Lower back pain when in bed

[Raven0221]

Hi my first ever thread because im loosing the will to live! but wondering if anybody else is suffering like me…. It will be 5 years in july since i gave birth to my second. Had epidural and she was 10lb … if this matters - this started 2 weeks after giving birth but all through the pregnancy i had SPD quite bad.

my lower to middle back is a dull aching pain sometimes with shooting pains up and down my spine. Only happens when im in bed so ill toss and turn from 3am - 7am when i give in and get up. Once im up the pain gradually goes away.

ive tried , acupuncture, cupping, massages, kinetc thearapy, physio (nhs) all the medicines they throw at me! Useless! I go to the gym I’ve strengthened my core. Im very flexible … ive had 3 mri ive had 2 xrays all my blood works done and apparently ive got the best back /spine ever. But yet its been 5 years since i slept and had a lie in! I have a tens machine i use alot! And currently since November im paying £35 a week to see a chiropractor whom is very good but nothing changes ….. im searching for anyone with this issue as i am going in sane! It isnt my bed its 3 years old firm - memory foam from bensons for beds (wasn't cheap) i just dont think i can do another 5 years! Me and my husband are trying for baby number 3 also and i just think am i going to end up in a wheelchair 😭

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MNHQ Update
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Are you sure it isn’t bed?? I always wake up very sore when I have slept on a firm bed.

Yeah me too, my current mattress cost nearly 2k and is meant to be soft. It is not. I wake with backache everyday.

Cant just change it due to big expense ☹️

What is the bed base? Slats? Divan? How old is your mattress?
I'm guessing it's the bed/ mattress that's the issue.

IKEA hovag mattress was wonderful but they've changed the range. The men's health mattress range is amazing if you can get it discounted.

I have the same. It's not the bed or matress because it happens wherever I sleep, air mattress, sofa bed, hotels, friends houses. We upgraded our matress at great expense and it's still the same. Sorry no answers here. I tend to get up for half an hour or so which resets things so that I can go back to sleep.

Sorry should say, I don't get shooting pains just aching which gets worse the longer I stay in bed.

I can lie down to sleep for 5-6 hpurs, after that my back hurts too much. I prop myself up with lots of pillows and sleep sitting up for the remainder of the night.

Yes mines exactly the same! So theres no fix no answer 😭 it’s definitely not my bed because it happens anywhere i go to sleep. Its like my back goes tight and aches and aches u till i decide to get up and reset like you say, can i ask has anyone ever had a big baby or an epidural because i was fine before any of them. I also find being at up helps a tiny bit and will sleep sat up sometimes its so weird. Im only 32 and i dread to think what ill be like when im older

My mattress is 3 years old its a firm with memory foam on a divan base. Weirdly enough bensons are delivering the same bed but a more upgraded version on Tuesday as ive claimed on the insurance so it will be brand new as of tuesday but i could sleep anywere it still happens. Even when ive had a drink and all i want to do is lie in bed i cant im up 😭

How many pillows are you using? I was waking in the night with LBP and so stiff and achy in the mornings til I got moving. Things had got worse when we bought a new mattress even though its comfy, medium softness. I decided to try one pillow instead of 2 and its made a huge difference. It might not help but worth a try if you have 2 pillows x

So i have 4 pillows either side i have every type of pillow out there ones for back a side sleeping one i have one that cost me 140. Ive tried every one of them on there own, also a pillow under my knees and it still happens. Sleeping on my side which i miss so much but if i do that now its not worth it. I have a back lumbar pillow also for the curve of my back … does nothing. Im loosing the will. I believe the epidural did something to me. Ive even had them steroid injections and that made me worse tbh so ill never have them again. I just dont no what else i can try. Im back at the drs monday but no doubt theyll just try to push painkillers on me which dont even work … anitryptaline being there favourite

I'm the same and it all started for me after the birth of my second who was 10lb3oz. I didn't have an epidural, it was a very straightforward birth but my back was agony for the last few months of that pregnancy.

I have no answers sadly but I hope someone comes along who does because it's genuinely quite depressing knowing I can never get a decent night's sleep. I go to bed with a hot water bottle every night, it doesn't help much but it's comforting at least.

Me too OP. Every since I gave birth and after spinal block (c section) - absolutely horrific back back and worse if I sleep on my front which is when I used to be at my comfiest.

I haven’t found a cure I’m afraid. I just try to get through it 😂🤭

When you see GP next week why not ask for referral to a specialist pain service?

Is it possible it's coming from sacro illiac joint rather than spinal. I've had some problems with my back since first child (over 30 years ago😬) I think if you damage it whilst ligaments are softened by pregnancy hormones then it seems to last. I had a particularly bad flare up once (job related) one of the physios I work with suggested looking up Dom Tigny on the Internet who shows some exercises for sacro illiac dysfunction which helped tremendously. I realised that the joint was slipping out slightly (probably due to overstretched ligaments in pregnancy) and needed realigning to correct position with these exercises/stretches which relieves the pain. I also need a soft bed contrary to the usual advice for a firm one for a bad back, for many years I used two mattresses, a sprung one with foam on top although now I am managing with a thick foam topper on the top of a sprung mattress.

I have similar - can only sleep 7ish hours - any longer and I'm in agony until I get up. It's not from the epidural. It's from pregnancy and what that does to your body and could also be for caring for a baby - all the picking up, putting down, even breastfeeding could have contributed.

Wow im so overwhelmed with these replys and i thank you all and i dont feel as alone in the world because nobody i have ever spoke with has my issue, i will look up dom tigny thank you. I work for the nhs and ive just had a discussion with her and she is going to fund out if i cant see a ostepath as thats the only professional ive never seen. Im the same with the hot water bottle with what little it provides and the deep heat spray/patches. Im just on my way to argos to pick a deep tissue massager … i love to waste money 😭 im planning baby number 3 and im absolutely dreading it but i will never have an epidural again.

is a pain specialist ones were they would give the steroid injections ? As i had them in january and it made it even worse for a few days and then back to the normal pain. Ive read you can have nerve endings fused together however i rekon that could make matters worse for me. Its so depressing and the worst thing is theres no answer to what it is. As my mri spine back my flexibility etc is all fine.

Have you seen an osteopath? You might need bits of your hips put back in place!

No thats the only one ive never seen my manager is sorting something out for me to see one hopefully. Ive seen a chiropractor i see him once a week £35 a time but it doesnt help really i dont know why i bother tbh

Have you thought about the curable app? Potentially the pain is neuroplastic not structural? This happened to me post big baby. It's changed my life.

Curable app? Whats this like a app on your phone … im interested please tell me more xx

It's a system that talks about mind body connection and helps you retrain your brain to stop fearing pain which over time changes your pain signals. Follow a guy called Alan Gordon. For me education about the experience of pain was the first step in tackling it... Understanding why my brain was sending pain signals. As I say it's been life changing for me. You can do a free trial. It has exercises and guides you through a process. There's also a fb group

Good morning @Raven0221
How are you doing now? Is your back pain any better?

That honestly sounds so exhausting… 5 years of broken sleep would push anyone to their limit.

It’s interesting that it only really kicks in when you’re lying down and eases once you’re up, especially with clear scans. Sometimes that points more towards nerve sensitivity or how your body’s being supported at night rather than anything “serious” showing up on tests.

At this point, since you’ve tried so much already, one of my relatives went through something really similar and ended up trying medical cannabis through leafease.co.uk/. It wasn’t a miracle cure, but it did help take the edge off the pain and let them actually get some sleep.

I’d also maybe try small tweaks like extra pillow support (under knees or between legs) or even speaking to a pain specialist instead of just physio/chiro.

You’re definitely not alone in this and it doesn’t mean you’re heading towards something like a wheelchair, even if it feels scary right now. More power to you!