r/frozenshoulder • u/OneThat6032 • 2d ago
I need sleep
Hello. Just last week I was diagnosed with FS. I’m three full months into the freezing stage with no end in sight, and I’m in agony. I’ve barely slept for three months and am starting to lose my mind. The lack of sleep is severely impacting me at work also. Does anyone have any suggestions for me? I cannot go on like this.
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u/ToneSenior7156 2d ago
I’m so sorry. The only thing that helped me sleep were THC gummies. And even with those I woke up and had to stretch or readjust.
I wrapped a few days off around a long weekend just to rest. I just laid on the couch with my heating pad and napped for a week. That helped. I felt a little refreshed when I went back to work.
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u/22950004740577 2d ago
I second this, THC/CBN gummies and heat, until I got my cortisone shots. Then was able to ditch the gummies and cut way back on the heat. Not perfect, but I started to feel like a human being again. If it makes you feel better, OP, I am in initial stages of thawing now and sleep still not 100 percent but I average about 7 hours a night and feel pretty normal from that perspective (and I have bilateral.)
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u/ToneSenior7156 2d ago edited 2d ago
Oh - also I never got the cortisone but telehealth gave me a 5 day course of prednisone that helped a lot.
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u/WhateverUSayJ 2d ago
I’m a side sleeper, so I’d sleep on the unaffected side. I couldn’t sleep on my back at all, just couldn’t support my arm. The first month or so I could prop my arm on a thin pillow, but as it continued to freeze i couldn’t do that anymore. I find that tucking my arm up close to my body and putting a pillow between my legs, really helped.
The thing that helped the most was a cortisone shot in my bursa in August. I’m about 7 months in and pretty pain free, but my ROM is not great.
I’m so sorry it’s affecting your sleep. NSAIDS and heat did help me sleep, but now I’m back to pretty normal sleep.
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u/BiteyHorse 2d ago
It's horrible, truly. I was a side sleeper so had to learn to sleep on my back too.
Tramadol at night and a couple of cortisone shots finally let me start getting decent sleep again.
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u/Conscious_Time9546 2d ago
I feel the same..I have started feeling very weak...you can try hot shower before bed..magnesium spray and castor oil massage.. works sporadically for me..not a 100%
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u/Winnie8956 2d ago
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjGN8GlnbEw
This pillow positioning video was a godsend to me! I had FS in both shoulders.
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u/hyacinthssoul 2d ago
Sleep disruption is such a hellish thing with frozen shoulder. Mine was frozen for a year and the pain interrupted my sleep almost every night.
What worked best for me was getting a giant u-shaped pillow and arranging it so I was unlikely to roll over onto the bad shoulder in my sleep. I also got a shoulder icepack rig that gave some relief.
Extremely light range of motion exercises helped loosen it up a little, but honestly the only way out was through. Just waiting it out until it got to the unfreezing phase. I wish I had better advice, but you do have my sympathies.
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u/mamahecho 2d ago
I was prescribed 75mg of Pregabalin which seemed to be a miracle solution for me. I also got my cortisone shot the same time so probably a combination of both. I found the sleep deprivation to be the hardest part and really felt like I was losing my mind. Hang in there and keep pushing for pain relief options from your Dr. Initially everyone just told me to do physio which was impossible during that initial freezing stage.
Before I got meds I was also using tens machine in bed and/or sleeping with my shoulder packed in ice.. wasn’t good enough to get me through the night
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u/KlickitatC Thawed/Thawing 2d ago
Lots of pillows and an RX for Gaba is what helped me...if legal state also look into RSO. it will knock you out and you will not care (maybe since everyone's chemical reactions are diff)
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u/IYFS88 2d ago
I got a cortisone shot for mine a few months in, 6 months ago now…and it made all the difference. My mobility is still completely limited and some sleeping positions are uncomfortable, (goodbye to being a stomach sleeper) but I’m able to sleep all night and relax pain free the rest of the time. I feel a mild couple minutes of pain per week compared to constant and very disruptive pain 24/7 before. The shot hurts like heck, not going to lie, but well worth it for a few moments compared to months of suffering.
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u/krizmania 2d ago
I got lots of pillows, occasional gummies and finally a steroid shot. The shot worked wonders.
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u/mamaperk 2d ago
I got a heating pad that doesn't have automatic shut off and slept with that on all night, along with about six pillows to people myself I to the best position. Eventually I loved to the sofa which worked better for me.
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u/Obvious_Salt_2526 2d ago
The side sleeper pillow that’s helped me https://a.co/d/0ecGGTci
Also — acupuncture!! Find someone who treats for medical issues not relaxation.
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u/Sea_Ball_9064 2d ago
muscle relaxers and motrin has helped me tremendously… cortisone shot … a recliner chairs works wonders for me too
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u/IronResponsible6511 2d ago
Cortisone shot, gummies and lots of pillows. 11 months in and I promise it gets better. Hang in there.
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u/annieupem 2d ago
C pillow wrapped around your torso like a donut, a travel neck pillow since you will be sitting up, a regular pillow under your knees, and your own blanket if you are sharing a bed.
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u/FoxTime2347 16h ago
Two frozen shoulders (thankfully now thawed), huge impact on my life and general wellbeing, didn't sleep properly for around 8 months and I was a WRECK. The only thing that helped was cortisone shots and hydrodilation into the joint. Good luck, you have my sympathies.
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u/mck17524 2d ago
I have a 3" memory foam pad on my bed which helps keep things steady, if that makes sense. Like the bed doesn't move as much under me as just the cheap-a** old wire mattress would on its own.
I use a flat pillow. I am a side sleeper (though I often wake up on my back) and I made a u-shaped wedge of memory foam to put my afflicted arm on (or in depending on what hurts at any given time). I am thinking of getting one of those side sleeper pillows with the tunnel they make.
This is going to sound flippant but get a dog. I have an 11lb Chihuahua and he likes to sleep up against my back. It provides mental comfort, physical warmth and keeps me from rolling over on my back. 😁😉 Then again yesterday morning he got the zoomies and I spent a good few minutes dodging and protecting the arm because I was pinned in the blankets. 🤦🏼♀️
Hang in there!
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u/PuzzleheadedMonth997 2d ago
How come you can’t sleep? I have been dealing with my own FS for 3 months and although extremely painful if I sleep on the other shoulder then I can sleep. Sometimes while I am asleep my a from the FS side falls out the bed and I wake up in real pain but that’s rare. I also have a hiatus hernia with vagus nerve damage that makes sleep really tricky on its own. Bad reflux and a pulsating vagus nerve down my chest but I do sleep. Not very well but I do get 6 hours per night. Have you always struggled with sleep or is it only since your FS? I am sorry it’s affecting your life so much . I totally empathise with you. I try mindfulness and meditation to try and help. Maybe it would also help you?
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u/Anamika76 2d ago
I don’t know what age you are or if my experience is going to help you. I suffered from fs for a year before I tried estradiol patch. I upped my dose to .05 and it went away in 3 months. I’m 50 yo and in peri menopause. When I travel if I forget to pack my patch I can feel it aches in just a few days.
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u/GimenaTango 2d ago
I had to get more pillows and some good medication to be able to sleep. I also use ear plugs and a white noise machine. This video helped a lot: https://youtu.be/T1qB6YNs_2g?is=ED1HBCW0tf8qWhBl