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Severe back pain only when lying down

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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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  • rebecca204
    rebecca204

    Posted

    Hi Guys,

    Ill be honest, i never went to the doctors about the pain - it went away after a while and has not come back since. So i feel i may have been slightly dramatic & just pulled something at the gym (although the pain definately did not feel like pulled muscle pain). But i stopped using a piece of equipment that worked your side muscles and twists my back and the pain went away, so i think it was maybe that causing it.

    Steve, i would defo go and see your doctor again. If he/she's anything like mine, you will have to massively nag them to get tests and possible diagnosis. What your experiencing sounds horrendous and definately not right.

    Hope you get better soon smile

    Bex

    • john16195
      john16195 rebecca204

      Posted

      Hi guys I just had a pulmonary embolism go through my lungs now a week went by everything was going great until Saturday morning excruciatingly painful stabbing pain lower back and rib cage Dr don't know what is causing it new x Ray looks good but every night two or three hours into my sleep the pain is ridiculous oxicodone didn't do a thing I'm confused about what is going on

    • anita14008
      anita14008 john16195

      Posted

      Hi John, I was diagnosed with a pulmonary infarction and a pulmonary embolism last week. I'm on Fragmin and Warfarin. I had shortness of breath and had to sleep sitting up but it started easing so I thought great, I'm on the mend. Then exactly the same as you I started with this other pain. It even radiates up to my shoulder blade when I'm lying down. Did you ever get a diagnosis? I have more scans due, but this is very worrying.

  • Sam_tbbi.org
    Sam_tbbi.org

    Posted

    Hi Rebecca

    I totally agree, if lower back pain has been a problem for more than 6 weeks, your GP should by rights refer you to see a specialist who will then decide if an MRI is required.

    What most people don't know and what the NHS don't actively promote is that all NHS patients have the right to insist on a referral on the first visit to the GP and you can even specify which hospital you want to to and even which particular consultant you would like to see.

    Sam

  • H.Evan
    H.Evan

    Posted

    I used to feel that way. But after I figured out that the problem was my bed. Have you thought changing your mattress?
  • stevejh
    stevejh

    Posted

    We had a new mattress , its really comfortable.. Trouble is I spend 6 months a year in hotels, working away.

    I have had an Xray & have a cervical rib which may be part of the problem.

    I have an MRI scan booked for next week , my consultant will have a better understanding after, hopefully.

    • TaraLyn
      TaraLyn stevejh

      Posted

      Hi Steve,

      I'm desperate to know how you ended up. I am in deep pain and no xray or scan has picked anything up. Did the MRI shed some light? How are you now?

  • Evonn
    Evonn

    Posted

    Hi I'm having the same problem,started about 8 months ago.within ten minutes of lying down the pain in my lower right back starts.its like an intense throbbing pain with spasms,had X-rays.and scan nothing shows up,am taking gabapentin and tramadol,and still don't get much sleep if I'm lucky a couple of hours a night.im also very anemic don't know if this is related are not,have no pain during the day, started with no warning no pulled muscles are anything. Not my mattress as I bought new memory foam one 3 months ago hoping things would improve but they haven't . Anybody any suggestions ?
    • jim_41642
      jim_41642 Evonn

      Posted

      Evonn: Ditto with my symptoms. I too have tried several remedies, to no avail. Andy two X-rays and the 1st of 2 MRI's have yet to ID the root cause. Are you making any progress that you can share here? Any success with trying to sleep using something outside the bed? If so, please do ASAP. Thank you.

    • Roccdeezy
      Roccdeezy jim_41642

      Posted

      It seems so many people have back issues that go unresolved! I have ankylosing spondylitis and I had many X-rays and MRIs with the doctors finding nothing! I had given up hope and suffered from severe pain while sleeping at night! I could barely get out of bed in the mornings but getting out of bed made me feel better after a few hours! I was very restless because I could never find a way to sleep without severe pain! One day after constantly bugging my doctor to do something to help me figure this out he sent me to a rhuemotologist and a few weeks later I knew what was wrong. I started medication and after 3 months I could sleep for 12hrs pain free. Took me half of my life to figure out what was wrong! AS is very slow and dreadful process! See a rhuemotologist if you suspect you have it.
    • kp326
      kp326 Roccdeezy

      Posted

      Hello Roccdeezy, My name is Karen and I have been going through all kinds of tests including MRI also and nothing.  My pain is progressively getting worse.  Can you please tell me what tests were given to diagnose AS?  I would like to recommend this to my doc and spine specialist.  I am worried it may be cancer, but so far nothing has shown up.  THanks.  Karen
    • Roccdeezy
      Roccdeezy kp326

      Posted

      Blood test and imaging are the main tests! Symptoms of AS help diagnose if positive for the gene. If you test positive for the HLA-B27 gene then there is about an 80% chance you have AS! The rest is imagining of the sacroiliac joint and the spine which deteriorates very fast with AS but it can take years to diagnose if doctors aren't looking for it. Some people have different symptoms like swelling of the hands and feet along with other issues. My symptoms were joint pain everywhere in my body and severe back pain at night. Also your body will test high for inflammation with CRP and ESR levels being well above the normal marker. A Rhuemotologist is the best doctor to see for this.

    • kp326
      kp326 Roccdeezy

      Posted

      Thank you Roccdeezy.  Can you please tell me how your symptoms started.  Did it start mildly and then get worse?  How long did it take to get to the severe pain at night.  Thanks again - I will ask my gp to refer me to a Rhuemotologist.  Karen
    • Roccdeezy
      Roccdeezy kp326

      Posted

      Started as really mild pain in my hip when I was a teenager and I thought it was just growing pains. The mild hip pain lasted a few years and then I started to have mild back pain. Back pain started in late teens / early 20's. Back pain just kept getting worse year after year and nights became unbearable in my late 20's. Then my knees started to feel like they were blown out and I kept getting cortisone shots that would help for a few months! Then I started having chest pains that I thought was a heart attack. Turned out it was my sternum joints but I didn't figure that out until years later. Then I started having pain in my neck and shoulders. Actually dislocated my shoulder once without doing anything to cause it. Not sure if that was related to AS! Anyways! The short answer is that it built up over time. In the beginning it was painful but I could push through it without many problems. Eventually It gets so bad that you can't deal with the pain. And you will always be tired because you can't sleep. It becomes miserable. I can't really explain how much it hurts but it is really bad and there is nothing you can do about it. You just want to sleep and rest and you can't. It's different is all I know.

    • Patfl
      Patfl Evonn

      Posted

      I have been able to sleep seating up, if I lay down the pain gets so intense I can't breath

    • joselsgil777
      joselsgil777 Patfl

      Posted

      Patfl, do you still have the same pain? Mine started after I had some kidney stones laizered. At first I thought it would go away and that it was just my lower back muscles recovering from the procedure. I have seen an RA speciallist and they prescribed Gabbapentine in 300mg. It helps but you have to get used to the med's side effects. I cannot take the meds if I need to work the following day, so I have to sleep sitting up. The RA wants me to get an MRI, but I have claustrophobia and cannot lay in a normal MRI. I have been approved for an "Open MRI", but I cannot lay flat for more than 1 minute without have severe pain in my back. Also, when the pain starts, it feels as if something is squeezing my rib cage and I tend to hyperventilate. I have been dealing with this symptom for a year now. Some mornings I will lay down in my bed for approximately 2 hours. I cannot move or I will have extreme pain. When I get up out of bed, the pain is extreme. It will go away after a few minutes if I sit on the bed side. I cannot take any NSAID, such as ibuprofen, or sodium neproxen (aleve), or an aspirin, due to my kidney failing. I only have one kidney functioning at 54% and many drugs or procedures can cause kidney damage.

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