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Severe back pain only when lying down

Posted , 100 users are following.

rebecca204
rebecca204

Hi,

I am enquiring about a problem i have been experiencing with my back over the last couple of weeks.

Whenever i lay on my back in bed i get severe pain in the lower right side of my back and i have to take shallow breathes because it hurts too much to take full breathes. Depending on how i lie in bed depends on whereabouts its hurts and how painful it is. For example, if i lay on flat on my back or my left side, my lower left side of my back is extremely painful, if i lay on my right side the pain is not as bad but also moves in the right side of my abdomen and if i lay on my front the pain eases a small amount.

I dont get pain during the day when moving around and my general breathing is not affected, sometimes i do feel a 'twinge' if i yawn or take a deep breathe. I also go to the gym 3 times a week and its doesnt hurt during the workout. It literally only hurts when i lie in bed. It also doesnt hurt to the touch.

I know its not a pulled muscle from the gym as that would hurt constantly, but i feel my doctor would try and fob it off as that.

My current job is office based so i do spend many hours sat down during the day, but i exercise regularly throughout the week.

I have used anti-inflammetries and deep heat sprays and creams, which seem to ease it when i first go to bed but by half way through the night, i move in bed and its as painful as before.

What could be causing this pain?

9 likes, 136 replies

136 Replies

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  • stevejh
    stevejh

    Posted

    Hi ,

    I have exactly the same problem, when I sleep i have severe back pain but no symptoms at all during theday. Its steadily been getting worse over the last 12 months, I have tried massage, relaxation, new mattress, sleeping positions, stretching exercises , Nothing seems to work.

    I take 4 ibuprofen before i go to bed, this seems to get me through most of the night, My GP has not heard of this symptom & suggested it was asthma but I have been tested & its clear.

    Do you still have the problem , have you any answers to what the cause is.?

    thanks.

    • joseph84461
      joseph84461 stevejh

      Posted

      I had this problem for 14 years and 2 weeks ago someone told me

      about a medication that is used for parkinsons and restless leg

      syndrome, it's called ROPINIRole .5mg after taking it for 3 days

      I am pain free. ask your docter about it      IT WORKS

    • helen02105
      helen02105 stevejh

      Posted

      Hi Steve,

      A pain in the back that gets worse at night when you're sleeping then easing off in the morning when you get up and start moving about could be a sign of ankylosing spondilitis.

      Helen

    • katherine1981
      katherine1981 stevejh

      Posted

      I had the same problem off and on for 3.5 YEARS.I tried everything, new bed, massage, chiropractor, new couch with recliners because it didn't hurt as bad if I was lying down, acupuncture, anesthetic creams, meds, if it was possible I tried it but nothing helped. I went to my doctors all the time and he ran every kind of test he could eventually I just stopped complaining and learned how to live with it. Until last week, last week I was having the same kind of pain but in my stomach and right side and it wasn't just when I was laying down, went to the emergency room and they did a ct scan right there and said they had to remove my appendix right away. Well I 10 days post op and I have no more pain in my back when I sleep. I don't know for sure but wow this is great.
    • jim_41642
      jim_41642 joseph84461

      Posted

      Joseph: Many thanks for sharing about ROPINIRole .5mg. I'm having many of the same symptoms on this thread. So far two X-Rays and the first of two MRIs haven't diagnosed my problem. What is ROPINRole? Is it a steroid? any side effects, e.g. stomach unrest?

    • jim_41642
      jim_41642 helen02105

      Posted

      Thank you for suggesting ankylosing spondilitis. I'm having many of the same symptoms shared on this thread. What motivated you to suggest ankylosing spondlytis? After two X-rays and the first of 2 MRI's, my doctors have yet to bring that up. The favor of any feedback would be most welcome.

    • Roccdeezy
      Roccdeezy jim_41642

      Posted

      Jim-many family doctors and spine specialist are not familiar with auto immune diseases like AS, lupus or RA so they don't always point to those types of issues! They specialize in issues that relate to everybody so those are often the very last resorts when looking for issues and conditions! If you have no success with those types of issues then you may have a special condition that requires a special doctor! Often auto immune diseases do not show up on special imaging like CAT or MRI.

    • avinash58946
      avinash58946 helen02105

      Posted

      Hello Helen,

      I am getting the same issue from last 5 days. I also feel Pain in my chest Skelton as same as back while sleeping. While searching on Google I went thru your comments. Not have this earlier in life . I am 30 yrs old now.

      Yesterday I met a doctor and he gave me medicine of vitamin E, vitamin D3, Calcium, Revital, and SN 15.

      Pls suggest

    • pradeepktg
      pradeepktg avinash58946

      Posted

      Hi Avinash, I have the same issue past 1 week. Earlier I had ulcer and gastric problem. I thought it could be heavy gastritis that is causing the back pain. I consulted gastroenterologist and he gave me delton. It’s been just one day, I don’t see any improvement. Did you had/have ulcer/gastric problem? Do you feel your tigh, shoulder muscles are sometimes twitching/tingling sensation? Any improvements from your side?
  • Sam_tbbi.org
    Sam_tbbi.org

    Posted

    Hi Steve.

    Can I ask what sort of pain you are experiencing in the night? is it nerve pain that feels a bit like an electric

    current running through your lower back? or is it more like a muscular pain?

    Also, do you get pain and weakness in your legs?

    Sam

  • stevejh
    stevejh

    Posted

    Hi Sam

    Its difficult to say, its just severe pain. I always thought it was muscular, sometimes it feels like having a bruise , when touching the area its very tender. The pain also moves around, just lately I have been getting it in my chest & shoulder, then after a few days its all back into my back.

    The ibruprofen are helping, although I take 4 just before going to bed so I think it is knocking me out.

    Yes, I am having some issues with my legs more of a weakness, but as I walk the dog in the morning this seems to disappear after that

    I do have a stiff neck some mornings but again after an hour or so , nothing.

    After that you wouldn't know there was any issue because during the day there's nothing.

    I m getting to the stage where I dread going to bed.

    Regards

    Steve

    • tonya78462
      tonya78462 stevejh

      Posted

      Please let me know what happened with your MRI  I have had the same problem for about 3 years now, and I sleep very little, because it hurts too much too lay down  It is my lower back though  I have tried everything....Gabapentin, tramadol, even hydrocodone.  I have had corticoid injections, physical therapy, needling, massages.  Nothing works!  When I lay on my right side, the pain is worse....I feel shooting pain down my right leg.  When I lay on my back or left side it just throbs.  I only sleep a couple hours a night, and its makes me irrratible and tired all day as a result.  I am going to try the ropinirole that was suggested, but am curious as to how your MRI turned out.

       

    • kim13607
      kim13607 tonya78462

      Posted

      Hi Tonya, I know this was over a year ago but you sounded exactly like what my boyfriend is going through. Were you able to get help with it? I would love help. It's so hard to see him in such pain and little to no sleep. Thank you so much!!

    • angela323
      angela323 stevejh

      Posted

      I dread going to bed now too

      Absolutely nothing except prayer eases the pain

    • Linda0117
      Linda0117 stevejh

      Posted

      Steve, did you have an MRI. I went thru this a few months ago. It took five months and every possible test to try to figure it out. It wasnt until I had the MRI that the problem showed. I had all your same symptoms. THe pain was worse while resting, fine all day long. The only doctor that seems to recognize that sign was a neurologist. I had a spinal tumor.  If you haven't had an MRI, get one. If your doctor won't order one (they dont like to order them for some reason), see a Neurologist, they recognize that sign as a spinal tumor.  Good Luck!

    • kp326
      kp326 Linda0117

      Posted

      Hi Linda, I saw your post and am hoping you can provide more info.  I had an MRI (without contrast) two weeks ago for lumbar L1-5 and S1-3.  Negative.  Yesterday I went for a new MRI (this time with contrast) for the same areas but all the way down to S5.  All of my symptoms point to a tumor (as my pain started six weeks ago and has progressively gotten worse).  In addition a ct scan is showing slightly enlarged nodes in my abdomen.  What disc was your tumor on and how did they finally find it?  Thanks.  Karen
    • drew00389
      drew00389 stevejh

      Posted

      Is your pain while lying down as if too much pressure is applied to your skin's surface and does it feel also as if it could be lung pain? I have something like that and it's getting worse and I always thought this was caused by one event where I had my back bitten numerously by a spider at night. I also thought it nay be asbestos disease in my lungs after potentially breathing in some mild asbestos dust in the past a few times. So I always suspected either near-surface nerve damage or lung pain and now that it progresses to more frequent and stronger, I started to suspect my spinal cord as I started getting daily esophagus ring contractions with "breathe outs" which could be connected to this problem (or not). The back pain is kind of weird, not heart pain definitely, feels more like lung pain and it only starts once lying down on a hard pillow as if "tender skin pain" or similar to tender finger pain. Probably has something to do with spine as I used to have one side of my pelvis swell up after lifting weghts, which would push me slightly to one side and hard to move. Pull ups may help. I also used to drink Japanese TOCYU TEA (Tochu Cha) thinking it is back nerve damnage from spider bites and that tea used to really help or as I thought it did. But now I realize the tea does not help anymore and the pain is now dialy and stronger and tonight I also started getting similar very annoying mild pain between my left rib cage. Early 50s male and most hated among all these days, which is SWM. :-)

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