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.

Lol pavlov another one suggesting RA! Now you will have to get checked out.
My dd is an only and i often think i would like another, esp now my dsis has just had 2 babies in the last 2 years and they are both sooooo cute! But i am a bit old and unhealthy now so probably won't have more.

matilda yay to you for seeing your MP and you must have spoken well if he took it so seriously, that's great. Now i hope he helps you!

Sorry didn't realise RA had been suggested -didn't mean for everyone to gang up on pav

Really only 1 person (losty)suggested it before but we were chatting about it a bit a while ago.

Maizie, my DS is waiting (yet again) for asperges assessment. Could be up to 18 weeks - after having waited two years, I think, for CAMHS to assess him. Schools find him hard (bright, verbally advanced but finds it hard to take instructions as always has interesting ideas of his own and can't make transitions easily ... his advanced speech mainly rotates around the topic of ELECTRICITY. Lol
He's v advanced for a 6 y old on that topic. I am meeting w teacher again tomorrow (at her request, don't know why & am nervous). School used to call him eccentric. Now they're mentoring the word 'autistic'.

Maizie, have u tried Poundland's mesh support. May b pants for others but helped to cushion bottom of spine for me. For a pound it's worth a go.
I think your ache sounds like mine was in my hips. I called it hip ache. Pain team later called it chronic nerve pain and gVe me copious drugs. The new 'title' validated the pain if got used to. No, it's not a stabbing pain. But it's torturous. Develops into an unbearable ... you know the score.
Drugs helped. But only the right ones. Not that morphene crap (for me).

As for crying. I genuinely cried as I didn't want to be on pills but needed them. Maybe say that ... and cry? You won't b able to prevent yourself form crying if you're post-op.

Asking Uni for a proper chair sounds good. Is there one that really helps?

Gd, you were all up late, last night!
Why do I always feel like I'm walking into an empty room, having a chat with myself. Leaving embarrassing ramblings and then scuttling off.
Lol

Hmm

you describe the achey hip pain perfectly might- it seems innocuous at first but gradually creeps until like you say- torturous. Had it last night but didnt want to take anything coz end of day- stopped studying a 2am but not asleep until about 3 because of it- felt like someone had traction on my leg and was trying to pull it out the socket. hard to reach with my hottie- i lay flat and laid it on top of my leg crease, then laid on top of it to go to sleep, it did work eventually :)
off to see doc at 9.30., will report back. have to see the guy i usually do coz they have lost the certificate he did last week and put at reception!
forgot to say firstchoice- I have had spd twice too- hit me with all your details and we can swap info I deffo think it is heavily implicated in whatever is going on now

Yes to the sicky hip ache. I've never really had the classic 'shooting' pains of sciatica but I do have it. It's a bit like a migraine of the back and bottom!

maizie good luck with your appointment, I really believe your pain warrants more investigation. Surely, surely you shouldn't have this level of pain as a post op thing? Surely there's got to be something else going on?

might, hi! how did you sleep? Hope much better. Are you taking any meds? If not hope you are coping. Have you braved the school run yet? Hope that's ok, too. Good luck with your teacher appointment, don't be nervous, I'm sure you are far more senior and expert than she is. I was always a tad puzzled by teachers trying to explain my own child to me like I didn't really know him very well .

Must get up. Considering rehab Pilates again today but might be too much after my busy day yesterday. God how depressing is that?

Ds1 has a major job interview this morning. He's worked like a demon all weekend on his presentation. If anyone has a free moment please send positive vibes his way. He really deserves to do well.

Hi back from my appt- mostly successful I think, he gave me "the talk" about morphine not being a permanent solution, have to stop, get physically dependant but gave me a smaller prescription so I can peter it out gradually. still have dihydracodeine, he gave me gabapentin to try to see if it helps- said i dont necessarily nee to stop the amitryp, what are the side effects like for this? I plan to start it once uni is over and after dh has got back from being away- so about 4/april. He started out saying not yet to the pain clinic referral, wanted to hear what the consultant said first- but then changed his mind afetr we had some discussion about my type of pain, how I was organising my meds, strategies i was using/not sure if i was doing the right thing - so now he IS doing the referral straight away instead. dont know what changed his mind but am thankful, there will be a wait, no odea how long. I asked about back investigations and he said for that he deff wanted the skinny from the consultant/surgeon and they would prob make those decisions, he mentioned a few scary procedures like fusion and injections- i asked werent these seen as ineffective for non-spec back pain(informed by your leaflet post pavlov thankyou) and he said they can help- they will take detailed history and symptoms and try to match up with other peopl it has helped
off to study like mad now, exam tomorrow on "consciousness" - i wish i had a week to raed up on it - soooooo intersting. I will do my best and i will keep the books over the easter break to read what i missed
hope you are all having a good day so far today.

Well done maizie that sounds quite positive. I'm taking Gabapentin and amytriptiline , remind me when you are ready to start and I will talk you through it.

Good luck with a peaceful day of studying.

Thx Matilda
Not yet faced school run yet but am collecting Wednesday to Friday after school. Aaaagh
Dreading mums. Isn't that pathetic
Sunglasses to hand

Slept ok but DH let cat up and she clawed at bedding & licked mattress base noisily (I've no idea either!).
Lol

Then DH had go at me for being irritated by frequent cheery 'How are yous?' He's well meaning but he knows. I'M NACKERED.

Nervous re meeting about DS as don't know what file is they're referring to. IME parents are notified when records are taken.

Sure thing, Maizie :)

Easy recipe for scones (this is the basic recipe, I use double quantities)
• 225g/ 8oz plain (spelt) flour
• 1½ heaped tsp of baking powder (or, if you want to be wheat free, 1 heaped tsp of cream of tartar + ½ heaped tsp of sodium bicarb)
• 55g/ 2oz cold butter
• ½ tsp salt
• 140ml/ ¼ pint cold milk
Optional extras:
• 28g/ 1oz caster sugar
• 55g/ 2oz sultanas
Oven at 200°C/400°F/gas mark 6
Grease and flour a baking tray (or 2)
Sift flour, salt and baking powder into a large bowl. Add cutted up cold butter and rub into fine breadcrumbs (add sugar at this point if you're going to). Stir in milk with a knife (and add sultanas now) to make a soft dough. Knead lightly then roll out on a floured board to ~¾" thick and cut out rounds.
Glaze with milk (and egg if you want) and bake in the top half of the oven for ~15 minutes or until golden on top.
Cool on wire rack.

They are quite plain without the sugar, and too plain without the sultanas or sugar. The sugar doesn't make them very sweet, just less plain - but they're still very nice with butter, just DH prefers them with the bit of sugar in there.

I started that post about 4 hours ago and then had to go and do stuff, then look for the recipe, so didn't refresh before posting!

Mightbe - hope the school meeting is ok for you - and full of positive ideas for your DS.

Maizie - good luck with your studying - I'm sure you know the tricks, but remember frequent breaks and "desk gym" to stop yourself seizing up.

I can't talk though - like a complete idiot I fell asleep in the recliner chair this afternoon and put my neck and a rib out. I now have horrible muscle tension all through my back and my neck is tight as anything. But I can't go back to the osteopath again for a bit, I only went on Friday! Too expensive to go unless it's really urgent. Will have to wait and see how it goes :( Ibuprofen and tiger balm and try to sit/sleep perfectly so it all relaxes again - ha! As if.

This thread moves so fast , for those who asked! I am on a amatripalyne (Sp) 2 tablets before bed and naproxen (4 a day), Iw as sent to a back specialist last year who sent me for a X-ray, went back to get my results and he couldn't find my X-ray results, he told me to go swimming twice a week and join a yoga group, I told him I didn't have the time or money to do this, he said 'you should have plenty of time being a stay at home mum' ( I had told him previously that I am the carer of 2 children with special needs ), I never went back to see him , I then got sent to chiropractor who gave me acupuncture ( which was a waste of time ), gp found my X-rays and said he couldn't see much other than a bit of thinking to my lumbar spine, gave me more drugs and sent me on my way. A few months ago I went back to a different gp and they said 'we need to find out what's causing it' , 'great' I thought ' maybe they will send me for a scan' but no, back to physio who is useless and I'm now on my 4th session ( tonight ) with no improvement.

Marne - shitty fuck. Time wasting and painfully
Annoying

Thumb, that'll teach you for relaxing
Poo
Hope it does alleviate a bit

Thumb I wanna make those scones. What's the & thing?

There's an & thing? what's that? Are you on the mobile site or something, it might just be the various Alt codes I was using (trying to be clever)

There should be a bullet point in front of each ingredient, and then there are a couple of "half"s and a "quarter" - they might not have shown up properly either.

Let me know what you can't see and I'll try and sort it for you. :)

Although it might have to wait a few hours - just yawned until my jaw cracked - time for bed!

If I PM you, would it b a hassle to email me the recipe? Tomorrow or whenever?

Oooh. No need! On desktop site it works without funny symbols.

Just a quick post as on phone waiting for sewing club to finish. Matilda you are so good explaining pain! Yes to migraine in hip back butt! And I used your cricket bat explanation to physio today!

Hydro appt and it was 'dry land' today to assess. Typical no matching undies he said main point was to teach water based exercises ratherthan heat itself,

GP has agreed to refer me for MRI and has prescribed diazepam and diclofenic.

Had to wait a week for appointment and, typically, my back feels a bit better today so not sure whether to take diazepam or not.

Am I right in thinking diazepam just 'masks' the pain it doesn't actually 'cure' it as such?

Diazepam is a muscle relaxant, Nancy, so should help if muscle spasm is a factor. How much have you been told to take? I was told "as & when", but tended to take 2 or occasionally 4mg at bedtime. I learned on here though that it's best to take regularly - eg. 3 x 2mg a day for 2 or 3 days.

Haven't caught up with the rest of the thread yet!

Thanks Loonvan.

My prescription is for 5mg tabs to take twice a day. I might try with one at bedtime.