When you have chronic pain sometimes it affects your sleep and sometimes you struggle with what chronic pain sufferers refer to as painsomnia. What is painsomnia? Painsomnia is not technically a word in the dictionary, and it’s what people with chronic pain describe as being in so much pain that you cannot sleep. Sleep deprivation is common when you have painful conditions such as endometriosis because pain sometimes flares when you wish it wouldn’t, and there is only so much you can do to prevent pain flares from happening. I struggle with painsomnia quite often and am actually surprised when I sleep through the night and don’t wake up with elevated pain levels. Painsomnia is frustrating because when you don’t sleep well, you are more fatigued during the day, which makes you less productive, so you get behind with important tasks. I can easily be on top of my pain during the day, but when I am sleeping, it’s hard and often flares in the middle of the night. What can you do if you are struggling with painsomnia? In this post, I am going to talk about what I do when pain prevents me from getting a good night’s rest.
I get up and go to the bathroom- When you have endometriosis, a full bladder and going to the bathroom in general can be ten times more painful because endometriosis isn’t just bad period cramps and can affect any major organ in your body, but it is most common for it to affect your bladder and bowel function. If my bladder is full, it is so much more painful than it used to be that I can barely stand it, and most of the time, the reason I wake up is because of the debilitating pain of a full bladder. I have pain medication that can help give me some relief from endometriosis pain when it gets really bad, but sometimes you don’t need it, and all you need to do is pee. There is nothing worse than the pain of a full bladder, and I get up almost immediately because if you wait too long it can cause you to have more pain for longer.
I do something to distract myself from the pain- If I wake up at 3 am with increased pain levels, I try to fall back asleep but sometimes the pain is so intense that it’s impossible to fall back asleep even after taking pain medication, because medication doesn’t always take the pain away and sometimes it does almost nothing for you. If I tried to fall asleep and it’s just not happening, I often will do something like watch a funny tv show or listen to music to distract myself from the pain, and sometimes it’s enough to help me fall back asleep. I don’t always fall back asleep, but it does help distract me from the pain because when you sit there and think about how much pain you are in it makes things so much worse. Distractions don’t lessen the pain, but it does help put your mind on something else and make it a little more bearable.
I sometimes will rub peppermint oil on my stomach- I sometimes will wake up in the middle of the night with a migraine, but most nights, endometriosis pain is what wakes me up. Peppermint oil can be a great drug-free option for pain relief if I am feeling crampy, and sometimes I will rub that on my stomach and feel immediate relief. I don’t generally put peppermint oil in a diffuser because if I am having stomach aches, it doesn’t give me relief unless it is direct skin contact, and peppermint oil can help wake you up, which is not what you want if you are struggling with insomnia. Peppermint oil is a great non-toxic way to relieve pain because it is anti-inflammatory and can help relax your muscles.
I sometimes will change my sleeping position- When you live with pain sometimes you struggle with chronic back pain and need more support than someone without pain. If I wake up with pain, I sometimes will change my sleeping position or put an extra pillow behind my back because sometimes I am in a position that aggravates my pain, and all I have to do is change my sleep position to feel better. I am a side sleeper, and sometimes I have to change what side I am sleeping on or lie on my back for a while because a lot of the time my sleeping position is the problem.
I often will get up and move around- If I am in unbearable pain and can barely move I will not get out bed because that will aggravate my pain and make it worse. Most times I wake up in pain it’s not unbearable and getting up and moving actually helps. If my pain is bearable, often I will get up and move around because sometimes I am just stiff, and moving around helps relieve some of that stiffness so I can fall back asleep.
Sleep is important for everyone because if you don’t sleep enough it can negatively affect your health, causing health issues that may have been avoidable. People in pain need more sleep than someone without pain, but it can be difficult to get good quality sleep when you have agonizing pain that you can’t stop thinking about. Chronic pain can be very difficult to manage because it’s impossible to completely prevent pain, and you can be doing everything right and still have bad days sometimes. Painsomnia is frustrating because pain medication is not a cure and does not get your pain to a zero, but only helps get it to a level that is bearable. I sometimes will take my medication on bad days, but it is always a last resort because taking pain medication all the time is not good for your liver and can have negative health outcomes. If you live with pain, try to get as much sleep as you can and go to bed early because the more rest you have the less likely you will be to have a flare. What do you do when you have painsomnia and can’t sleep? If you liked this post, please leave a comment below and share it with your friends.
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