Nerve pain

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Achy_g
Achy_g Member Posts: 6
in Living with arthritis

I've got crushed nerves at the neck causing pain in my arms that keeps me awake at night. In the day, I can cope, using a varied range of methods including lots of movement, distraction, changing activity, heat packs, short rests, hypnosis and painkillers (codeine and morphine). At night, I have valerian tea to get me off to sleep, I don't drink alcohol, I use heat and lots of pillows to support my arms, but I always wake up when the painkillers wear off. I have to get up to release the pressure, often take more valerian or pain relief, and meditate to get back to sleep again, all of which loses hours of my precious rest...

I have tried and absolutely hated gabapentin, amitriptyline and baclofen. I can't do cold stuff and TENS doesn't help. I hate taking opioids, but they do work a bit, unlike the above list. Diazepam only gives me 4 hours. I'm very active, walk 5-10 miles a day, and go to bed tired. But nothing works in my sleep.

I'd be grateful for any further ideas!

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  • Lilymary
    Lilymary Member Posts: 1,742
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    There’s a lot of lessons in what you describe that many of us can benefit from. I just wish I had something to offer you in return, other than sympathy.

    If I can’t sleep due to sheer restlessness or worry, I can bore myself to sleep with a mildly dull book or unwind with some basic meditation techniques. But if it’s pain keeping me awake, that seldom works, and i usually end up caving in and taking another cocodamol, which mostly works eventually.

    If nothing works, I just try to calm myself down, body and soul, and simply relax, allow my body to rest even if sleep eludes me, so I know there has been at least some recharging overnight. Sometimes that’s enough to help me get back into some form of sleep, otherwise I have a foggy-brain, droopy kind of day and be kind to myself, and hope the next night will be better. ((()))

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