Back Again! Back Pain Support Thread

[PavlovtheCat]

Only right I start the new one seeing as I was responsible for the last one ending so abruptly !

This is a support thread for people with back pain (that does not even cover the description of hell that back pain causes). It's for all types of back pain, for long term posters with chronic pain (including those on the upwards journey to recover), short term advice through tough acute episodes and all the in betweens.

We moan, winge, share successes, guide each other and hand hold through the maize of a million medical routes and options, treatments, investigations. We internet shop as a form of pain relief, drink wine, take strong painkillers, eat cake and we go through lots of heat packs!

We don't always have the answers but we do have a lot to say about it all

Here are the links to our previous threads:

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/general_health/1871592-The-Back-Story
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/general_health/1992406-The-Back-Story-Continues
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/general_health/2023274-More-Terrible-Back-Stories

score system this site is actually fab for up to date info on issues, progress, policy etc on PIP and other benefits.

Pavlov thank you so much. I will have a good look at it. When they said I didn't get it, they sent me a score sheet saying what I was awarded on and my score. I contested it especially about the dosset box as it's a lifeline for me. Next week when I am the biggest amount of Gabapentin I will be taking 46 tablets a day. They don't even all fit in the dosset box lol. The DWP man that rang said I should get a stool to sit on and cook. I tried to explain. To him that sorting was just as painful as standing. But he had no medical knowledge so was a bit hard explaining to him. Will see what his next letter comes back saying anyway x

Hi busymum - are you on any kind of pain relief for your symptoms? If you don't have confidence in your GP I'd definitely get on with changing, as having a decent GP who will listen to you, refer if necessary & prescribe adequate medication seems to make such a difference when it comes to back problems (well, probably to any health problems!).

Know very little about SPD so no idea if some of your symptoms could still be a result of that - but is your pelvis still rotated more to one side than the other? Is that what you mean about your right leg not being straight? Sounds like there could be some SI joint dysfunction, & it would be worth getting checked out & examined properly.

In the meantime do you find heat helps at all - eg. heat pads / a hot water bottle?

Ms, I seem to remember being on omeprazole while taking gabapentin. I was on plenty of other things, too. But check whether this would be relevant to you (pharmacist can tell you) if you're not already taking it. Prune juice (one glass a day) and fruit are the way to go.

Loon, I don't know how close the nerves are but could you use Dr Google-Images to look up nerves etc.? How long until you can ask a decent RL doctor? I can understand the other keg's pain creating distress n confusion.

Pavlov - I made it to the adverbial? 'A la TaDaah'. Love it! Lol
Tell me... is that how you all respond in just one comment box? Pencil n paper? Here I was, thinking that my mind was fxxxxed on meds / by shock. Thought you were all able to take in, process and remember to resound to everyone's stuff.

just,I tend to wade in and dump out my me me me stuff then I scroll back and comment where I think I can help on other points.Pavlov is the one with the notebook

That was a good idea, Just - & pretty sure, having looked at the diagrams & injection sites, that he couldn't have gone near the left nerve root. Will just have to be patient & hope that whatever it is goes off.

I do find heat pads help me yes

I was prescribed codeine while pregnant but have only taken it a couple of times as it makes me feel out of it

I shoukd be with a new gp in the next few weeks

Current gp just kind of nods and says it's pregnancy related and to self refer back to physio

I really think I could do with X-rays or something as yes my pelvis does seem twisted

Same here. I am a barge in all 'me me me' n work back from there once my mind is clear (post shameful selfie dumping).

I had pain on both hips before my op even though the problem was more on one side and the pain began more on one side. Any way you can speak to pain injector or his secretary to tell him what's occurring (use Welsh accent there)!

I'm up incredibly late for me. Dinner party doncha know?

Thing I'd like to ask is about tooth grinding. I do it constantly. I'm sure it's got worse. It's got to be bad. But I don't know I'm even doing it.

Anyone else?xx

Ps wondering yes to the weird bladder. Hey ho.

just my brain is much like yours, hence the pen and paper. you can tell when I don't have it, as I multi post, having done as described by denial posting about memememe before going back and being useful but in lots of posts as otherwise I can't remember what I read, or rather, I remember, but not who said it

But as I am more zen and at peace with my shit right now, I am largely going to be supportive of others

(see I am doing it again!) matilda I clench my jaw really tightly, and grind my teeth. I sometimes catch myself in a mirror and see the tightness of the muscle in my jaw and have to consciously relax it. Stress can increase it for me, or concentration, or, specifically, when my pain levels are higher/at the front of my focus, it means I am not relaxed.

Pavlov., I think my life's mission is to become more at peace and zen with my shit.
Working on it.
You must be in the League of Angels

just 2.5 years of shit and I have had something like two days of being 'at peace' with it. There is ample time for me to change my mind about that

Noooooo
Praying it'll continue for you. There's hope for us all! Lol

Hello, new to this group and haven't read it all through as yet but have the most hideous pain and think I need some increased meds to help with it. Have had MRI and have 2 prolapsed discs L4 and L5. Have tried physio - excruciating, also acupuncture - no help. Am now experiencing pain in left buttock and all down left leg. Cannot sit down straight or drive very far. Job is sitting for 10 hours! Have been told to get up whenever I need to but I wouldn't get much work done! Am on ketoprofen but just not touching it. Awaiting facet joint injections and epidural but could be a few weeks. Any advice please most welcome.

Spring, I can offer a warm smile and a hand to hold as I know advice will follow soon.
(What are you lot up to???)
I have no advice to share, just experience that probably won't match your difficulties. I'm sure that someone else will do, though.

Hi Spring, sorry you're suffering. I have a disc prolapse too (just the one!) at L5/S1. I can imagine having to sit down for 10 hours at work is really not helping. Is the chair okay? Don't know what job you do but is there any way you can do any of it standing (if that's better - I'm worse standing. Best lying / walking).

Re. drugs - is ketoprofen an antinflammatory? I've never heard of that one. There's loads of info. on drugs on this thread, but in general it's all about combining meds. to the best effect. So taking NSAIDs (& stomach protector), alongside pain-killers (eg. co-codamol / tramadol).

Diazepam can help when muscle spasm is an issue; & many here are on drugs that specifically target nerve pain, like your leg pain. They do have side-effects though. It would be worth reading back through the thread about those. I've only tried amitryptilline but am not on it at the moment.

It does sound as if you need some extra pain relief, at the very least, so you're going to need to go back to the GP & discuss possibilities. Have you seen a consultant? Interested in why you're being offered facet joint injections if the primary problem is known to be your discs. Do you have significant facet joint arthritis as well?

springlike welcome, sorry you are in so much pain. I don't know that med you are on, not heard of it, is it an anti-inflammatory?

The best combination of meds, depending on issues such as stomach trouble, sensitivities to certain drugs etc for back pain, and from my experience, for disc problems is. Basic - paracetamol + opiate + NSAID. so for example, 1000 paracetamol + 30mg codeine x 4 daily + 500mg ibuprofen x 3 daily. You can take various different mixes of this, so up to 60mg codeine, as low as 15mg codeine. You can take a painkiller that has paracetamol and codeine together such as co-codemol and theses start OTC at 8mg/500mg, and you can get as high as 30mg/500mg of those (can take two). Make sure whenever you take paracetamol, that you are not already taking it in the opiate mix. Other opiates that may be prescribed by the GP are tramadol, dihydrocodiene (usually in the form of co-drydemol), and sometimes stronger meds such as morphine based meds - they are when you have tried other meds and they don't cut it.

So, the idea is to have one of each of those mixes, it's not necessarily about taking the strongest dose, but getting the right level and mix for your pain levels/thresholds/side effect tolerance, and you may find it best to start slowly with certain meds to adjust to the side effects.

But, this may all be irrelevant depending on the meds you are taking already, might replace all of those things.

In addition to this, you can also add to it, for nerve pain/leg pain specifically a nerve blocking painkiller such as - gabapentin, pregabalin (newer/more expensive version of gabapentin), amytriptline. They are all highly effective for nerve pain, they have some side effects which some people find takes a little bit of getting used to, but if you can preservere they may work well for you. The other drugs don't tend to touch the nerve pain, or only a little if they do.

And. if you are having muscle spasms that are difficult to control and making movement impossible, then a muscle relaxant such as diazepam 2-4mg x 3 daily for a couple of days will very likely help ease those spasms and reduce the pain. Sometimes the nerve irritation is made worse by solid spasming muscles and that can ease a little if you address the muscle issues.

And, last but not least for pain relief, if you don't already, use hot water bottles, or heat pads of some kind. We swear by them here, and I currently have a hottie at the base of my back right now.

In addition to all these, as your symptoms are potentially getting worse, and your prolapses are lumbar prolapses, please read the red flags to watch out for relating to Cauda Equina - this is a medical emergency and if you get any of the symptoms relating to this you need to go straight to A&E and it could mean the spinal cord is being trapped by one of the prolapses. It's not common, but you must keep an eye out for the symptoms. I will post a link. And if solid is on, she has been unfortunate enough to have had this so can tell you more about what to look out for.

WOW. long.

loonvan re facet joint injections - they target the actual nerve that travels through the facet joints, very direct and specific and deaden the entire nerve. oh what I would give for one of those! How sad is that, I covet, not houses, or cars, or fancy appliances, or jobs of others, I covet their spinal injections

I don't know why both fact joint injection and epidural injection would be offered though, as epidural works on the epidural space, and that is basically like 'er, we ain't sure which nerve, so we're gonna target them all' and the success is 50/50, where facet joint injections target specific nerves so are much more successful. Unless, of course, you are talking to my pain clinic guy, then, it's only used for diagnostic testing. bollocks.

loon you said what I said so much more succinctly than I did

ok, so ketaprofen is a NSAID, in the same group as ibuprofen. That's why it's not touching the pain. It is NOWHERE NEAR strong enough to touch disc related pain. It will help with inflammation, which is fab. It should, before any other meds are added, be taken alongside paracetamol. You will see that is a common piece of advice on this thread. Paracetamol enhances the effects of NSAID meds, and if you add that to the mix, straight away you may see a little improvement. But, given that you said the NSAID is not touching it, then, you need codeine/tramadol or similar, presuming of course you are happy to take those meds (don't want to push strong painkillers on anyone).

It may sound like we are all hardcore drug takers here but those combinations work on different pain receptors so you are not overloading or overdosing on meds.

ok. last post for a few minutes

You know I said I was all zen like and at peace with my pain. Well, can I let that slip a tinsy bit and say boohoo?! In bed, propped up with a billion pillows and my leg cushion, have taken 45mg of codeine, max of paracetamol, double dosed my napraxen and a hottie at my back. I had a bloody good day. I walked to the car, almost not like a person with a bad back, and went on a playdate with friends from the children's school. I was fine, I was moving 'normally' but probably sat too long. I came home, walked a few yards, and now, the pain is so bad I want to cry.

I do still feel relatively calm, as I know this will pass, but for now. fucking bollox.

I did however wear a pair of size 8 stretch skinny jeans from sale at M&S, and unlike the other ones I had bought which dont fit look awful on, these fit me beautifully, don't cling in the wrong places, have enough room to not look like they don't fit, lovely! DH said 'they look like all your other jeans' fucking cheek. I will see if i can find a linkie.