i dread the morning

[bluesea]

After waking in the morning, I can't move. I feel catatonic, nearly paralyzed and not just for a while but for hours. I lay there for hours. it scares me. I can move but I can't virtually. taking a pill on beside table is for example usually requires more effort than I can possibly manage.
i've had weakness and difficulty moving a body part or my entire body since onset of symptoms but this absolute lack of energy in my muscles in the morning that lasts many hrs lately is extreme.
do others experience this? my stiffness/spasticity is also exaggerated in the morning and after prolonged periods of immobility.

 

[Bad Balance]

It happens very quickly and the fight to maintain through the hazy fog of our drugs is not easy. Hang in there; keep pushing and you may find more. The mornings are hard.

- J

 

[johnnyliverpool1]

morning is worse time of day for spazzo....thats normal ..for umn stuff... can hardly reach your pills, well they aint doing you much good then are they...chuck em away if they dont help..whats the point risking after effects of pills pointlessly.......johnny

 

[vickim]

Yes morning fog is bad, but getting my legs to go in the same direction is the worst especially when my bladder is full.

 

[bluesea]

hey guys thanks for your feedback.
think I was misunderstood. my complaint wasn't about fog or fatigue in the am but difficulty moving and all stuff exacerbated in the morning. reason I can't reach for med is not that i'm tired but it's too hard to move. arms are glued to my sides and it can be very painful to use them. tremendously difficult to move legs too. they're dead and stiff after being immobile. getting to the bathroom is agonizing process even using 2 canes. just laying there postponing movement is worst thing I can do cause movement helps. it just hurts and its hard. realize many of you have challenges that are far more debilitating than mine such as having difficulty or not being able to speak and/or being confined to a wheel chair.

 

[AKmom]

Mornings may be difficult, but try to change your Outlook about them. Instead of dreading them, be grateful that you have another day you are alive and find ways to make this day be memorable for you and your loved ones. That is the only way I can just do what I have to do to get up in the mornings and still make this day different in some way then yesterday. Gives a goal to fight for. PLS is what it is and that may not change, but how we view life will change everything.

I do understand what your going through as I too struggle each morning, so I hope you understand what I am trying to say.

 

[johnnyliverpool1]

bluesea...no, we knew what u meant...but, the less u do the stiffer u get and the stiffer u get the less u do....until your in deep....the pills wont do the job.......and obviously they are not, seeing as u cannot reach them in morning....do nowt and your in for more pain from stiffness...do to much, ditto........find the balance between..manage it.........its worth the effort to be sure...johnny

 

[olly]

Hi bluesea,i can sympathise with the morning stiffness and pain.
I always take my time getting up,i usually have to do some slow stretching of limbs in bed.
Its hard i know to find a balance but i do agree with johnny.
If i sit for 1/2hr i am stiff and in pain,walk a bit then same,just stand then same.
I live in a small ground floor flat but it takes most of the day just to tidy up......do a bit then sit,do a bit then sit. I can't do nothing i'd be permanantly rigid and insane.
Listen to your body,if you need to rest then ok but we need to try to keep some mobility we have .

 

[bluesea]

thanks guys I so appreciate yr kind input.
you're soo right. I need to move in the morning otherwise I turn into a stiff board and it just gets harder to make the effort. the inactivity then just leads to malaise. now, after I wake i'm moving legs and arms in bed for a bit which helps and i'm sticking to no more procrastination just get up and move even if I need to sit after every third movement at first.
wishing u all a great day!

 

[kevinw]

Hi bluesea,i can sympathise with the morning stiffness and pain.
I always take my time getting up,i usually have to do some slow stretching of limbs in bed.
Its hard i know to find a balance but i do agree with johnny.
If i sit for 1/2hr i am stiff and in pain,walk a bit then same,just stand then same.
I live in a small ground floor flat but it takes most of the day just to tidy up......do a bit then sit,do a bit then sit. I can't do nothing i'd be permanantly rigid and insane.
Listen to your body,if you need to rest then ok but we need to try to keep some mobility we have .

Olly, has it exactly correct...It takes me at least an hour in the morning of trying to stretch and get my lower body ready to get out of bed. Then when I feel I finally have to get up I am always hoping that when my feet hit the floor that my legs are going to be ready to hold the rest of my body. I do keep a walker next to the bed in case I have to get up during the night, it just too much to try to use the wall and stuff to get to the bathroom at night.
It is just so hard to explain the way our bodies feel during the day and night, and yet mine has the same pattern each day, no matter how I try to change what I do.

 

[notme]

HI

I deal with my body being much worse in the AM or after long periods in one position. Here are a few practical suggestions for you to try.

First--if you can, adjust the times when you take your anti-spasmotic medications. Perhaps set an alarm to wake you up after 4 hours or so. Get up go use the restroom and move around a little bit, take your pill and go back to sleep.

it's possible that you're one that sleeps like the dead and doesn't move at all in your sleep. I find that when my pain levels are very high and I take my pain meds at night, for instance, I wake up much worse, as I haven't moved in the night.

If you're able, do some light exercise. I found that walking around my block was the best thing to help me with the major stiffness.

Then, be sure that you have a good mattress. Is the bed too hard or too soft perhaps? When I sleep on a hard surface, I hurt much more in the mornings, too.

Hope some of that helps. Good luck

 

[olly]

Three words for you.............memory foam mattress.
I would be crippled on a morning,especially hips and shoulders but after a few days with new mattress it reduced my pain by half.
The full mattresses can be hard and are expensive,i got the mattress topper about 2 1/2 inches thick and cost about £120 for a double bed size......best money i ever spent.
It supports the body and joints and is very comfortable .

 

[vickim]

I have a sleep number bed, then I put a memory foam topper and topped that with a feather bed! I am so spoiled that I can't sleep in a regular bed. My hubby laughs because when I change sheets on moday I fluff up the feather bed and wehn we go to bed that night I get my 10 seconds of sinking into bed! Heaven.

 

[kevinw]

Three words for you.............memory foam mattress.
I would be crippled on a morning,especially hips and shoulders but after a few days with new mattress it reduced my pain by half.
The full mattresses can be hard and are expensive,i got the mattress topper about 2 1/2 inches thick and cost about £120 for a double bed size......best money i ever spent.
It supports the body and joints and is very comfortable .

Hi olly......I think a 2 1/2 inch memory foam topper is a good idea. I had one that was a little thicker (not sure what size), but it created some problems. The first was that it made our bed too high to get in and out of. The second was I started having problems during the night repositioning myself when I started getting cramps. I would prop myself up on one arm/elbow and it just started shaking when I attempted to move my body on it to roll over.

I can say that "I Loved" my memory foam topper, but I would take olly's advice and get a 2 1/2 inch topper. You might the thicker is better, but it does cause problems when you have to move around on it.