Back Pain ONLY at night

  • Thread starter Thread starter ozchick
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ozchick

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For about 3 months now, I have been having back pain at waist level on one side only that wakes me from my sleep after 4-5 hours. It is fine once I get out of bed after about 10 minutes.

I have had x-ray, and CT scan of spine and abdomen - both OK.

The pain is getting worse - they thought it was kidneys but nothing there.'

I seems to be getting sharp pain/spasm like the last couple of weeks. Yesterday, I got a muscle relaxant to take before bed - no difference at all.

I had physical therapy for the pain - it made no difference at all. I do stretching etc

I am at wit's end - I need some sleep. The doc is unsure - she is sending me for a lung x-ray (a small nodule was found, coincidentally by the CT scan) and also an ultrasound of my abdomen (I thought the CT scan would have seen anything abnormal)

Any ideas welcome
 
Hi Chick and welcome!
Sorry you are having pain but glad you found us. This is a great place to ask questions and vent.
In order to really diagnose back problems you will need to have an MRI. An MRI is much better than a CT to see all the dics, vertebrae, etc. Maybe you could ask your doc about that. Good luck with your ultrasound and keep us posted.

Deb
 
Hi Chick,
I agree with Deb about getting an MRI. The CT scan, MRI, and ultrasound all focus on the various parts of our anatomy in different ways. Bone vs tissues show up differently. An MRI shows things that can't be seen on CT scan, and vice versa.

This doesn't really sound like the problem, but it's still worth mentioning: since you only have the pain at night, could it be something about how you sleep or your bed?

I hope you can get some answers and relief.

Emily
 
I agree you should get a MRI.

from what I understand from research (I had this pain when sleeping too) is it can be caused by a narrowing of the space where the nerve exits the spine (cant recall the name atm). your sleeping position stretches the nerve to the point where it hits in this area. sometimes they can "open up" that area (a more or less minor procedure, at least compared to fusion). of course many other things can cause it too so dont take that as fact. get the MRI and take it to a spine surgeon or neuro surgeon.

you may also want to invest in a GOOD bed. I use a memory foam mattress and like it a lot. but $3,000 is a hefty chunk of coin.
 
I have SI Joint Pain Dyfunction and it hurts more at night when trying to sleep than anything. It hurts on the left side (not everyone does) and the right side and comes on after my body has gotten really relaxed, so I feel sure something is shifting and putting pressure on the sciatic nerve.

Maybe, just for grins, do a search on SI Joint and see if any of it sounRAB familiar. I also hurt some during the day........can't walk long, sit long.....but the real pain come after I go to bed...........a NIGHTMARE.

Just my little input..........NO DOC HERE. :)
 
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