More Terrible Back Stories

[Matildathecat]

This is the support thread for all sufferers of back pain. Acute, chronic, agony or niggles, we are strictly non competitive. All newcomers very welcome. (Though be warned, the language can be a little 'ripe' ).

Here are our previous threads:

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/general_health/1871592-The-Back-Story
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/general_health/1992406-The-Back-Story-Continues

My story long and grim but basically had failed surgery for disc prolapse, then further failed surgery to attempt to salvage the situation. I have nerve root damage and severe scarring around the nerve at L5 which won't get better. I'm 48, can't work, take a lot of drugs and have a blue badge. Currently battling several different agencies for ill health retirement and other benefits.

But I'm ok, having some fun despite the pain and have made some lovely friends on here.

So come and join us for moans, advice, downright rants or just a laugh.

ps parents coming round tomorrow- going to try to make spelt pancakes/ scones and we have venison sausages and mash with red wine gravy ,mmmm

Fool one of my pelvic bone all around sides and back hurt/ aches.

Fool one= all around

Pain Man who gave me the needle advice had written a script for:
Arcoxia 60mg
Dilydrozodeine 3--60mg
Omeprazole.

Don't know first two. All recommended only at night.

Any idea what they are? Could cry (really could) as only just dragged myself through cold turkey coming off drugs like amitriptaline. Oxycodone. OxyContin / OxyNorm. Gabapentin. Etc

And I've since felt real HUNGER. and lost weight.

goodness arcoxia is an anti inflammatory. second generation supposed be easier on stomach. dihydrocodeine is an opiate but a big step down from the others you were on. definitely worth trying. I think these are sensible and bluntly you are going to have to take something for a while.give your body a chance.don't underestimate the power of bog standard paracetamol.There seems to be a push in medical circles to avoid full dose daily I now aim for morning, afternoon evening by 1000mg. the paracetamol also helps the codeine.please double check it's not already in anything you are taking!

Hi all

I haven't read all the latest but I hope everyone is ok and managing their pain.

Just to update you, I've been in hospital since Wednesday with pneumonia and pleurisy. I've had another mri on back and the spinal specialist thinks my back pain is from the pulmonary embolism I had in pregnancy which has infected the spine...and led onto the pneumonia.

Not quite convinced by the explanation but too tired/weak/fed up of listening to grunting women in the ward to care :)

I'll be back on in a few days once I'm home and less drugged up

Thank you, denial. I'm currently taking nothing (surviving but twisting n turning frequently. Lol). I just feel awkward numbing all pain after such a big op and it's really not too bad. Also, I'm just hoping it'll ... pass.

But your advice is v reassuring. As soon as I've seen GP next week and had his guidance (reassurance) that these pain people aren't just trying to get me hooked / make me a regular customer, nd tell me who's best to go to (least likely to give me unnecessary meds, injections and sort what really IS a problem). Call it denial (probably is) bit until someone I trust tells me I've another problem, I'm not believing it. tears

Oh Fizzle.
You got ear plugs?
Squishy ones are best - usually have a little case too.
Or disposable ones. Grunting - bleurch
Does that mean that bubba is happily taking bottle and you're more relaxed in that one thing, at least (there's gotta be something, you poor thing)!
Are family visiting with food, whatever you need? Do you have an iPad/ phone? Careful it's not stolen.

Oh, and whoever was asking about threading... It gives a really clean line. Great!

But if they ask about your upper lip (not suggesting you need it, obviously)... PLEASE SAY "NO!" It bloody KILLS there.
and nair facial removal cream is perfect for that
Lol
You probably think I'm a hairy monster to know about this stuff.

.

Wow, Goodness, how did you even carry all that?! Hope you were parked close to the shops! Have you got a freezer specially for all the cherries?

Love the sound of the coral scarf (that you didn't buy) & the mesh back supports. Have tried loads of (expensive) car back supports from Halfords but have taken them all back - nothing has helped much so far, so I'm still using rolled-up towels & cushions when in the passenger seat.

Oh, & definitely going to try the frozen fruit / yogurt mixture - love ice-cream, sorbets etc. In general I just need to eat less or do more, I think! Last time my weight crept up a bit was about 4 years ago & I bought that Paul McKenna book. Could only listen to the CD once as his smug, fake American accent makes me want to puke (apologies to any fans); but I did find the book helpful.

It was really just saying you should eat slowly & mindfully & stop when you think you've had enough. That was it, but I lost about 10 pounds effortlessly, was back to my early-20s weight & kept it off - until now. Bought a pedometer, too, on the book's advice, but it's no longer motivating - a bit depressing, really, to see how much I'm struggling to reach a decent daily step count & how much it's costing pain-wise.

Since back problems started I think I've gradually begun to eat more quickly - not always comfortable sitting - & have been grazing, possibly as a distraction from pain? And as I said, not being as active, though I'm trying so hard. I'm sure the low carb boot camp thing would yield great results, thumbwitch, but it just sounds too hard core for me. Don't want to have to cook separate meals for myself - finding it hard to stand to cook as it is - & no way am I giving up pulses! I bloody love chickpeas.

Hope some of those meds. help, goodness. Sounds like you definitely need something. Hadn't heard of that anti-inflammatory. Maizie, I think the buttock pain is pretty classic with sciatica / pressure on the nerve. Is it disc problems you have (sorry, getting mixed up with different people). I get that too & if I press my fingers in there can feel pain shooting right down to the ankle. Sorry about your SIL - must be hard for you & DH with all this stress.

Oh fizzle, pleurisy as well? You must have been in agony. Not sure I quite get their explanation of how it happened but I guess the key thing is getting it treated now. Bet you can't wait to get home again.

I'm finding it hard to sleep at the moment because of right leg nerve pain. Have discovered we have some amitriptyline - 10mg - in the house from when DH had shingles a few years ago (given for nerve pain). He couldn't stand them & didn't use them but they're still in date. Would it be okay to try one at night? Really can't be arsed to go back to GP to discuss pain relief again, especially now I'm waiting for an injection.

My wonderful friend carried it all. Did feel bad about that but she did... and I'd have sweated and been sick. I suddenly overheated.

ANYONE ELSE HAD MOMENTS OF FEELING SUPER HUNGRY AFTER COMING OFF MEDS?

pleeeeeease go/ send someone kind to Poundland to buy a back support thing. It's mesh. Saw same one in my physio's place for £14.99 !!!!!

Hahaha smug fake American accent. So true.
No I'm an eater. I eat volumes of food. So I stick to fat free dairy and fruit. Lots.

Loon, would GP give you sone ami for it? Otherwise, if you DO find your DH's works, it'd be awful not to b able to get some

MightBe (want to call you goodness) - my GP would give me anything, I think! She is sympathetic & very nice. I have to say, I've almost been glad of the underactive thyroid since I had these problems, because all the drugs are FREE!

Yes, will need to have a trip to Poundland soon. Need to go & get dressed now - still in my dressing gown, shamefully. DH took the boys swimming but they're all back now so need to get moving.

Lol
Me too. I'm also a naively grateful under active thyroidee.
Mine are with DH at gymnastics, swimming and trampolining. They'll b back n he will b pooped.

Morning all, see there's been some serious chatting here .

loon if you have nervy pain especially at night if say give the ami a go though it does take a while to work and can make you zonked for a bit until you get used to it. It doesn't suit everyone, though. Pavlov had a bad time with it. The idea is that you start on 10 then gradually increase until you have pain control. I never got past 20mgs but it gets me through the night.

fiz thanks for the update. What a monumentally crap time you have had. I think you have to get well before revisiting the back injury. If you have proven disc prolapse it would seem the likely candidate but who knows? Maybe you have more than one pain causing factor. Hope you are getting well looked after and lots of cuddles with your babies.

maizie sorry for your troubles. Sounds like you're all out of sync..hope you can become less nocturnal soon! Your back really doesn't sound right, can you get a referral to get it investigated? As you know my sore hip was a red herring or at least it did complicate getting my back diagnosed.

Have a nice day everyone.

Right, that's it!
I'm going to Gilgamesh tonight. My friend told me about it, yesterday. I've managed to get on the Guest List (feeling oh so uncomfortably trendy) and we are going clubbing!
Hilarious.
Got to be done.
May as well make the most of being able to walk catheter and bag-free Dancing may be a good way of loosening my back up (my own crappy theory). Certainly preferable to meds. and injections!!!!!
Less scary.
Have checked - there will be some other 'old people' there, too.
Only problem: staying awake until it's my usual bed time and it's time to leave!

Not been to a club for over TEN YEARS

can I ask how long, typically, people had to wait for MRI scan.

GP has agreed to refer me for one but said he couldn't request an urgent one.

might ooh errr! clubbing! Have a bad feeling that clubbing starts quite well after my bedtime . and they play Loud Music. Good luck!

nancy 4-6 weeks on the nhs with another two weeks for the report. Privately same or next day with report in 48 hours max. Sorry. If, like some on here, myself included, you need to see the specialist with the result 2-4 months seems typical but can be more.

What is a mesh back support?

thanks Matilda - that's actually not as bad as I thought.
I'm guessing private is ££££

Mesh back supports - I have one of these on the sofa, and one in DH's car (but not mine because my driver's seat is set sufficiently comfortably for me). I also have a tempur wedge cushion that I take on trains and planes for extra lumbar support.

Loon - I think some pulses, like lentils and chickpeas, are still allowed on the bootcamp - I don't like them so not sure. They disagree Extremely Strongly with my guts!
Your leg pain does sound like sciatica and I feel for you (I have had it on and off for 10 years now). One thing that might help you, depending on your other issues, is to stand sideways on a step with the aching leg swinging free, and swing it forwards and backwards as high as you can comfortably manage, to free off the sacral compression that can contribute to sciatica. I have used it as an interim thing between osteopath visits (which nearly always completely fix the problem until I do something stupid to compress it again)

Goodness/Mightbe - if I were you I'd at least take the anti-inflammatory for now. Whenever my back has really seized, I take nurofen for it to bring the inflammation down, but I don't usually take anything just for pain (thankfully it's rare that it's that bad). I have been known to double dose on nurofen, but my GP in the UK said that was ok so long as I didn't experience any gut reactions to it (and I didn't). He told me that many arthritis sufferers are frequently on double dose nurofen, so long as they can tolerate it.
Clubbing sounds... um... well, I hope you have a good time! just don't be doing The Twist...

Fizzle - that sounds horrendous! Hope you're out of there very soon.

Maizie - thank you for the welcome :). I do have over-flexible joints but I'm not sure they quite qualify for the hypermobile label. Apparently being red-haired may be an indication for less stable joints (because of weaker collagen/ligaments)! But to counteract the mobility of my joints, my muscles are usually pretty tense, which can cause problems as well as they hyper-react to things.

I need waking up so I can sleep tonight

What can I do for entertainment from the sofa?

I slept 11-9 last night and I've just slept the afternoon away but I still need matchsticks to keep my eyes open

I'm on ami and tramadol but I've had this combination before and it's not wiped me out like this