Back pain from sleeping on my side

[jamieay]

Hello! I'm about 4 - 5 months into life with my Bi-Pap and things are going quite well - sleeping well, feeling rested, AHI is around 1 - 3. One problem has developed - I'm having back pain since I've started sleeping on my side. I had to spend some quality time with my heating pad this morning before I got out of bed. Anyone else had this problem? What did you do about it?

Many thanks!

Jamie

[Julie]

See a doctor. Seriously, you need to investigate if you have a back problem like scoliosis (or something else), a bad bed, a whole lot of things not directly related to Cpap.

[Janknitz]

Definitely see the doctor.

Make sure you have a pillow between your knees so you can keep your spine in alignment when you lie on your side.

[Brenpbb11150]

Hello,
I also have started to have back pain and it is in the upper right side below my shoulder. I have gone to the Dr. and he toldme that being a side sleeper is a hard position to be for the entire nite. I told him about my OSA and he said to try and sleep on both sides through the nite versus staying on one side all nite. I do try and do that. I have been also using a heating pad and it seems to help me and also some light exercises in the morning when I get up...some stretching has halped me a lot. I also try and sleep with my knees up somewhat instead of straight in the bed. So sorry to hear about your back problems and I hope you get some answers soon.
Bren

[kteague]

I found the pillow between the knees to help some, and once I put a quality memory foam topper on my mattress, it made a huge difference.

[elena88]

yep I had the same problem..

but a large firm pillow between your legs, and one to put your arm over is a good side sleep..

and, I agree, I hurt before I got my latex foam bed topper.. I love these so much I bought one for every bed..

the four inch ergo soft are lovely!

good luck!

elena

here is a link to the bed toppers I think are fabulous, almost like having a new bed!

http://www.absolutecomfortonsale.com/latexfoam.htm

[MidnightOwl]

Why are you sleeping on your side? Was your bipap unable to resolve your apnea when you slept on your back? I'm just the opposite. I get uncomfortable if I don't sleep on my side. And I had to fight with the sleep study techs over that since they were determined to try and do the study with me on my back.

[Julie]

Midnight Owl - the reason the techs had you sleep on your back was to get a worse-case scenario because sleeping that way encourages a lot more apneas than other positions, but you should not otherwise sleep like that (and most of us go to great lengths to avoid it). Try other ways. It's so frustrating when techs don't explain anything, as if we were idiots, and then wonder why we slam them later on!

[chevalierkt]

AOI get occasional back pain from sleeping on my side but sleeping on my back doesn't help once it starts. I wonder if I may have fibromyalgia which will be my next investigation. Would like to ask if any of you have tried a Select Comfort mattress as I'm considering getting one. Have tried the better brand names- Sealy, Serta; now I have a Sealy latex. It was okay for maybe two years but then the back pain started which is all I get out of any mattress. I got pain-free sleeping using cheaper air mattresses on the floor but sooner or later they start leaking. One last comment- glad memory foam is working for some of you but you must have a good mattress to start with; I've read reports that it can really cause pain and it didn't work for me when I tried a memory foam mattress cover.
Select Comfort people please give us your views on them!

Best regards,
Bill
Cleveland

[jamieay]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I've been trying the pillow between my knees - I'll try splitting time on each side tonight and see if that helps.

Jamie

[kteague]

What works for each of us will vary widely as the cause of the back pain can be anything from muscular stiffness, joint stiffness, degenerative disk disease, arthritis, or who knows what else. Unfortunately, mattresses and beds are too expensive for most to experiment. I've read on here of folks investing in a brand name memory foam mattress then soon getting rid of it and buying something else. "Back in the day" some swore by water beds - my back hurt miserably the whole 2 years I had one. My daughter's bedtime back pain was helped by a latex foam mattress cover that gave more support than her too soft mattress. The memory foam mattress I have now feels hard as a rock, but when sleeping, it is pretty comfortable. A friend decided to order online a multi-layered foam mattress, thinking it should be just as good as any high priced one she could try out locally. Not so. The quality was so poor the foam was breaking down within a couple months and leaving indentations from her petite body. Just saying, all foams are not created equal, so it seems a good idea to at least get referrals as to quality even if one can't be certain the particular item is what their back needs. I bought my memory foam bed used from someone downsizing who had it in their guest room, so my investment wasn't big. I've had it about a year, and even though I'm not a petite lady, it hasn't broke down at all. I just got lucky.