To take/send DH to local walk-in?

[Lentilcakes]

DH’s back has ‘gone’. He has a weak spot there and has fairly regular osteopathy appts to keep things supple, but on Sat pm it went in to spasm again and he’s been hobbling around the house and can no way walk outside the house. He’s ok to be left )I had my own arrangements yesterday and adult dd was here if he needed assistance.
i think he should go to our local walk-in to get some stronger painkillers/anti-spasmodics but he’s resisting (unf I can’t drive for medical reasons but we could uber in 10 mins). Ibuprofen doing nothing and I’ve got some codiene from an op I had but he won’t take that either!!

I’m going to let him get on with it now and avoid him as he’s grumpy as fuck! I went to kitchen - chatted to DS who’d just got up before I emptied the washing machine. DH comes down - I was side on to the door, then turned more to speak to him and remarked he was walking a bit better - that’s all I said - and he’s replied ‘stop looking at me’ er, you’re the one who came downstairs while I was going to potter about the kitchen, maybe bake a cake. That’s the last of me being sympathetic/nice. Annoyingly I’m not going out until 4-ish,

The point she was making was the "sitting around for 8 hours" point. Not what the technical term for the place is.

Maybe he doesn’t want to pop a pill and instead just wants the time and space to feel better. If he’s not causing you any issues I don’t see why you’d not trust him to know his own body well enough to decide for himself if he wants to suffer through the side effects of various pills or just put up with the back pain. I hate this modern mentality that you must see a doctor for every issue because doctors are magic fixers with magic pills when sometimes just taking time out and getting better is what we need. No wonder the NHS is collapsing and pharmaceutical companies are laughing all the way to the bank.

That’s the limit of your sympathy?! Thats not sympathy at all. 🤔

Only a couple of days in I wouldn't be keen to take strong painkillers either. He needs to keep mobile and see what it's like in a few days.

He'll still sit there for a long time. I was at minor injuries for 7 hours with a dislocated finger.

Let him be an idiot and suffer. HIs choice. As long as it doesn't mean you have to do something you don't want to do

I've got ongoing issues with my back - sciatica, lumbar spondylosis and possibly stenosis

GP has given me amitriptyline to take regularly and co-dydramol where necessary. I've had two sciatica attacks recently which were horrible. The amitriptyline helped a bit and I started on the co-dydramol but I don't find the side effects much fun so only take them over a shorter period

In all honesty the last thing I'd have wanted to do was go and sit in A and E or a minor injuries unit for any length of time. I'd rather work through it - stay mobile and hop on a bus to town for a coffee. I'm lucky enough to have a bus stop near me and - at the other end - a really good independent cafe.

I realise that - unlike your husband - I have painkillers available to me but I do think you have to allow the person affected to deal with it in their own way.

I've had this. Please share with your grumpy DH

Painkillers will take edge off but if muscle is genuinely in spasm the only thing that will help is either TIME & REST or an antispasmodic which is what Diazepam (valium) was originally invented for. It's prescribed because very safe actually.

Ibuprofen then Voltarol (which is Diclofenac) will help especially as both anti-inflammatory, but can annoy your stomach
The higher order opiate painkillers such a Tramadol can make you feel a bit crappy all by themselves. Tramadol can make you very useless and unsafe like 'leave the gas on' unsafe.

Heat pad/hot water bottle/ice pack in structured periods with rest can be surprisingly effective.
So here was my own observation: when an area of your back is in spasm, while it is annoying and v.painful but every time it 'catches' it may feel like it is sort of protecting you from further 'proper damage to your spine', so your DH may have strange not quite consciously-formed concern that if he turns off the pain with a pill he may do accidently do himself 'some real damage'. I certainly had that thought during episodes.

A few Diazepam 5mg would definitely help but will make him dozy and also a liability around the house, but would fast forward the recovery.
Medics would only give you a small amount so I wouldn't worry at all about any addiction.

Final unsolicited advice: I went to lots of physio and practitioners and a good Osteo is probably the best place for back issues - they are holistic and sensible- but if YOU wanna fix your back you must do some work with time and effort and a bit of sweat. Any practitioner who just does stuff to your back but doesn't give you any work to do on your own can also become a bit of a crutch, if you have to visit too regularly (chiros being best example, I wld avoid them). Some better osteos will get you do do exercises
A lot of physios will give you Pilates-style exercises but if you have a 'bad back' you probably cannot execute these in the way they are supposed to be done (your core timings may be totally shot, I know someone who did a PhD on this), so they don't actually help. I had to do pre Pilates first, then pilates then yoga. Like 30mins a day of work if you genuinely want to fix yourself. It can be done.

Bad back is miserable existence and it will 'go' again and again if you do not address.
He may be giving himself a hard enough time..frustrating as he is being please do rem give him a (gentle) hug

Could you go to the pharmacy? Then docs tomorrow?

Has the underlying cause been diagnosed

An osteopath is not a qualified doctor and cannot prescribe anything

He should go to the nearest urgent treatment centre, not a minor injuries unit as the UTCs have doctors

He'll be a whining nuisance if untreated

He needs to go to the osteopath! And keep moving and get his muscle tone up to hello’s back! Exercise is the key to sorting this

I have 2 prolapsed discs, 2 bulging discs and my back goes into spasm a lot. The GP says diazepam is no longer the go to med for spasms so prescribes baclofen which works just as well without the spaced out feeling. They also prescribe me dicofanac (sp). I already take zapain, Gabapentin and amitriptline daily. I find the more I move around the better it is, but it's trying to get over the spasm and pain that's the hardest part which is where the meds come in. I don't see the point in being in pain when there's something that will help. DP has done something to his back, and he'll text me in the morning to say his back is really bad, it's taken him ages to get to the bathroom and to go down to the kitchen to make a coffee. Yet when I say when did you take codeine he says 'I haven't yet' 🤨. Yet he openly admits that once he starts moving around the pain decreases. So why not take something that will help that process? Men!

I would leave him to it.

He needs to take very regular painkillers he can take 2 paracetamol four times a day plus 2 ibruprofen four times a day (unless there are any restrictions for any reason) so pretty much alternating every 2 hours up to the maximum which will take the edge off the pain and allow better movement (I’m not a HCP)

If he’s been seeing an osteopath I would assume he has some techniques and exercises that help and if he’s in extreme pain then pain killers plus heat/cold application plus rest/gentle movement will all help him.

I have one like this; shuffles around moaning ignoring all advice, when he eventually sees a HCP who gives exactly the same advice says “oh yes Trotula said the same” they respond well why didn’t you listen to her then! I’m not a medic but it’s generally common sense stuff that’s been known for the last century or I know from personal experience.
Drives me nuts, I now say it once and if he repeats it I say I’ve already told you what I think and leave it there.

The last thing I'd do with a bad back is go and sit in A&E or minor injuries.

He can get an appointment with his GP in the morning if it's that bad.