Arthritis pain keeps me awake.
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justice119
Posts: 3
I find that the pain from arthritis is hard to get out of my mind. Makes sleeping a difficult chore. During nights I am wondering to the kitchen to find something to eat. I know this is comfort eating, but I just can't stop. Tonight I am drinking lots of water to see if my stomach is full and I am not tempted to go for food.
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Hi, I do that too. I have starting keeping bags of celery sprinkled with a little sea salt around so I can snack on something. Carrots sticks are good too but I only have them if someone else cuts them up. It hurts my hands too much. Also, smart pop popcorn that is 94% fat free is good. You can eat the whole bag and not do too much damage. And hot tea.... That tends to distract me some. I also use a small heating pad (for backs) to wrap around an area that is hurting. I have fibromyalgia and arthritis though so I would need a lot more to help everywhere it hurts. I take ibuprofen 800 mg to help too. Hopefully you will find something to help. I'm not always good but I try.0
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my dr prescribed a 500 mg of "aleve". if i having bad pains i take an hour before i sleep. my dr also have been given me cortizone shots(knees) ..I am disabled so i dont work anymore. that takes a lot of pain away. ibrophen.0
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I also found that I ate for comfort when the pain was bad, especially at night. Now I use pain meds to help me sleep when I have bad days with my Fibro. Every day though I use Reiki, a healing art which anyone can learn to use. On the bad days it helps to reduce my pain and relax me, all of which helps sleep. On good days, it still relaxes me but also gives me energy. It actually strengthens the immune system so it helps you recover as much as you can. There's no downside to it. You have to be trained by a Reiki Master to learn it. It's definitely worth the investment.
Remember that you are not alone!
Best wishes!0 -
I find that I comfort eat when in pain too.... also because of the veritable cocktail of meds im on (Co-Codamol, Gabapentin, Fluoxetine, Omeprazole (Thanks to the ibuprofen giving me stomach ulcers) I also find that if i take the full dose, i can sometimes feel quite sick and then get trapped in the 'God im hungry, oh but i feel so sick... Muchies! ... Bleugh!' cycle which makes me crave sugary food as its clearly more palatable and instant boost
Its hard but eat regularly and I find that aside from things liek Reiki, ive tried and its okay
I also have Paul McKenna CD's which lull me to sleep, the one 'I can make you thin' is great but i cant help but laugh each time hes doing his couuntdown and part way through he goes 'Thaaaaaaats Right' hahaha!0 -
People think I'm crazy for using a heated mattress pad or blanket down here in Florida, but it really helps on the nights when the pain's at its worst. Heat alone helps me, but there's the added comfort of being toasty and snuggled down that makes me want to stay in bed regardless. Pair that with Donna's suggestion of keeping healthy snacks bedside and that should help. If the sleeplessness and pain is really getting to you, find a way to distract yourself from both the pain and the cravings. Good books, hobbies, what have you, but make it something you can get engrossed in to keep your mind off of the unpleasantness.
And wow, I thought I was some type of freak for being both nauseous and hungry at the same time! My family just looks at me like I'm crazy when I whine
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my dr prescribed a 500 mg of "aleve". if i having bad pains i take an hour before i sleep. my dr also have been given me cortizone shots(knees) ..I am disabled so i dont work anymore. that takes a lot of pain away. ibrophen.
That amount of Aleve doesn't hurt your stomach? As well, do you have any problems with sleeping after taking it at night time. I'd love something to help me sleep. I've been taking gravol at night (2 tablets) but they don't always help.0 -
Crickey - I'd be in A&E with that amount of Aleve... the ibuprofen i took over the years has given me some nasty stomach ulcers that bleed whenever i have ibuprofen or spicy food 0
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I too have pain so I've been on prednisone for 24 years straight. I am currently getting off of it 1mg at a time. It's the first time I have seen my weight even budge. I comfort eat too and decided to get off sugary foods. I have done it before and once I get through the first week or so I don't crave it. I wish I was one of those people who could eat one, but nooo, I have to eat the whole bag! Anyway it is hard to get the weight to move with the cocktail of drugs, and pain many of us have, but keep the faith and keep working and maybe the loss of weight will help us to feel less pain, that's what I want for all of us :-)0
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@snettery I give you alot of credit I am also a emotional eater and the worse the pain the more I eat lately the weather has really taken a toll on me!!. How do you stop the sugar?0
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Make sure you drink a FULL glass of water with your meds and do eat something with it. This will help with the stomach pains.
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Crickey - I'd be in A&E with that amount of Aleve... the ibuprofen i took over the years has given me some nasty stomach ulcers that bleed whenever i have ibuprofen or spicy food
I wound up with ulcers taking ibuprofen for an extended period of time. Gastritis is what they called it. Then I wound up having emergency surgery on my gall bladder. That stuff is lethal.0 -
Hi, I can understand exactly how you feel. The pain in my hip and one knee keep me up often and then it's so hard to get up and go the next day to work. I'm an emotional eater too, mostly when I'm lonely or hurting which is often. I am also a "sweet" eater, my food of choice. I've found a great way to satisfy both things. I keep a box of Chapman's frozen yogurt bars in the freezer to have one when I really feel like eating my head off. They make so many kinds of these; my favorite is the one that's just like a creamscicle and it's only 90 calories. Just keep trying, persevere, and have something you like that's low calorie around for those midnight snacks. In a perfect world we wouldn't eat at night, but the reality is we do, I do and I know it. Good luck. Cass0
