By silvia on Saturday, July 14, 2001 - 09:48 am:

Hi,

I have HMS and suffer from pain in several places but my back and neck have been bothering the most.
Unfortunately I have problems with my whole back (lower, mid, upper) and am at a desperate point to find any relief. Sometimes it's so bad that even lying flat in bed makes it hurt even more. It's a real strange pain and and I even feel as if my spine is sticking out more than it should because when I lay down I can actually feel my spine touching the bed. Anyway, any advice would be appreciated :-)

Also, I've read in several places that buckwheat pillows help the neck. Any experience with this?

By Lucy on Monday, July 16, 2001 - 09:03 am:

Hello!

I too have a terrible back. What has really helped me is a featherbed (you can get them from Speigel.com) - I find that it fills in the gaps and stops that "sticking out" feeling. I don't sleep with a pillow - just have a cotton blanket folded flat instead. It's not perfect but it does help to make things more comfy. Another thing you can do is to sleep on a comforter and wedge it around you to fill in the curves. Also a pillow between the knees relieves pressure. Good luck and sleep well - Lucy

By Gwen on Monday, July 16, 2001 - 02:00 pm:

I have had a buckwheat pillow for about three
years now and it is one of the best things I have
discovered. I have had fewer episodes of
neck/facial pain and those I have had have not
been so severe. It took a few days to get used to
the texture and noise of the husks but I couldn't
be without it now. I even took it on my last
overseas trip as I wasn't sure I'd be able to buy
one there.

By Barbara on Sunday, December 23, 2001 - 08:40 am:

Silvia,

When the spine is subluxed, you can feel it by running your fingers over the spine. If you are feeling your spine touching the mattress, it is possible that you have a sublux that needs to be realigned. There are several alternatives for treating a subluxed spine, including massage, chriropractic, physical therapy, and finally surgery (EEK!).

By traceyt on Thursday, December 27, 2001 - 02:59 pm:

this message is a little late but i use a pillow by therapeutica. I have tried so many and it is the best. It comes with a 5 year warranty. The buckwheat one made to much noise when I shifted. It is a good low cost pillow though. Mine was $60.