fed up with back pain, should i visit GP?

[popperdoodles]

Have been suffering from lower back pain which spreads to my hips and thighs. It comes and goes, have good days and bad. Have had it for years on and off, but I would say it's getting slowly worse. Ibuprofen helps and sometimes a cold pack or hot pack helps but not always.

It's starting to get me down. Can't sit comfortably for any length of time. Is it worth seeing someone about this? Will they just prescribe pain killers do you think? Will they look into the cause or is it unlikely to be anything sinister or worth investigating? I just worry back pain is so common it's just not worth bothering them with....but it hurts.

I would they may refer you for X-ray. Or to a specialist to see if there is a reason.
I would say ask for X-ray or scans to see if there is damage before going to a physio or osteopath etc
Long term acupuncture can be quite helpful in pain management as can tai chi if you want to avoid pills.

I have severe lower back pain with the addition of down the legs. Saw my GP yesterday. They think I have a slipped disc. I have 3 different seriously heavy duty pain killers and am waiting for an MRI.

I don't normally bother with any medication but I can't live without it right now.

Please go.

looks like i should go then. Thank you.

I would visit a physio first. They have more time. No to X-ray. There are very few indications to xray a back and the dose of radiation given is considerable. MRI would be first line of investigation. I would say physio would be the way to go. (I'm a GP)

Definitely go. You may have a prolapsed disc which an MRI could diagnose.

Hiya popperdoodles, sorry to hear you are suffering. I would urge you to go and demand an investigation- MRI best but I know you have to jump through a few hoops for them sometimes but it's worth a try.
Emphasize the following;

• you have had this pain for a long time
• at the moment it is in an acute pattern, you don't want it to go chronic
• it is getting worse
• it is getting harder to be comfortable in sitting position- this could be an indicator for a disc issue
• since heat and ibuprofen are helping it might be an inflammatory problem- which would come and go most importantly, it is bothering you and nobody has to put up with that, go and see your GP. Please join the back thread as well- lots of bods on there with ranging issues and experience. I only recently had a disc problem found and I have been telling my doctors for 5 yrs about my back pain but it took that long to get a proper scan of it. I wish I had pushed for it sooner as my problem only went chronic a yr ago- which is best avoided, hope your doctor is helpful. They may give you a stronger NSAID to try like diclofenac (the one i'm on) or Naproxen.

I would go to a chiropractor or similar, may cost you rather than being free, but I bet they can get to the root cause of the problem much quicker and treat the cause not the symptoms.

I would also try an osteopath. My GP packed me off with pain killers, anti inflammatories and a recommendation for an osteopath. I now skip the GP and the drugs and go straight for the osteopath.