Can I get crutches from gp or local hosp? Back has gone badly

[PavlovtheCat]

Cannot move without holding on to the wall or furniture to take the weight. Having to take slow considered steps and even they are agony. Both searing back pain and sciatica. Cannot stand straight. I suffer from disc problems so guess one has 'popped'. Although it happened yesterday as I had a fever and very very sore nerves and muscles, pain in my back and I sweeped the floor and suddenly it was like someone took out my back with a big stick so maybe relates to this bug I have.

I have taken codeine and ibruprofen, ran out of paracetamol. So far not touched it but only taken half hour ago as I had to eat something first. yesterday too, co code mol and that did not really help so hoping codeine straight will do something.

Is it possible to get crutches to help me move around ? I can literally do nothing. The kids and I have had pombears for brekky as I can't get to the cereal and there is milk spilled which my 5yo dd cleared up. Pathetic, I need to have some movement.

mum have replied

If would get a walking stick to keep at home. I use my grandpas old one when my back goes. Usually its about three days mostly flat/moving slowly and when necessary before trying to get up and about. Try to move a bit - or you will stiffen, but only a little and often. Poor you - I feel your pain!

My last two slipped/torn discs were magically helped by an osteo. I went to a chiro before and it took longer to heal (and the treatment hurt more!).

oh thats a good idea. funnily enough one of my best friends has a lot of walking sticks as he has a bad knee. He has like 10 as he likes different ones with carved handles and fancy brass ends etc, I will see if he has a spare one I could use.

I got mine when mum died and we were clearing out. We used to play with it when we were little. DS used to hobble around with it 'I'm and old old man!'. Now he does 'I'm mumeeeee' with it!

Mum had one of those fancy ones that folded up but some 'person' asked for it when she died when he thought she was leaving him her house or something, the greedy bastard, and was pretending to be griefstricken.

that is exactly how I feel. like an old woman.

It'll pass. A few weeks and you'll be as good as new! Did you do something, or did it just 'go'? Mine usualy just goes without (much) warning.

My DS does that with DH's walking stick, pretends to hobble around going 'I'm an old man'

i swept up some coco pops from the floor. hardly bent forward and certainly not strenuous. i just put the brush down, lent to the end of the mess, dragged it back, and 'seeeeaaar' it went. the first time it went I picked DS up from the bed which involved hardly any stretching about 2 yrs ago. that was the worst in terms of pain as i could not move. literally i was on the floor with by little dd having to call for help and encourage me to drag myself across the floor to bed. its gone again several time but not too badly until xmas just gone, and since then it has not been right, but pain has been bearable/manageable with low level pain relief and pilates/swimming/walking. Until today.

oh my gosh, I am feeling soooooooooo much better. 60/1000 co-codemol, 50mg diclofenac and 2mg diazepam! I can move. it still hurts, and I am still bent, and slow, but I can shift around in bed, and get to the loo, and I have sat up (propped by cushions) to brush DDs hair.

DH is having some people around for a couple of drinks shortly, two have arrived already (good friends of both of ours) and I am like a convalescing old person with people coming up to say hello to me! oh dear . I really don't mind him having people around, they all people we know well, and he deserves to celebrate his birthday a little bit at least. It is sunday so it won't be roudy as everyone has work tomorrow.

I might be able to get up and show my face in a couple hours. Although i should think I look awful with so many drugs in me!

You won't need a beer with those drugs floating round
Glad it's feeling better

no way to beer, i expect that would turn me loopy!

I still feel crutches would make my mobility easier as it still hurts to walk, just nowhere near so bad. no longer in tears with the pain of it all. But then, I have not really tried to do much other than change my t-shirt, and take a wee before everyone gets here. it took a while so hoping it will last before i need another one as my walking is slightly embarrassing.

I was told that I might be able to buy some crutches from argos, so will take a look. This is going to happen again as bulging discs don't just disappear, so could be worth the investment.

If i get some, i might even be able to consider work tomorrow, but have to remember that the drugs I am on are making me feeling better than I am and I wont be able to take these while working. will see how i feel in the morning.

Argos do sell mobility stuff but delivery only in general. You need to focus on your health for now I think.

Have you checked the Boots website. John Bell + Croydon sell that type of thing but they are in London.

When my back goes I use an office chair on wheels pushed in front of me like a zimmer frame.

Perhaps you should get a zimmer frame from Argos instead of crutches?

funny you should say that, but I ventured downstairs for DH's cake which DD insistsed on doing yesterday, and to use the loo and i walked bent over shuffling. it was really uncomfortable and my friend said for fun 'you need a zimmerframe' but I said back 'i actually do' ! and you are very right. It would help a lot, possibly not in the home as we have a very narrow corridor that bends at an angle with steps at that angle, hard to describe but zimmer frame would not get round it. Oh I don't know, something would help. When it first happened and was not so absolutely debilitating, on saturday I went to the supermarket to get baloons and stuff for DHs birthday and used the trolly to lean on, it helped significantly, so i need something. I will speak to my gp when i feel less like i am going to burst into tears as I am so fed up.

Update is, i woke up and was able to sit up and get out of bed vaguely normally. DD said 'you can stand mummy! (5yo). front room was a mess so i started to attempt to pick just a couple of things up (bending properly) and could not stand again. I did not thing strenuous. honestly just picked up like 3 toys and a bit of rubbish. I sat down in pain and blew up some balloons, DD tidied the rest of it all and I directed her where to put the banners. her and DS aged 2.5 put their presents and card down on the coffee table and made it all look pretty while the pain in my back and the sciatica increased and increased.

by the time DH came down for his 'surprise' I was crying in pain. DS decided once again to hug me from behind, DH had to take him off while I cried out in pain. DD tried to comfort me and hugged me too hard pulling down and I cried. I took myself off to bed in tears. I could not make the kids brekky, or DH a coffee.

I could not get comfy in bed in any manner at all. DH has been cross, and to be honest a bit bloody mean because I am in so much pain I am a bit snappy. I could not take meds without eating, and could not get anything as it hurt to move, and felt sick anyway, it took him like an hour to bring me something, and he was cross i was not getting up for the brekky he made.

I eventually got some bread and jam, after what seems like begging, and took my meds. I have now had a sleep, woke up again and can move a bit. I was desperately hoping it was a muscle spasm and the muscle relaxant (diazepam) would sort it along with diclofenac so i would be mostly back to normal today.

I now have to accept that without really heavy duty painkillers that wipe me out and make me feel sick, i am not moving anywhere for now.

I called in work and just told them i am off for the week.

I just popped in (ha! took me ages to walk from the car to the surgery, which happens to up an incline) to pick up some more diclofenac as the doc did not give me that at the weekend, as I had enough for a couple of days. I asked my gp for it monday, they 'forgot' and i ran out, so had one day without (been taking ibuprofen instead).

While there I asked about crutches, as I had to do the school run today, for the first time, and as I am now moving about, albeit painfully, it was not realistic to expect DH to take the morning off work/leave early to get the kids later. I have to just get on with it. I found it very tiring, walking at an angle and taking small steps so as not to jar my back or but sudden weight on it. Crutches would have so so helped me move quicker than pigeon steps and not tire me so much. DS ran off in front and I was unable to keep up with him, had to rely on my 5yo to help me look after him, until she was in school then he just ran off to nursery and disappeared playing before i even got to the nursery gate! thats a good thing though i guess, at least he was happy to be there.

Anyway, the receptionist said only the hospital can provide crutches, not the gp. I said that I had not been referred to the pain clinic at the hospital, but to an osteopath, and she has said to speak to them about it, maybe they can provide them, but she doubts it. I asked her how I would go about getting some from the hospital, who do I talk to, and she said she does not know, I should get advice from the osteopath

I have tried to move my already planned osteo appt from next thursday to this week due to my current situation, but I can't. By the time I go back next week I won't need the crutches. And as always, by the time I get to see the osteo by back pain will have subsided, and it will be the usual 'strengthen your core muscles for long term benefits, keep taking diclofenac if it gets painful'. the osteo himself said there is little else they can do unless they see it in its acute stage, but that never happens, as the discs do not wait until I am due an appt before deciding that it is going to slip! But at least the MRI will give a picture of something going on, just it shows it at its 'dormant' stage and not when a disc has pushed out further.

Its just a viscious circle. no crutches, no real help other than drugs which I don't like taking.

pavlov where are you?

I'm in east Yorkshire and we have physio direct, you can call and ref yourself and they could advise you about crutches and where to get them from.

Do you have anything like this?

Or how about Red Cross? They rent wheelchairs maybe crutches?

How's it feeling today?

peanut I will have a look at red cross etc, thats a good idea. I am really cross with myself, because at work we have this health thing I can join through the union i am part of, which offers medical support alongside NHS, such as MRI scan costs if the waiting list is long and it is felt in my interests to speed it up, money towards physio while waiting for NHS stuff, and I beleive they would provide the cost of crutches. It is only £10 a month and I have never got around to joining. I was going to do it at xmas when this all flared up big style but been lazy/forgetful. If I had done it then I would be eligible now (you have to pay in for 6 months before you can get support, but existing conditions are still valid for those benefits). I will join as I will probably need additional help in the future but i am kicking myself now.

I am feeling much much better today. I did not take meds this morning as I did the school run and had to drive. that in itself was interesting as I have v painful sciatic pain down my right leg, but I managed to get the chair comfortable enough that it only smarted vaguely rather than bad pains. I was very conscious of it hurting more any time. I have taken meds now, but am going to try a lower dose, as the dose I have been taking has totally wiped me out. I spent most of yesterday asleep, and codeine gives me a stinking headache.

I can't pick DS up, which he wanted, on the way to nursery/school. I held his hand and he dragged and that hurt as it pulled my back. DD was good as gold though and held his bags until she got to her class (i was late so she went in through reception, which I was pleased about as I would never have got DS off the climbing frames in the school playground!). I could not put him in his pushchair as I can't lift it out of the boot (or, indeed into it in the first place) or unfold it. Its all just a bit of a mess really, but I managed it and rewarded myself by eating half a packet of jammie dodgers when I got home!

DH had to clean my feet for me as I could not reach this morning while I was in the shower, the first one for days as I have not been able to get in it/stand. I could do with a seat!

I can make a coffee, but holding the kettle hurts my back. who would have thought that!

But, at least I can move around now. much of an improvement.

oh, and codeine has particular side effects i do not like...its not just a shower i have not had for day i grin, but i am not laughing...

Pavlov - I have a Sholley with the double wheels at the front so that I can do the school run. It's great as it's a walking frame for me and carts all the DC's stuff so no one has to carry anything. So far it's done the school run every day for two years (apart from times when I've been completely laid up) and is good and sturdy.

Doesn't do rough terrain very well, but then neither do I!

Hope you continue to improve - but don't do too much too soon.

i thought you meant sex there and was at you feeling like it with sciatica (I assume you mean a poo)

Also, eat dried apricots. Diclofenac and anti-inflamatories do bung you up and I've found dried apricots (max 6 - don't overdose or no one will want to be in a room with you!) help.

I find anti inflammatories have opposite effect, but codeine bungs me up. the fruit does sound a good idea though!

You're right Fanjo - having had a similar cocktail to Pavlov, I'd mis-remembered which did which!

you'd think they would balance each other out, but the anti inflammatories always win with me, so i have to take them sparingly, which is annoying as i get a lot of pain and they really help.