Tense muscles on waking - what is it?

[Sasha]

I've noticed lately that I've been waking up tense and am wondering how much this is contributing to my sleep not being all that refreshing.

I have been taking Lyrica (Pregabalin) for insomnia for a year, have lately started doing a body scan meditation (a calming meditation that relaxes the body) to help me get to sleep quickly and am sleeping solidly for about 8 hours.

I'm not sure if the tension is a new thing or whether I'm noticing it because I'm sleeping better and it's easier to spot this symptom because I'm not waking up dead tired.

I googled and found advice is that tense muscles on waking indicate that you need a better mattress (e.g. a Tempur one). But my tension is even in my hands!

I noticed lately that my calf muscle, which hurts when I lie flat with it in contact with the floor, gets relief from an Epsom salts poultice which made me wonder if I have a magnesium deficiency, which can cause muscles to cramp. Not sure if that's relevant.

I'm not getting cramp; don't have anxiety or depression; I'm not physically tense during the day; and I'm not worried about anything.

Does anyone else have this, or know what it is? Sleep quality is so important in ME, I'd like to fix this if I can.

 

[Mya Symons]

Fibromyalgia?

 

[Sasha]

Fibromyalgia?

Hi Mya - I don't know much about fibromyalgia but doesn't it involve pain? I'm not in pain and there are no tender spots. It's like when you go to sleep somewhere that's too cold and wake up all stiff and tense. I'm not too cold, though!

 

[Wonko]

not being funny but are you sure?

I've found I sleep better with an extra duvet - despite the fact that with just one I can be too warm to the point of discomfort and serious sweating - simply feeling too hot and sweating doesnt mean my body is warm enough. I actualy sweat less and have less discomfort and feel cooler with 2 duvets rather than just one - but then I'm probably just wierd lol.

With one duvet (9 tog) I wake up stiff, tensed up and generally in pain (thats what wakes me up most days), with the addition of another (4.5tog) I wake up much less stiff/tensed up and am much more functional - much less of the hit by a convoy of trucks and dragged all night feeling, less falling over coz my feet fail when I try and stand up as well. ow what wakes me up is either the cat yelling at me or pain from my arms - which generally werent under the duvets - occasionally I even wake up 'normally'.

Might be worth a try is all I'm suggesting.

 

[Sasha]

Hi Wonko - that's strange that you get less of a feeling of being too hot when you are under more insulation! If I feel too hot I can't get to sleep - I don't think I've got the option of putting an extra duvet on. I don't feel at all cold on waking - I just remember the feeling of waking stiff and tense all over from sleeping in places in winter with inadequate heating! Fortunately my flat isn't cold.

 

[Wonko]

I didnt feel cold on waking either, only figured out that I was too cold when things improved due to me trying an extra duvet during the cold snap before xmas, now if i take it off I go downhill - I only tried it because I was aware/informed my flat was like an icebox not because I felt cold in bed - tho for a change I wasnt too hot lol.

But this years been unusual in that I have actually felt the cold when awake, I dont normally, in fact the colder the better normally (especially for getting to sleep).

Lucky you to have nice warm flat tho ;-)

 

[Mya Symons]

Hi Mya - I don't know much about fibromyalgia but doesn't it involve pain? I'm not in pain and there are no tender spots. It's like when you go to sleep somewhere that's too cold and wake up all stiff and tense. I'm not too cold, though!

They say that fibromyalgia is not a progressive disease, but I think it is. I started out with fatigue and swollen lymph nodes (cfs?), then added stiff muscles and joints, then came the tender points and all over pain, next came balance problems, then twitching and now I am having severe fatigue with nausea, dizziness and sweating when I stand up and move around. However, I also have ostearthritis and cfs so who knows--some of the stiffness could have been the start of arthritis or a symptom of cfs??????

 

[Sasha]

Yikes, Mya, I'm sorry to hear about your experience developing all those symptoms. CFS is really no fun and to get new stuff and then another condition added on top of it isn't good.

Maybe time will tell with me. I still feel stiff and tense and it's twelve hours now since I got up! I wish I could take a hot bath but my water heater is too small to put more than a few inches in.

I've just ordered a memory foam mattress topper to see if that's any help.

 

[heapsreal]

Could be related to restless leg syndrome type of thing. I find if i take meds for sleep that are suppose to be bad for RLS i dont get RLS but all over stiffness/aches especially if i have some stiffness already, if i dont have any stiffness taking the meds doesnt normally worry me then. Things like antihistamines, tricyclic antidepressants are some meds which are no good for RLS. Lyrica is a med which is suppose to be helpful for RLS and i have found it helpful but still have my moments and have to dodge the other meds when going through one of these stages. I tend to get alot of pain in my lower legs like shin splints. I dont know if u get this every night but if u get it occassionally and can tell when its going to be one of those nights, using a benzo with lyrica i have found helpful.
Its good to see your still getting good sleep with lyrica for so long. Do u use anything else for sleep or lyrica is all you need?

cheers!!!

 

[Sasha]

Hi heapsreal - I had a sleep study done and showed no sign of RLS (but that was one night) - I don't wake up tangled in the bedclothes, though, so maybe that's another sign I don't have it - no shinsplints or anything...

I only use Lyrica. I had tried other meds in the past (amitryptiline and one or two others I forget) before finding that Lyrica worked for me (75mg). Since a bad cold/flu in October I had had serious trouble getting to sleep so added in other stuff but had bad side effects and no good effects so stopped. For the last three weeks or so I've been doing a body scan meditation most nights and drop off to sleep within about 10 minutes and sleep solidly. I'm surprised it seems so effective! I've also forced myself to get up at the same time as far as possible even if I'm shattered and need to go back to bed later (but usually getting up wakes me up properly and there's no need). I have breakfast immediately to help establish the pattern. I think that all those things in combination have helped me.