Lately I’ve been having severe back pain. The pain is so severe sometimes it wakes me up at night. I’m currently being weaned off prednisone which is great because I really hate the side effects. I’m also now taking Lyrica, Losec, and Azathioprine. I find the lyrica has reduced a lot of the pain but at night it’s the most severe. I’m considering getting a memory foam mattress topper to maybe relieve some of the pain. Has anyone used one and found it helpful? If anyone has any other suggestions to relieve the back pain I would really appreciate it.
I have a 2 1/2 inch memory foam topper- it was around $100 at Walmart (queen size) and I love it! It is well worth the investment.It
Thanks so much for your reply. I’ll definitely have to invest it one.
Awesome, I’m hoping it’ll be as helpful to me. Thanks for your reply.
Did you have back problems before the steroids? I ask this because I have severe disc degenerative disc disease. I had a double level surgery and I’m recommended to have a fusion that I desperately don’t want. But since I’ve been on the medrol my back has been soooo much better. That’s the one good thing about the steroids and the only reason I’m afraid of going off of them.
Would this memory foam topper relieve the pain I experience on my hips and shoulders from my fibro pain? I have been thinking about getting one..
I didn't sleep in my bed for almost 2 years due to lower back, hip & knee pain. I finally broke down & bought a memory foam topper, don't know why I waited so long to try it. It's wonderful, well worth the money. Im now "comfortably" sleeping back in my bed. I highly recommend getting one.
I never had any major back problems prior to taking prednisone. I used to have some lower back pain that would come and go, mostly during physical activity. But now the pain is constant and it’s the worst at night. I’m not sure but maybe this warrants a call to my rheumy. Thank you for the reply.
Brittany
Hey Brittany! I too, am weaning off my Prednisone and also have had some major back pain in the last few days! How weird is that? I have a mattress topper from Walmart that was pretty cheap and has REALLY helped since we put it on the bed. It’s one of those egg crate looking thingys! Hope this helps! Be Well!
Oh that is pretty weird. Maybe the prednisone is to blame. Thanks so much for the reply. It seems that a mattress topper may be a really good investment.
Most definitely- it relieves the pressure off your whole body. I laid down on another bed recently and decided I would have to stick to my bed. Too bad they are so heavy and so hard to move- I would take t with me every time I traveled.
Trisha said:
Would this memory foam topper relieve the pain I experience on my hips and shoulders from my fibro pain? I have been thinking about getting one…
MBPP.
So true!
Some of those little bent over women have osteoporsis. My laminectomy from 2000 collapsed due to prednisone and the doc withdrawing alendronate and autoimmune disease. Hmmm. Prednisone and autoimmune diseases can really take a toll on the back causing back pain and bone degeneration.
I now take Reclast annually which has really halted the progression and even added some bone strength. Also, I have two memory foam mattresses in my house. One for me and one for the guest room. Guests think it's the next best thing to sleeping on a cloud. My friends are older and no one complains about waking up sore and stiff.
You have to hold on.
Ann A. said:
Trisha
The topper would certainly help with pain that comes from pressure while you sleep. I still do not rest comfortably on the damaged side for long period of time but I no longer wake up screaming. One of the things in my life for which I am most greatful is the ability to wake up slowly, to pray, and to contemplate the day ahead rather to roll out quickly.
Prednisone and Backpain - This is just my opinion and my docs disagree. I believe that the first bones affected by vitamin D deficiency, including that induced by prednisone are the small bones in the spinal, especially the little ones that create the facet joints and then the weight bearing joints. When I see older women all bowed over I do not see it as the natural consequence of aging. I see it as the failure to provide them with nutrition to support bone strength.
You go in a pet store to but a reptile they will warn you that without sufficient UV to synthesize vitamin D, its spine will crumble. When our spines start to crumble I believe that the same process is involved. Prednisone both contributes to the damage and masks the pain. You come off the prednisone and you might require epidural steroid injections to treat the inflammation in the back. Sorry to be the bearer of this view. But it is my experience.
Hope am wrong.
I have an old school water bed,it’s like laying down on a giant heating pad,they aren’t cheap like they use to be,A basic box shape without head board is around 800 at bedrooms west,I’m sure it would be easy to build,mattress for king size 200,heater 98,I almost asked the high school wood shop to build me the frame…I got lucky and found a bookcase king size with drawers for 200,at a estate sale…love it,log bed got moved to guest room…
Hi Brittany, glad you are getting off the Prednisone. I hate that stuff too! I tried Lyrica but it didn't do anything but give me a lot of crazy side effects. I have used a memory foam mattress for about 10 years now and love it! We went through several different types of beds in our 43 years of marriage, including water bed, spring mattress and sleep number type and it wasn't until we got the Tempuretic (not sure of spelling) that I really started sleeping better at night and waking up with less back pain. I still have back pain but it's mostly on my lower right side which I'm begging to think it's either my kidney or what my family doctor believes are adhesions in my intestines there. I have quite a few and I have a lot of pain in my lower back and abdomen whenever I have gas or a stool that needs to be passed. Sometimes it gets so bad I have a hard time straightening upright. I go back to the Rheumy next week and will be asking her about it for sure.
I don't think you can go wrong though getting a topper for your bed. I would spend the extra and get a Temperpedic brand as they last a lot longer than a generic one.
My rheumy also suggested that brand. I’ve been having a hard time locating it but I will continue to look. I too hate the prednisone; I’m hoping that one day I can stop taking it completely. I’ve been having a lot of side effects but I’m not sure which medication is causing them. Aside from the prednisone And Imuran which are still the same, I’ve been given some other meds to try. I’m not sure which one’s are causing my side effects. Wishing you the best of luck at your appointment; hopefully everything goes well.
angelwing said:
Hi Brittany, glad you are getting off the Prednisone. I hate that stuff too! I tried Lyrica but it didn't do anything but give me a lot of crazy side effects. I have used a memory foam mattress for about 10 years now and love it! We went through several different types of beds in our 43 years of marriage, including water bed, spring mattress and sleep number type and it wasn't until we got the Tempuretic (not sure of spelling) that I really started sleeping better at night and waking up with less back pain. I still have back pain but it's mostly on my lower right side which I'm begging to think it's either my kidney or what my family doctor believes are adhesions in my intestines there. I have quite a few and I have a lot of pain in my lower back and abdomen whenever I have gas or a stool that needs to be passed. Sometimes it gets so bad I have a hard time straightening upright. I go back to the Rheumy next week and will be asking her about it for sure.
I don't think you can go wrong though getting a topper for your bed. I would spend the extra and get a Temperpedic brand as they last a lot longer than a generic one.
I ordered ours online at the following place. They will deliver it and set it up on your bed frame. If you order the mattress it's best they set it up as it weighs a ton. LOL The toppers you can do yourself.
Oh that’s great. It’ll save me the hassle, thank you.
angelwing said:
I ordered ours online at the following place. They will deliver it and set it up on your bed frame. If you order the mattress it’s best they set it up as it weighs a ton. LOL The toppers you can do yourself.
I have a gel foam topper from Costco, it's 3 inches. Makes such a difference, I have hip, back and neck problems. I still have to take ambien to sleep, but when I wake up I can get up! Before I was in so much pain I could hardly move! I would recommend a topper for sure!
How quickly are you decreasing your dose of Prednisone? I am down to 5mg every other day. When I started lowering my dose from 20mg a day (I had been on it for years ) I had severe back pain each time I dropped a 5 mg dose. When I got to 5mg/day, I decided to try it every other day. I still had the back pain for a while but I have stayed at 5mg every other day for 6 months and the pain is much less. The adrenal glands need to adjust to working again. If the pain you have is in the kidney area, it may be your adrenals. Some people can only decrease 1 mg at a time .
I started at 50mg a day. I’m decreasing 5mg every two weeks. I’m currently on 45mg. This is my second go at prednisone decreasing the prednisone. The first time I didn’t have as many issues with it.
Suezcue42 said:
How quickly are you decreasing your dose of Prednisone? I am down to 5mg every other day. When I started lowering my dose from 20mg a day (I had been on it for years ) I had severe back pain each time I dropped a 5 mg dose. When I got to 5mg/day, I decided to try it every other day. I still had the back pain for a while but I have stayed at 5mg every other day for 6 months and the pain is much less. The adrenal glands need to adjust to working again. If the pain you have is in the kidney area, it may be your adrenals. Some people can only decrease 1 mg at a time .