Anyone have tips on sleeping with sciatica?
I’ve been trying to read websites since last night when I couldn’t sleep because my back hurt so badly, and they all say the same things about pillows between or under the knees, etc. Unfortunately for me, they all say absolutely no sleeping on the stomach.
It was so bad this morning that I couldn’t get out of bed… I had to call out of work and if my roommate hadn’t come home right when he did, I would’ve called an ambulance. It was that bad. And of course, when I finally fell asleep on my side with the pillow between my knees, I woke up on my stomach and couldn’t roll over or move below my arms.
So does anyone know a way I can safely sleep on my stomach and not wake up with crippling pain in the morning? Unless the pain wakes me up while I’m sleeping and moving, I WILL wake up on my stomach. If I could do it safely, it would save me a lot of grief.
Edit/Note: I know about seeing a doctor… I’m on a waiting list for an orthopedist. I have two herniated discs and have had bouts of sciatica since I was 15. The question here is about how to sleep until I have a solution to treat the pain.
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10 Answers
My mom always had sciatica issues, and she usually sleeps with a heated pillow on it. You have to plug it, and make sure to sleep on your back, but it seemed to work for her.
my perverse joke is removed by myself. I’m laughing non-the-less
Sewing a tennis ball into a pocket on the front of your pajamas will prevent you from waking up on your stomach.
Or being a man… can’t wake up on your stomach if you’re a man for obvious reasons…
@SpatzieLover I kinda wanna hear your joke. Pretty pleazz?
I’m sorry you’re feeling so bad. I was thinking of calling you but a co-worker said you sounded pretty bad when you called. The only thing I can think of is to prop yourself with a bunch of pillows to keep from rolling over, and maybe set an alarm clock so you can check your position every so often. Do you still have pain pills?
took the last Darvocet on Tuesday morning. I’m going to go get a Percocet from David just so I can sleep tonight.
I hope it helps. Bill said you went to the hospital. Did you get another shot? I feel so bad for you.
I have had sciatica and at one time so bad could not walk. I would stay on the couch and take robaxacet. The couch prevented me from rolling over and a pillow in the front. So I had support on both sides. I still have sciatica problems and it has been 8 or 9 years, It is slowly getting better. They discovered I had a bone spur hitting my nerve. They would not touch it to fix it,so have lived with it, and watch what I do each day, because if I over do it. I end up taking muscle relaxers, so I can sleep at night. I also had two cortisone shots in my spine. The first one did nothing and the second one helped for a while. Time will heal you in most cases, and gently exercise to keep muscles toned. ie Walking.
@Salty, sorry you’ve had so much pain for so long. I have 6 herniated and/ or bulging dics in my back for over 20 years, so I have a pretty good idea what you are dealing with. Robaxacet is a muscle relaxer, so I doubt it will do much good to releive your sciatic nerve pain. I’m guessing you are taking it to make you drowsy enough to sleep, is that right?
You might want to ask your doctor what he/she thinks about your taking elavil. it helps wioth sleeep, and seems to lessen back pain as well. Doctors commonly prescribe it for patients with fibromyalgia for this reason. My daughter took it for a number of years, and found it to be very helpful. Also, it seems to be safer for long-term use. The tylenol in robaxacet can be hard on your liver and kidneys over time.
Poof is going to the doctor’s today. She had to leave early because the pain was too bad to stay. Let’s all wish her well. I hate seeing her suffer so much.
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