Sleep and Fibromyalgia

We are all familiar with the old saying, "laughter is the best medicine." To a person with fibromyalgia, sleep is the best medicine. A good night's sleep is the only surefire way to allow our overactive nerves to calm down and allow our bodies to feel less pain. Unfortunately, to a person with fibromyalgia, sleep is often elusive. Our disease comes with a bevy of symptoms that make sleeping a challenge.

Establishing an early bed time is key but is really only a dream come true if you have real responsibilities like a job, raising a child, maintaining a home, etc. There are only so many hours in a day to get things done and when you move like a land turtle some of those things take a bit longer than they ought to.

We have chronic pain. Finding that perfect comfy position is always the biggest challenge and can leave you tossing and turning for hours... literally hours.

As soon as you think you've found that comfy spot, two other symptoms creep in: irritable bowel and irritable bladder. It never fails! You think, "ok, this is it, I will fall asleep now," and then you have to pee. Sigh.

Then, you're back at trying to find that comfy spot and you start thinking, "I can take some melatonin and falling asleep will be so much easier." But, then you start to feel guilty about relying on drugs, even very mild ones, to relax and sleep. Achieving such a basic function should be so easy! At this point, two other symptoms loom: insomnia and depression. Your mind spins with thoughts about things you wish you could have accomplished that day, the challenges you will face tomorrow, how much you hate relying on medication to function like a normal person, and finally, you just give in and take melatonin so your brain slows down and you finally fall asleep.

Three hours later, if you are lucky enough to get three solid hours, you are awake again. One of your limbs is cramping and you have to pee. The cycle begins again. You give in and take two cranberry pills hoping this will calm your bladder enough to sleep the rest of the night and then you think about taking more melatonin so you can fall back asleep but it's already 4am and you have to get up at 6am or your child may wake at 5am, so you just lay there. Tossing and turning and thinking about the day ahead, trying to figure out if you will be lucky enough to get a nap. If not, by mid-afternoon you will find yourself falling asleep while reading to your child or actually shaking while you try to focus on whatever you are supposed to be doing at work. You feel like your brain actually stops working and you can't follow a real conversation. You become clumsy and awkward. You do your best to push through the day and find yourself back at the beginning of the viscous cycle.

Sleep and fibromyalgia -- how can two things so dependent on one another be each other's kryptonite?