To be at my wits end and hope there's a doctor on mumsnet on a Sunday?

[Whenisright]

I know I am but here goes.... For at least the last couple of months I wake up with horrible aching mid back pain. Every single morning. It means I simply can't lie in or catch up on sleep, despite being exhausted (twins). The discomfort is so bad I have to get up. Nothing I do in bed helps (position change / stretching / moving beds or surface), I have to get up. Within 10 mins of being up I'm absolutely fine. I have a new excellent mattress, have tried a different mattress and memory foam. Tried different sleeping positions. I'm at my wits end as its getting earlier and earlier. By 3am I was gulping painkillers as I desperately needed to sleep and then was up at 5.45 with the twins. Dr said they could refer me for physio and advised to take ibuprofen. Not helpful. Any ideas at all?? It is my whole middle back and comes round to my ribs at the front. Any Drs here? Thanks!

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I had various back problems after my first pregnancy. Basically, my hips were misaligned and together with stress from lack of sleep and bad posture, it was causing a lot of similar sleep issues. I eventually found a good osteopath and with therapy and exercises everything was fixed after a few weeks.

Pilates might be a good place to start if you cannot find the time/money for an osteopath. However, if you can find the time/money get them to check your hip alignment at the very minimum.

In addition, if you cannot find a way to do Pilates then look up core muscle exercises and do those in your free moments.

You think your back is bad now...it could get worse!

I was getting aches and pains in my middle / upper back / shoulder blades and this was a few months after getting a new mattress. Up until that point I had been really comfy and getting a good nights snooze. Turns out I needed to change my pillows - took a bit of time getting them right but all okay now. I think pillows are easily overlooked when mattresses are updated. Could be worth a try.

My husband did the same baby lifting! He went to a chiropractor who sorted it out.

I second kidney troubles...do you drink enough water? My kidneys give me real grief if it dont drink enough

I'm hyper mobile (EDS3) and have the same thing. Ask to see a rheumatologist.

I can guarantee you that anyone who has offered a diagnosis on here is not a doctor. There are a million and one causes of this sort of pain. If the ibuprofen isn't working, go back and see your GP.

The first thing that came to my mind was kidney trouble. Go back to your GP for a thorough check up.

I had the EXACT same thing. Agony in bed especially in the morning, have to get up, feels better when you start moving around. My doctor diagnosed muscular spasms in my diaphragm. I found that heat pads (I used a microwaveable wheat bag as hot as I could stand it) really helpful for when lying in bed, and walking 20 minutes to work instead of driving in ensured that the muscles were stretched out and the pain went away. But the main thing I think helped 'fix' it long term was massage therapy. I went for standard salon massage treatments and asked them to focus on the diaphragm (had to point out where it was), but professional physiotherapy massage would probably be even better. Good luck.

I've had terrible back pain in the past - turned out it was disc narrowing - but at one stage while trying to stand up I fainted with the pain & at another point couldn't actually walk - spent a night in bed wondering if I would ever walk again. Get an x-ray done for starters that will show it - then see a specialist. Also only thing which worked for me were Pilates exercises the v basic ones - get a 121 session and they will show you how to do them and repeat at home .......

I've not read through the whole thread but could it be diet-related. I sometimes get really bad back pain if my digestive system is irritated.
Good luck with the twins. Hope you get it sorted.

OP how old are your twins? I had something very similar to this, it probably started about 6 weeks after ds was born, and then I had it again after dd... I visited an osteopath at around 3 months after ds was born, and he said it was due to carrying around the baby, and the extra weight I was carrying due to my breasts being larger. My spine was compressed, but a few sessions with him and it was much better.
Have you tried stretching to relieve the pain? It might help in the interim.
Any chance you could get to see an osteopath? I went sooner with dd, knowing what it was, so I didn't have it as badly with her. I imagine that if you're carrying around two babies then, if it is the same thing, it would be even worse. Thinking about the pain I was in after ds makes me shudder, and that was almost 10 years ago!

I have had similar problems and dh suggested I see his chiropractor, I got the diagnosis first rib dysfunction. After a few visits and some manipulation the pain got less and I managed to sleep beter. A good mattress and pillow are essential and good posture.

Your go has sent you to a specialist for a reason. I have finally after 10yes of struggling which got extremely worse after my c section as having chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia. It took a while for my appointment but my specialist was a specialist for a reason. GPS can't always diagnose things straight off the bat xx

Does the pain go right round to the front? I had similar pain, worse after a night's sleep but it was all around my torso under the shoulder blades. After many visits to the drs he suggested costochondritis , which is where you have damaged muscles down the front of your chest. It was painful, though not as bad as you are describing and I did get sleep deprived and very down, it just wouldn' t go. Took 3 months to clear up. No idea whether this is relevant but good luck OP, hope you get the help you need. I've taken up swimming to try to strengthen my core & I think this is helping.

Yes an osteopath is the only way.
NOT a chiropractor.
Whatever it costs it will be worth it, they will show you exercises you can do and advise about losing weight. NO offence, that is what the first osteopath told me.

I first thought gallstones, the way you describe the location of the pain... interested to find out now

I've got to disagree with everyone who is saying chiropractors are at worst quacks. I have been seeing my chiropractor for about 10 years and she has saved my bacon on many occasions.

I've had a neck injury which flares up from time to time, had a cycling accident which left me in agony and had a v bad back similar to the OP's for many months. EVERY time I see her (3/4 times a year) I feel so much better and cured. I wouldn't go anywhere else now and she's alwYs fully booked she's so good. Osteopathy and physio have never particularly helped me.

By the way OP, my chiropractor recommended Pilates to keep me 'topped up' in between visits. I do a DVD at home - Darcey Bussell's one - and it makes me feel sooo much better! Good luck

i am sorry but in my opinion the vast majority of chiropractors are quacks and charlatans.
Osteopaths on the other hand actually need to train before they set up, and have some scientific basis.
A chiropractor will tell you that you have to keep coming for the rest of your life (is that not so Inadays?) and talk nonsense about 'bony throwouts; etc
I even know of someones elderly mother whose chiropractor had her coming for visit after visit, whereas the truth was she had bone cancer.
An osteopath will send you away once you are fixed, not lie and keep you coming at great expense,

Go back to the GP and get him/her to refer you to a spinal consultant and seek X rays and or CT scans whatever is needed and then see if you can get some help that way and if not then try all the other remedies as a last resort .

There could be 1001 reasons for your problem which need attention to what IS your problem. I'd give normal medicine a go first and try not to worry a lot of back problems do sort themselves out eventually;!

I used to get backache like OP described, except it didn't always go away when I was up (this all pre kids). Eventually permanently sorted with (a) pillow between knees when asleep (on side); (b) morning stretching and core strengthening exercises; (c) being much more thoughtful about how I moved furniture and (later) picked up kids. Never went to any exercise classes, but if I lost another half stone I'd have decent abs (presently a one-pack with occasional hints of a 2 - 4 pack).

Best to get medicos to check there isn't another cause. Not mean to be alarmist, but sometimes backache can mean something more than just backache (have witnessed this).

IME, the Dr's are useless unless you push them.

I've been having issues since last May (serious ones, had back pain since i was a teen), mine was pain in my hip, as well as night time back ache that was waking me up with being unable to get comfy.

First they suggested Bursitis, and prescribed painkillers. Then after 6 weeks of that, they sent me to the Physio, who identified the issue was actually my lower spine and radiating to my hip. Then it was x-rays, then finally they referred me onto the Musculoskeletal team, who took one look, diagnosed Sciatica and sent me for an MRI scan. I have a degenerative disc disease, my S1/L5 disc is prolapsed and degraded.. so far i'm on a drug for the sciatica and been advised to work on my core stability/strength to support as there is no cure.

The moral of my story is, don't let the Dr's fob you off. Chances are you've probably pulled or strained something during pregnancy or the childrens early months with carrying them around. Be careful with any exercise.

Did you have an epidural / spinal when giving birth? I had similar pain for about a year and spoke to the midwife and she said it might of been because of the epidural needle and settling down of it afterwards. I was also overweight and breastfeeding.

Yes, there could be many many reasons for your back pain. But losing weight and strengthening your core are two things which will help your general health and wellbeing no matter what/whether there are other issues going on. It amazes me how much work the NHS is prepared to put into testing people (see long list of potential ills above) when someone is not prepared to take even basis steps towards their own wellness. For your sake and your twins, find a steady path to weight loss that works for you and get some Pilates training then do daily. I can only imagine how difficult it is with twins but my back gave up when DD2 was 6 weeks old. It's been a long plod to 2 stone of weight loss and rebuilding a core since then, but I can now run 10k. Find some supportive Mums and get active....and keep going with the GP. Health is worth working for

Did you have an epidural for birth? I had this after 1st baby - eased slightly if I curled my knees to chest in bed as I really didn't want to get up - too tired but always had to hobble out of bed - then it was fine after 10 mins! Couldn't go back to bed though - it would start again. It happened again after no.4.
After chatting with lots of mums, GP and research it became evident that it was the epidural. Sorry to say that mine lasted 2 years. I tenner being on painkillers after 2nd baby and waking up thinking 'wow, no back pain- that was 20 months after first.

I never suffered with back pain up until this year when I had a lumbar puncture - first attempt was unsuccessful and kept hitting nerves and vertebrae in my back. My back has never been quite right since then. Had to go back and have it redone under X-ray, which wasn't too bad but when lowered down with needle in my back, I felt it shift in my spinal cavity... Not a nice feeling! But they noticed that I have curvature of the spine thanks to the X-ray and that was why my LP failed first time. But if you've had an epidural, it may of caused some kind of minor damage and why you're getting pain!
Also have they rule out any issues with your kidneys?
Keep pushing your GP for answers, and hopefully everything will get sorted xx