night every night for 2 yrs i wake up and it really hurts to take a deep breath its like a sharp pain shoots up my back as well as the all over pain.it seems to ease off when i get up.i have had lots of tests- blood tests, endoscopy, physio and no cause has been found.the pain is keeping me awake every night and i am getting increasingly worried.anyone have an idea of what might be causing this pain?

I never knew I needed a support group for this back problem until I started reading these responses! They sure make me feel less alone. I have had lower and middle back pain ever since the birth of my first child. At the time, physical therapists told me it was due to three twisted spinal disks. But on subsequent x-rays and an MRI, docs could find nothing wrong.

I would advise against going to neurologists as all they are looking for is a tumor and if they don't find one they are disappointed and want you to leave (ha)! And I went to a pain management specialist who was suspicious that I was trolling for drugs even though I never take hardly any medication for anything. His precription: painkillers that zonked me out and lidocaine patches and that did nothing to touch the pain. No thanks.

Anyway, I wake up every early morning around 3pm with back pain. Beofre that I toss and turn and am virtually never comfortable. I started taking Alieve and it gets me through the night with a deep sleep (forgot what that was like) until about 5pm...then I wake up in excruciating pain (so it's a trade-off).

I plan to go to a chiropractor as the pain is getting much worse. I know that calcium is not the answer as I have started taking calcium pills and have noticed not difference in the pain. I'm going to try that heated herbal pillow. Anybody try accupuncture yet?

It is definitely muscular or nerve oriented.