I too suffer from so much morning pain. When I wake up I have such a stiff neck and shoulder with pain and I have a very hard time walking after 5 surgeries on my feet.
I take my pain meds right away but it takes one to two hours to be able to get around.
My doc suggested to take a pain med in middle of night but because of a new med for insomnia I really don't wake up as much in pain. So on those mornings I really suffer!

are you going to do it? I could take my ms later I guess, Im going to talk to pain doc about long lasting meds all the time.

I feel for you honor. Have you ever had a sleep study done? They hook you up to a gazillion wires, and record your every move and brain wave. Just a thought.

Gentle hugs.

i take 60 mg ms er, 15 mg ms ir, 350 mg soma and 15 mg adderall to get out of bed every day. i typically start this before my daughter wakes, but sometimes i sleep until she gets up.

we've developed a breakfast snack thing before breakfast to give me time to move. she eats some dry cereal with a cup of keifer and that gives me 45 minutes before i'm up cooking bacon and/or eggs, waffles, pancakes, cinnamon rolls and the obligatory fresh organic fruit.

getting a hold on my pain before trying to get up is the key for me. i have no choice as far as getting up with my daughter. so many days, i am certain that she is the only reason i do get up. i'm thankful for it, really.

you clearly need around the clock maintenance, but with generic ms contin, it will not last overnight and your only choice is to either set an alarm and go back to sleep or get up and accept that you need to allow the medication to work.

i'm hoping to find a way to afford, newly generic, kadian. it's release mechanism is much more advanced and it is supposed to last the full 8-12 hours instead of 6-7 like generic ms er. my doctors think it's a great switch to make because i not only wake up in a lot of pain, but often withdrawal. it just depends on when i take my last and first dose. right now i can't afford to have medication that works better.

but, i hope you can, you need it!
-jen

Wow, jen. Can I come to breakfast at your house? Sounds yummy!

ha ha, the pills or the food, keeska?

lol. i'm just kidding. opal's best meal is breakfast. her interest in food wanes as the day wears on. i try to pack the kid full of nutrients in the morning and hope for more than half eaten meals for the rest of the day.

after being a chef for so long, i'm really particular about what she eats. i made all of her baby food and first bites of meat filled mini pasta, chicken broccoli cheese nuggets, baby pizza bites and chicken noodles. i've had to chill out a bit and buy a few things now that are less than what i'd like us to eat, but i just can't stand and prepare large batches of frozen yummies anymore. i just have to keep doing the best i can and not worry so much. it all paid off though, the avocado and papaya purees, fresh fava and cauliflower mush.
i've got a 3 year old who begs for broccoli, peas, carrots, corn and brussels sprouts as a side dish. (along side a pizza, of course...)

sure, you can come over and eat as long as you don't mind sitting on a couch bed with a three year old who hates clothes and mostly wears panties and a totally drugged up lady with really messy hair, pj's still on and un-brushed teeth. i hope you like the shows on pbs kids!

-jen

I've tried several combinations of laxatives and all things cause cramping if they even work at all. That hurts. Also I need meds early. So I have a coffee maker in my bedroom. I make it and take a pain pill and relief eventually comes after I go and muscles get settled down. If I didn't have to go through this I could work. Maybe medical MJ will help me one day so I don't have these issues. No constipation! Til then I dream....of better days.
I found the long acting meds took longer to start working and only worked for about 8 hrs, not 12.
What if you set the alarm earlier, put a glass of ice near your bed so by morning it would be water..take the pill and go back to sleep. Just a suggestion. I can't get back to sleep when I tried this. But I can't think of any other way to help this morning crappy situation.

I don't like mornings either. I am so stiff and have spasms. My muscle is a spasms. I have been getting 150mgs of Trazadone at night. I have a new med doctor. He is making go down to four mgs. of Klonipin. The things id that he wanted me to go down Img each month and I am supposed to be on just 4mgs. I can't go that fast. I have been on it for over 20years. I have been able to get down to 5mg in the last two months but I am still on edge a little. I am supposed to be on 4mg but I am not. I think It will take another few month to be down to that dosage. I can't speak with my Doctor and when I tried to I get his nurse who doesn't listen to me. Luckily I have extra meds. I try to go down .5mgs at a time. Hopefully I will have enough to do it they way my old doctor always did. I told my therapist it was just too fast and how I wanted to it by half a milligram at a time. She agreed with me.I will try to talk to my doctors RN again but I hope she doesn't go off on my. Also I am supposed to only take my Trazadone if I can't sleep but I can't sleep every night. Now my psych wants me to take Topamax. I don't know what for. Aren't people suing from health problems. I just don't know anymore what to do with meds if they are going to make me fat or if it will be something that will hurt me or of kill me.

i agree...mornings suck...i used to go for a gentle walk but i cant really manage it now. you always know in the morning how the days going to go in pain terms. hope you feel better soon x

I've never been a morning person but RSD made SURE I never would be. I'm in the same boat. I take MScontin before bed, but b/c of insomnia and/or my 2 year old's recent horrific sleep change (as in NOT sleeping at night and screaming) I just check the clock and my med schedule (both conveniently on my Blackberry phone) and pray that I can take something and go back to sleep!

As that is a dream most days, I ALWAYS start the day in a warm bath. I end the day in one, too. But I find it is easier to ease into the day and the pain in a bath. If my pain is really bad I read in the bath so my mind is off till the meds kick in. I do like that the MSContin lasts longer than the average med, but am curious about this Kadian. And after many years I'm curious as to whether or not I take generic MSC or regular, and if there is a difference? It seems implied in this post that there IS a difference between generic MSC and regular.

Luckily tomorrow is a Saturday and my hubby gets up with junior at night if need be, and gets up with him in the morning. I can take my meds w/o worrying about having to get up.

Just curious- do you take breakthrough meds? Could you set your alarm to wake you and take one, or would that keep you up all night?

Good luck- mornings are just a pain, no pun intended.

PS-Broken Yolk or as I refer to you "the other Jen"- I feel like an AWFUL mommy here as I'm reading this while I make frozen chicken nuggets (which were AWFUL!) and frozen fries (not as bad.) I added yogurt and cheese but my toddler won't eat a darned thing, not that mommy here can cook. I think I should ship him to your house for a week to fatten him up! ;)

I hate mornings too and it hasn't always been like that.
I started setting my alarm an hour before I typically wake up and taking one of my meds to alleviate the edge of the pain. It's not enough that I can get up an hour later, but once I wake up I take the other one upon waking up then i lay there 30-60 minutes until that one kicks in.
If I don't do it like this then I wake up in so much pain that I am panicked. This really helps.

ive never been a morning person either but lack sleep from pain and morning pain really makes it worse if i can i try to sleep late but then that messes with whole day oh well what to do but the best we can

Mornings are the worst for me. I use to get up early before everyone & enjoyed it so. Ive never been a morning person so I would wake up before the others to avoid snapping someones head off.
Now forget it. Getting up at 8:00am is sleeping in to me.
I set alarms & take my LA med then my SA before I can get out of bed & move. Now with RA thrown in its even harder but at least I know why I was so miserable & my feet & hands would not work.

Maybe something like that Honor, setting your alarm & taking what ever will help you get up & moving. I get up but still can't get in the shower right away, That time is my group & internet time till I can move.
I do get it, I miss the old me in the mornings, even the cranky one.
Sammy

oh, hey

other jen- i just saw this and i wanted you to know that you're clearly a great mom. some people don't make anything for their kids to eat, and it's not because they don't have food. everything is packaged and microwavable and it's just the way it is now. our lives are busy.

you're not a bad mom, all food is nutritious to some degree and multi vitamins are great now. like i said, i've had to give up a lot of the things i used to make all the time.

at the height of my insanity with baby/ toddler food i had very little pain and i wasn't working. i stayed home for the first year. when i went back to work.. i didn't have that kind of time at all. finally when i got to sick to work and was home again, i didn't have the ability to be the culinary hero around here.

we all do what we can and our intentions are generally good. don't worry, lady!

-jen

Yup, mornings is a bitch. I take my pain meds as soon as I get up-5:50 am. There are times I can barely walk. I watch the news until 6:30 am and then shower. By the time I get out of the shower, and ready for work, the pain meds have kicked in and moving around has helped. Then I start feeling better and can go to work.

For me, the morning pain will never go away. If I don't have to work on Saturday, and I make myself get showered and up, I know I will feel better and won't waste my day. I am not saying that some days I say hell with it and veg, but waiting for the meds to kick in and showering helps.

Hooray for the pain dr. Mine saved me from 24/7 year round pain. If you don't like one, find another.

Good luck