AIBU to think my mirena coil might be causing my back pain?

I do have pain all the way down my leg as well as very deep pain in my lower back and sacrum.

The other thing could well be arthritis - i also have this and take collagen which helps. They can give injections directly into painful arthritic joints if this is the cause.

The fact that your pain has changed and is now constant is an indicator that it is NOT muscular. Yes, core weakness of the muscles may be contributing, but it is not the cause and could still be a disc issue.

So frustrating that they don't listen!

I am in a similar position with back pain. As you can see from my username I also have endo and adno - and Ive had a mirena to manage this for years.

I had an mri last June and again in Feb and it's shown significant worsening of a disc that was apparently "only" bulging originally, which the nhs physio told me was "incidental" and to just do pilates, and the GP told me to see a chiropractor, despite the fact I had been in pain for many months, hadn't slept more than 4 hours a night during that time, and could barely walk let alone get on the floor to do pilates!!

The problem with MRI scans is that most usually they are done lying down which doesn't always show any nerve issues/impingements correctly! Additionally, as you are hypermobile have they considered sacroiliac joint dysfunction (and done a full sacral mri?) Please push for repeat imaging ASAP.

I stopped taking any pain relief month ago because it didnt touch the pain, gave me awful side effects and raised my Liver enzymes! However 2 weeks ago I was been prescribed morphine patches by a different GP in the practice (one who actually listened to me!) which take the edge off enough so I can manage basic tasks again and move around, and been referred urgently to the disc clinic and have an appointment in 3 weeks. So may be worth seeing a different GP if you have the option in your practice? Not all of them grasp just how bad things are, even when you are explaining the agony!

Alternating ice packs and heat has helped me at times too, when even diclofenac or max strength coocodamol didn't touch it.

Re: the spinal consultant saying its unlikely to be endo - he isnt qualified to say that!!! A lot of gynaecology consultants don't even know enough about endo, let alone a doc from another speciality!! If you do feel it could be related to that, push for a gynaecology referral! In the same way that I wouldn't expect a carpenter to fit me an new electric fuse board, i wouldn't allow a spinal doc to tell me about my reproductive system! May as well ask a dentist 🤣🤣

Good luck and big hugs x it is so debilitating and frustrating, it affects your whole life and wellbeing as its so all consuming!

Not wishing to scare you but back pain can be a symptom of pancreatic cancer. It most likely isn’t but when you said about your digestive issues it is another symptom on the list

https://www.pancreaticcancer.org.uk/information/signs-and-symptoms-of-pancreatic-cancer/

I meant have you done Pilates in the past? I’d recommend it for when you are better. Although go to a small class in a community hall, rather than a leisure centre class with 40 people. It’s important that the instructor can keep a proper eye on you and give you individual help.

Also have you tried heat? An electic blanket under your bottom sheet and a heated up wheat bag thing stuck in your waistband when you are not in bed. These things are more effective in my experience than those stick on Deep Heat patches.

sorry you are in so much pain.

Gynae could be more helpful than a male ortho here - have you read the latest report? Is it purely to check placement or does it describe anything else about your uterus? Even if that's all fine, it can't see whether you have endo outside the wall, especially if they weren't told to look for anything other than placement.

Have you ever tried Pilates? A lot of back pain is caused by overusing back muscles. Pilates teaches you to use your abs instead, which are better able to take the load.

Are you a healthy weight? How active are you normally (when you haven’t got back pain?

Have you been doing physio?

Unfortunately back pain often starts around the menopause due to falling estrogen levels, which have various undesirable effects, along with the fact that increasing age tends also to have undesirable effects such as muscle deterioration.

I’m pretty intolerant of progesterone so only take it for two weeks out of every eight as part of my HRT and get the most awful back ache during that time. As soon as I stop taking it, the back pain goes until the next time. I read somewhere that it is a common side effect with the tablets so guess the coil may also have the same problem.

It's worth considering progesterone causes ligaments to be extra stretchy. It helps when giving birth. I can't tolerate progesterone in high amounts, natural or synthetic, it makes me dislocate because I'm hypermobile. Even a slight dislocation sends my muscles into spasm to try and hold the joint in place. The muscle in spasm doesn't often correlate to where the pain is. I often have hip pain, but it's my glute in spasm and stretching it usually helps. Could this be something you have looked into? I find NHS physios don't pick up on this, they simply don't have the time to look. Private physios usually do though.

Have you ever had an abdominal and transvaginal scan? My lower back pain was investigated with MRI, I had physio, hydrotherapy, pain clinic referral and was eventually decided to be 'chronic'/'the brain gets used to thinking there's pain' (ie, is in the head).

I've got adenomyosis and very possibly endometriosis over the ligaments and in the Pouch of Douglas/referred pain from the weight of an enlarged uterus and suchlike. I asked if it could have shown up on the MRIs for back and hip pain but the rheumatologist showed me the images and basically, unless somebody specifically orders an MRI of the uterine area, they aren't looking at it as even a possibility, so there's nothing to see as they aren't looking for it.

I would definitely ask for another MRI after the last few posts. Could well be that something has changed since the last one and hasn't been picked up. Sounds like they've gone 'ah, it's your old trouble' too easily and not looked for other possible causes.

depends on how far the disc has thinned. Sometimes the discs can rehydrate to take the pressure off the nerve. Physiotherapy/ chiropractic treatment and loads of water. Or at the far end surgery and disc replacement.

Ah ok. It was just a thought. I’m glad for you if it isn’t that tbh!

Have you had a recent back x ray? Could be a thinning of a disc at the bottom of your spine triggering nerve pain. Nerve pain doesn’t always go to your legs and that fact that you said it’s where you put your hands on your hips exactly correlates to nerve pain from a thinning disc