Back pain help

[Msdj]

To cut a long story short. I had an MRI which showed a prolapsed disc at L3/4. When over doing it I get a severe crushing heat pain across the whole of my back. At other times I get a pain on my left side that goes down my bottom, into my groin, down my leg and my toes have pins and needles in them. I have classic symptoms of Sacroilliac joint dysfunction but haven't been diagnosed with that. Have asked my gp to diagnose me but they all just agree without doing any tests or X-rays. I have had this pain for 15 months now. Off work all that time as I can't sit. Can't stand and can't walk. I take tramadol. Baclofen. Paracetamol and oramprph. I have had physio. Acupuncture and spinal injections. Nothing has worked. I am constantly in pain or drugged up. Heat packs help a lot but are so expensive.

Any help gratefully received. My doctors are useless and won't help me x

Hello, do come and join the back pain support thread. Loads of fellow sufferers and tons of good advice.

Couple of things spring to mind. Have you been referred to a neurosurgeon if all else has failed? If not, why not? ( question for your GP).

If you have nerve pain ie leg pain, tingling then specific nerve meds added to your mix could well help. Ie amytriptiline or gabapentin. They are built up slowly and take a while to work but can be very good.

Thirdly, cheaper heat patches ie Wilkinsons 2 for 99p are just as good as the branded ones.

Do have a read through our threads, it's all there and much more. If nothing else you'll know you aren't alone.

I have prolapsed disks which play up if I over do it with the DCs. I can't take tramadol as it makes me too tired and I'm alone most of the day with the DCs.

I've found a hot water bottle is better than heat patches as they're reusable and stay warm longer. I have a small one which I wrap in a tea towel and tuck in the back of my jeans so I can still move when I need to.

I do t know if it will be suitable for you but I was given gabapentin which was brilliant for the pain.

Thank you Matilda I will try to find the back pain group. Will be nice to know I am not alone. I haven't been referred anywhere other than to a Pain clinic who prescribed Pregabalin but they made me feel woozy and the list of side effects put me off taking them. The pain clinic also put me on the waiting list for the injection. I was on the list for 6 months before I got it!! It took me 7 months of nagging my GP to get an MRI scan done. They just won't do anything to help me. I always feel like I am wasting their time. They are always running at least an hour over and it's so painful to sit in the waiting room for that length of time. Then when I finally get seen they rush me as if they want to get caught up with the next patient

I have tried a hot water bottle but as I am most comfy laid on my bed it's not that easy to use. I tend to only use the heat packs when I go out. Which is quite rare these days. Thank you for both replying though x