Back Pain and Internet Shopping. Thread Number 5.

[PavlovtheCat]

Those who have long term back problems know that the best way to help manage back pain is to internet shop for shoes, bags, and back support devices. Those who are new to back pain, these are important lessons to learn.

And here within this thread is where you will learn those lessons.

You will also find other helpful advice on pain management, different treatment options from hydrotherapy and physio to surgery, experiences of others navigating the big and scary medical world, both private and NHS (and abroad from the UK) too, as well as issues around work, being a parent while managing pain and disability, and the impact on the relationships around us.

Between us all, we have a huge wealth of knowledge and experience, and more than the practical advice, the jargon and information, we know what back pain is like, how much is affects everything around us, and sometimes, all we need is to have people listen who Get It.

We talk painkillers regularly, have hot water bottles and wheat bags galore, and hold hands a lot. It's potentially all very Unmumsnetty as we do actually show some lovin' from time to time, although we Never Ever call each other hun.

If you have advice, need advice, need a hand to hold, want to do some shopping, then come in. We are friendly. We talk a lot. Come in, have a and say hello

You will see just how much we do talk if you read our previous threads (where you may glean lots of answers about pain relief, surgery etc, best winter boots etc):
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/general_health/2049637-Back-Again-Back-Pain-Support-Thread
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

I have read it all. Have lots to say. Hurt too much to type. But I read and thinking of those in pain, those with difficulties with appointments etc, and yey to growing old and partying with our legal drugs and fashionable attire, fancy sticks to beat people with etc. watch out world. we are coming.

I'll try to respond tomorrow.

Good news everyone! DH has shoved a carrier bag in the rat hole.

Berrie, does he hire himself out? Sounds ahem, a (not) well though out plan. Does he know the little bastards have (sharp) teeth?

Get the professionals in. Although my brother recently moved into a house with rats in the garden and used a rat poisin very effectively. It was the kind that works a bit later so effectively they go home and die in their own nest as opposed to yours. Oh yuk, it's making me cringe. Good luck!

Apparently if it gets chewed/pulled out then we will KNOW!
The chocking great poos and vile stink is proof enough for me.
Methinks he is stalling so that he can do it at the weekend in the light.
I have just now washed/disinfected underneath the cupboards as best I can and will be putting the contents of the cupboards through the dishwasher all day. Shudder. Not much point putting them back in until the hole is done though. What would you do with the wooden rolling pin? DH's Grandfather made it for his wife when they got married (long standing tradition where he worked - so she could hit him with it I think) I dare not dishwasher it but don't want to put and chemicals on it either. Perhaps just pour the kettle over it...

Berrie, I'm sure Sam H would come and sort out your rat problem, he seems an obliging type and would probably find it hot work and need to take his top off.

why did my crossing out fail there? Did I need an extra space before the ?

He would need to stay several nights until the rat appeared. (Rushes out to buy poison, trap,shot gun,cat before SH arrives)

I know what I'd be keeping the rolling pin for .

Who is Sam H? This topic is making my skin crawl!

Ooo never done a picture before!
He is a Scottish actor who is playing Jamie Fraser in Outlander which is a show showing in America of the Outlander books. I guess the effect is enhanced if you already fancy Jamie from reading the books.

how about Milton for the rolling pin?

Oh yes...hadn't thought of that. Thanks :Leaping!
Hmm...though that would involve rooting about in the actual cupboard under the sink...the one with the hole in the back....

Rushes back out to buy nice new rat piss free bottle of Milton.

Sorry Matilda would you rather I took Ratgate someplace else?

As some of you know I had a big improvement a few weeks ago and feel a bit of a fake on here at the moment (hopefully forever) but wanted to ask has anyone had an MRI to confirm the herniation has shrunk back and how it is healing?

I'm being cautiously optimistic but would like reassurance.

As I paid for my MRI before do you reckon I could ask for one as saved the nhs money not having the first one as the wait was too long? (Dreaming I'm sure!)

how many nights am I going to have taken up with sick children and playing up children! DD is in bed with me, I have so much to do and will be too tired in a very short time and she is 'feeling sick' and has been since I collected her from school (after she ran off for a bit with her friend I notice). She is 'going to try to have a sleep' while talking absolutely non-stop at me. 'mumeee?' x 12 'whaaaaat!?!' 'i....love you'. Grr! Like she bloody knows I am getting cross and will feel bad when she says that. And now she is dong some sucking/clicking noises with her tongue. She is going a very quick way of getting booted out. I am surprised that DS went to bed without a fuss, but it won't be long before he crawls into bed with me, and kicks me in the back a million times like he did last night.

I am very irritable as you can tell. the children are being hugely demanding, won't leave me along, wanting to cuddle/maul me every 5 seconds, they are fighting with each other physically and verbally, our home has shrunk while we have our kitchen redone and my pain levels are high.

I don't always have huge pain at night, always have some, but normally don't need to medicate, sleep is broken but I can get through it, sometimes taking meds at midnight and that's it at most. However, last night, I was in pain through the night, woke up lost and I dreamt that I was in pain. I was at work in my dream, crying because I was in pain, and I had a couple of other situations where the pain was there in my dream, then each time I woke, and it would be for real. I can't even fucking escape it at night now!

I need some space. From everything, from people talking to me/at me, from demanding from me, from needing me to do things, from chores, from work and from this blasted pain. January .

Oh goodness, I am such a moaner. Do ignore me. I never used to be.

cold honestly, I doubt very much that you will get an MRI to show how your disc is shrinking unless you once again pay privately. They won't unfortunately, see you already having paid privately as 'one in the bag'. Shame, as it would be useful to have a visual aid to see how well it really is healing.

pavlov, I feel your pain. Here's a quick un mumsnetty hug ((())).

I have very recently been getting night pain despite amytriptiline. Not enjoying this I started to take a sr tramadol at bedtime. If you took one late would it still keep you awake?

Bloody ipad on to slow grrr.

matilda thanks needed that! I took codeine last night at midnight, again at 4am, plus naproxen. Didn't take paracetamol as worried I had already taken my 24 hour maximum dose, less bothered about the naproxen as I took additional omeprazole. Tramadol will wire me. even slow/modified release. I have had 250mg of that in total today, just taken codeine, eked it out so I don't take too much - can have some at midnight if needed.

I been reading about stenosis. I am actually in the 'old woman' category now

I've been thinking about the pain clinic guy, who insisted at first my pain post surgery was neuropathic, then looked at the new scans and decided he was in fact not able to discern what was going on, and tried desperately to get the surgeon to review and reconsider whether surgery would be beneficial, and from that point appeared to completely accept I had pain - he has 'encouraged' me to not do much exercise, to try and do it 'for fun' not to rehabilitate myself, talked about 'acceptance' and learning to live with this, and that it won't go away. He sort of minimised but acknowledged there was stuff going on with my endplates, but not why. A lot of what I reading about stenosis and exercise is to limit and modify activities that can increase pain (i.e. walking, etc etc). I wonder if he knew? But couldn't diagnose me. His whole attitude changed from before he saw my MRI to after.

Not that it makes a difference really. I am going to go back and see him for my 6 month appt that he wants me to have, having had surgery he doesn't know I am having, and I will be taking the letter from new consultant stating I need to have injections to manage my back pain as post surgical treatment.

I'll shut up now...

pavlov, I feel your pain. Here's a quick un mumsnetty hug ((())).

I have very recently been getting night pain despite amytriptiline. Not enjoying this I started to take a sr tramadol at bedtime. If you took one late would it still keep you awake?

Bloody ipad on go slow grrr.

Sorry, I blame the ipad. Thought my pst hadn't. Posted.

It doesn't matter how much we love and adore and worship them sometimes small children who demand our attention can be the most sapping force on the planet. I love my boys (although why I need to tell you all I don't know, I'm sure we all love our babies immeasurably, 6 foot tall or not) but sometimes I feel stupidly claustrophobic by their need for my attention and they are quite grown up compared to yours Pavlov. I also get the pain in dreams thing too, it's intensely dispiriting.

That's all I have for tonight. Mad, manic steroid fever appears to be abating and I am fit only for sleep!

losty I am glad the manic phase is slowly passing, that must be such a headfuck, with everything else going on for you. Does this mean that you will be prone to this whenever you have the steroids? Or will it settle down in time?

I have made a decision to not go into work today. I feel terribly guilty about it, for many reasons - letting down my clients, my colleagues, not being able to prove myself as worthy and able to complete things to the end (a particular project I am on, not the end of the world, but makes me unreliable), and worry, as I have felt before, that this could be the start of the end of my career. I have been here before, and think the selling off of my employer into public/private split has saved my bacon to some extent.

But, right now, i can't cope with waking in pain, knowing this is just the start as it gets worse as the day wears on. I have things I can do that will keep my occupied so I won't wallow in self pity but I can do this things while high as a kite (but not too high as I got to do school run and swimming run, already ditched two activities this week as I couldn't cope, can't ditch this one), and while resting my weary bones and weary emotions.

I don't know about next week, but today and tomorrow I am going to give myself a break from it all for a few hours a day.

Builder is here. Told him I will be around but upstairs and he can just do as he would normally do, he has keys so he can come and go as he needs to, do whatever drilling etc he would normally do, pretend I am not here. He has promised he won't play phil collins

Oh Pavlov you lovely woman, in the end your only loyalties really lie with you and your children, rest and more rest are really the best painkillers out of everything we take. Very glad you have such a conscientious builder, there's living in pain and living with the noise of drilling but Phil Collins would put everything on a much higher level of torture .

Not sure about the steroids, I do think that going into them I was already working with a very high level of stress, getting divorced is horrible and sad and anxious making even if you are the one that wants it, total head fuck territory so I think my adrenals were already pumping a little more adrenaline than normal, add in the equivalent of 700mg of pred and it was probably a sure thing! I am angry that the GP was so shit about it but she is about most things so not a massive surprise .

So what are we googling today, nice shoes/boots, pretty handbags?

Pavlov, noooo. I now have Phil Collins floating around my head. I'd forgotten he even bloody existed!

DH popped home and took one look and told me to go and rest. I feel guilty and have neither job nor young dc. We are just hard wired to feel guilty.

Losty glad you are calmer! being in a steroid rush sounds awful. Have the injections even helped? I felt immeasurably better the day I said 'no more' to invasive treatments. In my case so traumatic, so useless. I mean the cumulative effect of doctors using me as a pin cushion and each one so certain he would be The One who's sorted me out with no real thought for my well being.

Phil Collins floating around in your head sounds most uncomfortable and not to be recommended. Fortunately I dislike him so much I can't even name one of his songs so am not similarly afflicted. So don't you dare name one for me young lady, you got that .

Not sure how well the injections have worked, up to now it's felt pretty brilliant but I've just popped into town to go to the bank and it was NOT a pleasant experience. Going to put the Butrans back up to 10 and have a mostly supine afternoon. Please tell me it's not possible for them to only last 2 weeks?

On a good moment though, I accidentally fell into a shop between the bank and the car (giddy with excitement at not being skint for 5 minutes) and bought myself this. I am going to wear it right now with my black skinny jeans and new Fly boots and rock the whole lying down with a book thing .