Off Topic Totally OT: my in-laws are a pain in my...back!

[MaryA]

Ok, they are sometimes a pain in other places too. But that's beside the point. We are going to my in-laws' for Thanksgiving. The last time we were there, their guest-bed killed my back. Every night it was worse than the night before. Each day I bought a different OTC pain killer... First ibuprophen, then Tylenol, then Aleive. By the end of the visit, I was just taking them all in rotation every time I woke up in the night, which was frequently. Nothing seemed to help at all! I figure that gym coaches/parents/etc. have some working knowledge of back pain and might give me some suggestions. I was thinking about bringing a heating pad, though I usually like to sleep cold. I don't really relish the idea of sleeping on the floor. Some sort of pad or something I could put down on the bed? I'm a side sleeper, if that matters. Used to be a stomach sleeper but 9 months of being pregnant with twins followed by 9 months of nursing them cured me of that.

 

[Dr Maleficent]

What is the exact issue with the bed, ie is the mattress too saggy, or has it got springs that you can feel when you lie on it? If it is saggy, I have heard of people putting a board under the mattress to add support (you'd have to be a bit creative as to why you were bringing a board into the house though!- you may need to quickly take up jigsaw puzzles as a hobby!). For springs, maybe a good mattress topper would help?

Other than that, if your efforts to sleep are thwarted by a generally poor mattress, you might have to get your dh to take one for the team and tell his parents politely that he is having terrible trouble sleeping on that mattress. His mum may rush out and get a new one for her beloved son, and her beloved son gets to avoid a grumpy wife. Happiness all round!

 

[MaryA]

If there was mattress purchasing involved, I would have to hear about it for the rest of their lives. But hey, they're in their 70's. How much longer are they likely to be around, right?

The mattress doesn't feel bad. It's not like I lie down and think "this bed is so uncomfortable." It just makes my back hurt. My FIL is big time into model trains... seems like there might be some big sheets of plywood around the house to try that method.

It is also possible that stress is part of the back pain equation here...

 

[Dr Maleficent]

Ok, then subtly filtch a sheet of plywood (just make sure it isn't in use as model train people can sometimes have serious sense of humour failures if you disturb their toys, sorry, mini - paradises), ask your doctor about muscle-relaxants, and drink a glass/ mug of whatever your favorite stress-relieving brew is- that should cover it!

 

[COz]

I don't know about there, but here you can buy a migraine medication over the counter called Mersyndol. It comes in day and night versions and the night time version contains paracetamol, some codeine and a muscle relaxant thrown in. I find it very useful for plane flights. I find about half of a tablet (normal dosage is 2 tablets) up to 1 tablet is enough that I can easily get to sleep in unfamiliar locations. It doesn't make me sleepy so that I *need* to go to sleep and unlike 'sleepy' antihisthamines, doesn't leave me feeling like I've been hit by a bus the following morning. It just makes it easier for me to get to sleep and have a good night of sleep. I've never taken sleeping tablets so I don't know how they compare.

 

[Iwannabemargo]

On trips I use Lettuce, Hops or Valarian extract tablets to aid sleep ( I use seven seas Slumber), especially if we have an overnight ferry and long drive the next day. They don't leave me with that "hung over" feeling and don't affect my asthma

 

[COz]

You could also claim to have strained your back or some ongoing niggling pain that you're trying different methods in the hope of eliminating. That's the reason you need extra support of a board under the bed or a cheap foam mattress on the floor. Don't blame their bed, just your dodgy back.

 

[profmom]

Yeah, get a board under there. I wouldn't apologize for it. I'm sure no one wants you to be in pain!

 

[COz]

^ I think you must have done well in the in-law sweepstakes!

 

[Dr Maleficent]

Tell them you strained it ironing DH's shirts, as you continually hunched over the ironing board checking that not a single crease marred the perfection. Maybe then they'll get you a new mattress!

 

[COz]

<creaky voice> In MY day, I ironed all of my husbands shirts, his underpants, hankies and our bed linen, in the dark, in the cold, wearing 3 woolen jumpers and fingerless gloves, whilst folding cloth nappies, cooking dinner and cutting his hair. You're hunching over the iron board? Clearly your eyesight is failing as you're a weak feeble thing and my son needs a strong dependable woman by his side so he can put his feet up and have her rub them because he works so hard at his stressful tiring job that he is so good at. Johnny? Whatever happened to Suzie next door that you used to date?

 

[mimi]

This post made me LOL. Before we moved into the same town as my inlaws (I know, temporary insanity) we used to visit my inlaws and stay with them. If anyone watches Seinfeld, staying with them is literally like the episode where Jerry and Elaine visit Jerry's parents and Elaine throws her back out on the sofa-bed. I would wake up feeling like I was 90 years old, and I was up all night between my back and the fact that they didn't turn on the air conditioning and I felt like I was in a sweat box. Did I mention we are in Florida?

I was never able to say anything about it, for fear of their fervent grudge-holding. I would recommend getting your hands on some bio freeze, and do some really good stretching before you go to bed. Oddly enough, I also do a small ab workout before I know I am going to be sleeping on a too-soft mattress. No idea why, but it seems to help for me. Good luck and keep the wine flowing!

 

[Dr Maleficent]

. Johnny? Whatever happened to Suzie next door that you used to date?

She and her husband were eaten by wildebeest in a freak safari accident bought on by failure to run away fast enough as the beds in their safari lodge had poor quality mattresses, giving them severe back pain. Who knew good mattresses were so important?

 

[GymGirl's Mom]

My parents have beds like concrete blocks at their house. I feel your pain! I went to WalMart and bought an inexpensive "egg crate" topper that helped... Some. It was better than nothing. This was amid protests from the that they had never had a complaint before about their beds and the mattress was not cheap... Etc... Etc. I need my sleep! I am cranky when I don't get a solid 9 hrs! It was a small price to pay (both monetarily and relationship wise) for comfort. HTH

 

[MaryA]

Tell them you strained it ironing DH's shirts, as you continually hunched over the ironing board checking that not a single crease marred the perfection. Maybe then they'll get you a new mattress!

Ha! That's a laugh. DH and I own our own business. T-shirts and jeans don't need to be ironed!

 

[MaryA]

This post made me LOL. Before we moved into the same town as my inlaws (I know, temporary insanity) we used to visit my inlaws and stay with them. If anyone watches Seinfeld, staying with them is literally like the episode where Jerry and Elaine visit Jerry's parents and Elaine throws her back out on the sofa-bed. I would wake up feeling like I was 90 years old, and I was up all night between my back and the fact that they didn't turn on the air conditioning and I felt like I was in a sweat box. Did I mention we are in Florida?

I was never able to say anything about it, for fear of their fervent grudge-holding. I would recommend getting your hands on some bio freeze, and do some really good stretching before you go to bed. Oddly enough, I also do a small ab workout before I know I am going to be sleeping on a too-soft mattress. No idea why, but it seems to help for me. Good luck and keep the wine flowing!

Mimi, I don't think my DH has any other brothers besides the ones I know about, but it really sounds like we might have the same in-laws, right down to the Florida part.

 

[Lisbeth]

There is always the option to stay at a hotel

 

[MaryA]

There is always the option to stay at a hotel

I wish! Though they do have a fancy RV. I wonder how to arrange it so DH and I might be able to sleep in there...

 

[COz]

Tell them you have fleas.

 

[MaryA]

Tell them you have fleas.

Well, given that their Cavalier King Charles Spaniel is their "baby", that might just work...
Mimi, do your inlaws have a CKC Spaniel too?