JamieMarc
Senior member
- Joined
- Nov 17, 2021
- Messages
- 351
- Reason
- DX FIBRO
- Diagnosis
- 10/2021
- Country
- US
- State
- FL
If you have fibromyalgia, you most likely also suffer from sleep issues. If you do, and you are a side sleeper, this article is for you.
For the past 5 years, I have had uncomfortable sleeping experiences every night. I have tried everything. By the way, I am a side sleeper. I have an adjustable bed. I have a topper. I have used four or five pillows every night for the past 5 years, strategically placed, to get as comfortable as I possibly can in bed. I don't take sleeping pills. All they do is make you drowsy. They don't make you any more comfortable. I have spent about $15,000 over 6 years on all of my alternative or traditional at home treatments and therapies. But I'm about to tell you about my latest purchase, which is also my best purchase! If I had bought this 6 years ago I could have saved myself thousands of dollars, but no regrets. It's a journey.
It used to take me 10 to 15 minutes before bed every night just to get all my pillows and everything in place. And then another 15 to 30 minutes making minor adjustments, wiggling and positioning myself into just the right position, the one that was as free from pain and discomfort as possible. There was never any total freedom from pain, but this strategy served me pretty well up until a few months ago when I started developing shoulder pain in both shoulders.
I began sleeping on my back to treat my new shoulder pain (even though I'm a lifelong side sleeper), and it was very hard. It was difficult to sleep in that position, one that I was totally unfamiliar with with regard to sleeping. I did not like it at all, but I stuck with it, along with adjustments to my upper and lower bed levels, and it did help my shoulder pain and my back pain, but I developed new pains, specifically in a different part of my shoulder, even though I was sleeping on my back, and the insides of both arms. Resting my arms on pillows didn't help. Also, did I mention I hate sleeping on my back?! LOL So this wasn't going to work out either. What was the point in minimizing two areas of pain in exchange for gaining two new areas of pain?!
I began searching for solutions to help me sleep on my side as I was accustomed to, but without waking up with shoulder pain, and my usual back pain.
After some research, I found the shoulder relief system by a company called MedCline. Even though it was pricey (not nearly as pricey as my adjustable bed, but still kind of pricey for the materials used to make it), I decided to get it and give it a try. I checked first to make sure it had a return policy, and ordered it.
What it is, briefly, is a foam wedge with a very slight incline, and a hole to slip your arm through so that your body weight is not on your shoulder but on the side of your torso. This was my problem: all of my weight was on my shoulder by sleeping on my side, and my shoulder would collapse, so to speak, every night during sleep. I would wake up with my normal terrible stiff back pain, in addition to shoulder pain, especially on the shoulder I slept on.
The system also comes with a wrap around, J shaped body pillow. I watched the video and set the system as described the first night. I quickly realized that there was no way I was going to be getting proper neck support by resting my head on the body pillow (which is mostly round) as shown in the video. I experimented with every which way of positioning that body pillow, but it was just way too narrow to support the neck and head properly. I knew my neck was going to be killing me the next day if I slept like that. So I dispensed with the body pillow, set up my own pillow on top of the wedge, and used another pillow between my knees as opposed to the body pillow.
Man, the next morning not only did I have zero shoulder pain, but my back pain was the best it had been in the morning for the past 7 years!!! My back barely hurt at all. It still hurt, don't get me wrong, but it was 75% better than usual. I was amazed, astonished and super excited! Now I can finally sleep on my side as I love, and not wake up in nearly as much pain as I used to, and zero shoulder pain!!
For me, I firmly believe that sleep and diet are the foundations of fibromyalgia treatment or even reversal. That is my personal opinion. That being said, I don't sleep longer using the shoulder relief system (which I would really like to do). I typically get 7 hours per night, but sometimes I'll get eight or nine, and eight or nine is ideal for me personally. But most nights I still get only seven. But it still is a better quality 7 hours of sleep, and I wake up feeling so much less pain, and so much more ready to face the day ahead!
Why they designed the body pillow this way I have no idea. Maybe it's enough for some people. Maybe I'm using it wrong, which I strongly doubt since I tried everything. Maybe my neck is just worse than most people's. I don't know. But the body pillow shape doesn't work for me at all. And it's not necessary! A pillow between the knees works just as well as a fancy body pillow.
I was so excited about this that I had to write this long post to let everyone know, especially if you suffer from shoulder or back pain upon waking up every morning, and you are a side sleeper. Forgive me for rambling, and thank you for letting me share. I hope this helps somebody out there.
For the past 5 years, I have had uncomfortable sleeping experiences every night. I have tried everything. By the way, I am a side sleeper. I have an adjustable bed. I have a topper. I have used four or five pillows every night for the past 5 years, strategically placed, to get as comfortable as I possibly can in bed. I don't take sleeping pills. All they do is make you drowsy. They don't make you any more comfortable. I have spent about $15,000 over 6 years on all of my alternative or traditional at home treatments and therapies. But I'm about to tell you about my latest purchase, which is also my best purchase! If I had bought this 6 years ago I could have saved myself thousands of dollars, but no regrets. It's a journey.
It used to take me 10 to 15 minutes before bed every night just to get all my pillows and everything in place. And then another 15 to 30 minutes making minor adjustments, wiggling and positioning myself into just the right position, the one that was as free from pain and discomfort as possible. There was never any total freedom from pain, but this strategy served me pretty well up until a few months ago when I started developing shoulder pain in both shoulders.
I began sleeping on my back to treat my new shoulder pain (even though I'm a lifelong side sleeper), and it was very hard. It was difficult to sleep in that position, one that I was totally unfamiliar with with regard to sleeping. I did not like it at all, but I stuck with it, along with adjustments to my upper and lower bed levels, and it did help my shoulder pain and my back pain, but I developed new pains, specifically in a different part of my shoulder, even though I was sleeping on my back, and the insides of both arms. Resting my arms on pillows didn't help. Also, did I mention I hate sleeping on my back?! LOL So this wasn't going to work out either. What was the point in minimizing two areas of pain in exchange for gaining two new areas of pain?!
I began searching for solutions to help me sleep on my side as I was accustomed to, but without waking up with shoulder pain, and my usual back pain.
After some research, I found the shoulder relief system by a company called MedCline. Even though it was pricey (not nearly as pricey as my adjustable bed, but still kind of pricey for the materials used to make it), I decided to get it and give it a try. I checked first to make sure it had a return policy, and ordered it.
What it is, briefly, is a foam wedge with a very slight incline, and a hole to slip your arm through so that your body weight is not on your shoulder but on the side of your torso. This was my problem: all of my weight was on my shoulder by sleeping on my side, and my shoulder would collapse, so to speak, every night during sleep. I would wake up with my normal terrible stiff back pain, in addition to shoulder pain, especially on the shoulder I slept on.
The system also comes with a wrap around, J shaped body pillow. I watched the video and set the system as described the first night. I quickly realized that there was no way I was going to be getting proper neck support by resting my head on the body pillow (which is mostly round) as shown in the video. I experimented with every which way of positioning that body pillow, but it was just way too narrow to support the neck and head properly. I knew my neck was going to be killing me the next day if I slept like that. So I dispensed with the body pillow, set up my own pillow on top of the wedge, and used another pillow between my knees as opposed to the body pillow.
Man, the next morning not only did I have zero shoulder pain, but my back pain was the best it had been in the morning for the past 7 years!!! My back barely hurt at all. It still hurt, don't get me wrong, but it was 75% better than usual. I was amazed, astonished and super excited! Now I can finally sleep on my side as I love, and not wake up in nearly as much pain as I used to, and zero shoulder pain!!
For me, I firmly believe that sleep and diet are the foundations of fibromyalgia treatment or even reversal. That is my personal opinion. That being said, I don't sleep longer using the shoulder relief system (which I would really like to do). I typically get 7 hours per night, but sometimes I'll get eight or nine, and eight or nine is ideal for me personally. But most nights I still get only seven. But it still is a better quality 7 hours of sleep, and I wake up feeling so much less pain, and so much more ready to face the day ahead!
Why they designed the body pillow this way I have no idea. Maybe it's enough for some people. Maybe I'm using it wrong, which I strongly doubt since I tried everything. Maybe my neck is just worse than most people's. I don't know. But the body pillow shape doesn't work for me at all. And it's not necessary! A pillow between the knees works just as well as a fancy body pillow.
I was so excited about this that I had to write this long post to let everyone know, especially if you suffer from shoulder or back pain upon waking up every morning, and you are a side sleeper. Forgive me for rambling, and thank you for letting me share. I hope this helps somebody out there.
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