The Back Pain Emporium is Open For Business. Browsers Welcome. Thread 7

[MatildaTheCat]

For anyone experiencing back pain it can be a terrifying time. What is wrong? Who can help? How long will this last? We,on this thread are here to support you;offer empathy and help to navigate the almost impossible task of getting a diagnosis and the right treatment.We are not doctors but people who have trodden this path slowly and painfully. We also chat a LOT and welcome all newcomers. It is strictly non competetive regarding pain and no niggle is too minor.

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. Not to mention the pain of dealing with claiming disablity benefits. .

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,sometimes drink , 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

Previous thread for anyone interested

Hi Berrie et al.

Had the op at lunchtime. Back to my room now. Surgeon said it was a super large extrusion and had adhered to the nerve root so the operation took longer than expected trying to pick them apart He's confident of a good overall result though. I'm so glad it's over. Even if the worst of the op pain is still yet to come.

I'm shattered but happy

Hey Schmeegle, glad you're ok. The post op pain should be fine so long as you don't let the pain build up, take the meds regularly. ( suspect you've had plenty of practice at this). Good to hear the surgeon took his time and that it really needed doing.

So lie back and allow yourself time to heal. Any idea how long they are keeping you in? Take care and keep us posted. Lots of us have been there,too.

Had a really lazy/ dull day. Have done things but not enough structure. Trouble is that if I plan too much it pays me back but not enough and I'm bored and spending way too much time on mn.

Woo hoo shmeegle! Glad you are ok. Thanks for letting us know. When are you out? Have you got some good drugs? Hope you have a comfortable night.
Sorry for dull day matilda. I know just how you feel...for me...I think I need to work an extra day but in teaching this tips me over to being the responsible partner which is then hard because you are only three 3 days and can't see things through...

Glad your op is over and done with Schmeegle, and your surgeon took his time. Hope you have an uneventful recovery.
Matilda I am a bit the same - plan too much and I am forced to drop balls so to speak, but boredom can be an issue, if I have to rest too much. Its frustrating because there is a lot to do - the boring unrewarding stuff of running a household that none else will do (and I can only do a little at a time) - but I need - as do we all - to have some 'nicer' time as well. Hard to get the balance right. I empathise exactly with needing to feel productive and useful. Its half term, so no chance of boredom this week.
Berrie pity you can't do an extra half day and not get the extra work that goes with being the responsible one. I keep thinking I should take on another day (I only work one short day a week) but it suits me better to fill in to cover occasional staff shortages, as I can fit these around ds needs (his medical appointments always seem to come in batches) - or mine.
Hope every one gets a good night.

Schmeegle glad the op went well and wishing you a smooth recovery

Morning all!

Didn't really have a bad night at all. Didn't sleep much but I think that was more adrenaline and noise etc. I'm taking all the meds that are going and keeping the pain at bay as advised!

Surgeon was around this morning. No news really. He reckons I could go home today if I liked but would prefer to keep me a extra day in hospital given long journey. home.

He said after today I should very gradually see the pain in my back reduce. I have no pain whatsoever in my ass/thigh/calf/heel.

I can't freaking believe it, even though it's only early days. I guess I just have to follow the instructions and do my very best to encourage recovery.

Coffee is here at last! Have a nice day all, and thanks again for all your best wishes.

Morning peeps.

Schmeegle sounds great so far just remember to not get carried away and do too much - full recovery can take years so don't feel you have to be back to "normal" in a short time. Even after the 3-4 years are up you can still improve with help from physio or AT or whatever floats your boat. I really feel the AT stuff is helping me cope (and improve on pain levels).

I know exactly what you mean Matilda - I am trying to keep busy with the house (its never been so clean) and have a wee list in my head of stuff that needs doing but that will wear off and will be looking for something to do but not too much or that gorilla might pay me a visit!

Hi Schmeegle Ally is right. It took me a good year to feel normal though of course everyone's situation is different. I say it not to be cruel but because I was so disappointed that my problems were not over after surgery. I remember asking at an appointment with the surgeon some months later when I would be better and he said I would never be better. I was devastated. I think now though what he meant was that I would always have
back issues and be prone problems which seven years on I have been. I had just wanted to know when I would be free of the constant acute pain which I had been in for years and I was - after about a year - and I feel very lucky.

schmeegle fantastic news! As long as you keep everything slow and steady, that leg pain should stay away. I actually didn't find surgery recovery pain that bad, the first few days were the worst, and then it got better, so this is as painful as it should get, although moving will hurt a little, it's a different type of pain. AS already said, don't let the pain build, nurses were very strict with making me understand that it was easier to keep pain low than bring it down, so to take all pain relief offered.

Hope you continue to recover well.

Talking of boredom. I am definitely bored. Not because I don't have enough to do, but because I get so tired doing it, so don't do much, then that means boredom. I have a few little bits of painting to do in the kitchen, some edging that needs neatening up etc. I have just over a week before I go back to work, and am looking forward to the routine, but worried about whether I will get tired too quickly as that's my biggest issue right now. And also, work is notorious for setting off back spasms, fancy desk or not, so worried that it's all gonna be too much. Got to get back to find out though!

Berrie didn't realise you were a veteran like me - I am 7 years in too! Like you I was devastated when they started talking about 80% fit, etc and was determined to prove them wrong (which obviously I didn't manage) but am still miles better than before op! My leg pain vanished after the op and I only get back pain when I do too much or something stupid like cut my own toenails or have a bath . The leg pain is a rare visitor and only a ghost of what it was. Of course some people like Pavlov make it look easy which is lovely!

I did nothing for 3 months - maybe that was my mistake but hey ho done now! Now I do nothing permanently!

Pavlov - its a phased return right? I'm sure you will be fine - I never did make it back to full-time but you and I are very different!

ally I don't do full time luckily, I do 25 hours a week 9:30-2:30 or thereabouts every day. I am guessing phased return, but the conversation hasn't happened with my boss yet, I got a short 'how are you? email, literally 2 lines, about 3 weeks in, no fucking card or flowers or other lovely get well things that other team members have had but ooh no not bitter not at all and nothing else, although I replied several weeks ago.

Ladies,

Quick question.

What sort of meds should i be on coming home tomorrow? I must say the surgical oain is pretty nasty this evening.

Coming in to hospital I was on 300mg lyrica and 120 arcoxia and cocodamol when needed.

Now they seem to be talking of cutting my lyrica to 150 tomorrow , doing away with the arcoxia and apparently there's absolutely no chance I can get anything strong with morphine or anything in it for the journey home.

This all seems a little drastic.

Perhaps I'm taking them up wrong.

Terrified of a 3-4 hour car trip in agony!

Wow, Schmeegle that's very mean. First op I went home on roughly the equivalent of what you are on but only a ten minute ride in the car. I was advised then to reduce the cocodamol first, replacing with paracetamol over the first couple of weeks then reduce the gabapentin and finally naproxen. Then paracetamol as and when. This never actually happened but was the plan as given by the anaesthetist.

Second time I was given a big dose of oromorph just before leaving and a bottle to take away.

I would make a fuss tbh. You had surgery yesterday ffs! Did they take any bone, because that is sore, too. If they absolutely refuse I can only suggest you take your own meds, possible increasing the Lyrica for the journey because it might make you sleepy. Hope you get it sorted. Out of interest what are you having today?

schmeegle have you told them that your pain is high and that you are very worried about your car journey home? I get that if there is reduced pain you can reduce the nerve painkillers, but even then you should be reducing slowly due to withdrawal side effects, but surgery pain can and should be managed on decent painkillers. Although, after my discectomy I had a pca until the morning of release (patient controlled button - morphine), then was released with just codeine 30mg, but I didn't need more, and I lived locally to the hospital, 20 mins in the car and I was fine with that. This time, their attitude to pain relief was very different and they were making sure my pain relief was up at the top all times, and when I told them about my car journey home and for the first couple of days, they were happy for me to have a big dose of oramorph just before I left the hospital (20mg) and a small bottle to last me the journey and a few days after. I didn't need it all, and I probably would have been ok with codeine and tramadol, but the assurance of knowing I was fine for pain relief was important and I took advantage of the meds given.

I would have another chat with the nurses, ask to talk to the ward nurse/sister, as it was this person who told the registrar he could sort this out for me. My car journey was similar to yours, 4-5 hours normal car journey, with additional stops it was about 6.5 hours.

Do you have your own meds with you? If so, I personally would just take them as normal, and meet with your own GP when you are back to discuss properly titrating down as you feel ready/once your pain is under control in your own home environment.

I actually think 300-150 of lyrica is quite quick, even if there is no pain whatsoever. I was always under the impression it should be titrated upwards and downwards in 50mg.

Hi Matilda,

This morning I had 150mg Lyrica, 120mg Arcoxia, paracetamol around lunchtime and got some oxynorm there at 6. They definitely won't give me any more of the latter as apparently the don't discharge anyone whilst under the influence of anything morphine based.

Yip they did have to nip a bit of bone off.

I'll just have to work away with whatever I have at my disposal tomorrow

Yes pav I thought that too about lyrica.

Will nab the next nurse I see to find out exactly what is going on.

they won't discharge you while under anything morphine based? What's that all about? I'd have been in there a good 2-3 more days if they had that attitude in my hospital!

How are you feeling at the moment anyway? Hope you are not in too much pain. What's the food like? has the temptation to buy dungarees subsided any?

, you're a big girl. Take whatever you need to to get home. That's a very mean attitude. Do they think you're actually driving or something?

I went swimming today. With DH and the children. Did some bobbing, and a little bit of gentle swimming, probably totalling 2 x 30 metre lengths, but not in one go, in little bits while supervising the children, just sort of drifting alongside them. It was fucking cold! getting in, the water, and getting out, not inspiring me to do that again when it's not my gym pool . I have deep pain now in my sacral/lumber area, bit of hip/butt pain, but nothing more than expected, and bearable with some painkillers, no calf/foot pain, although did have some saddle pins and needles after sitting down when I came home, but it cleared once I got up and moved around. That's probably coincidence.

So, I will see how I get on in the next day or so and if I am not too bad muscle pain wise I might return to the gym pool 2-3 times a week - it's small so no chance of over-doing it there and will walk a couple of lengths to start, then add in a length of swimming as I feel able (followed by a long steam/sauna of course ).

Dh said he doesn't think my mobility itself has hugely improved yet, still stiff and slow moving, but he can see that pain has reduced, not obviously in so much pain. I do feel more mobile, but guess it's harder to see that externally. Also I reminded him that this surgery was the start, not the end, of recovery from this horrendous period, I have a lot of work to do yet before I am stronger and can be able to see how 'recovered' i really am and before we can see long term regular and consistent improvement in mobility. I did however walk to the shops without my crutch yesterday, and felt almost like I didn't have a back problem. Admittedly, I did take quite a lot of painkillers

Didn't realise you were already part-time pavlov so that's good

Geez after the initial dose of morphine I only got paracetamol in hospital and nothing to take home (where I already had stuff thank god) - I must be living in the wrong postcode area (or they think we really are "made from girders" up here) And yes we weren't allowed more morphine so we could be discharged (and they tried to make us all go home the next morning but we all refused although I had such an awful time of it I was wishing I had) grrrrrr - can you tell I still have issued?

How extraordinary. Seems that the hospitals are literally making up their own rules regarding analgesia. It's cruel to send people home in pain.mhope you have something up your sleeve, Scmeegle. Especially stupid when you consider how much opiod med people with discs have been necking in the preceding months, therefore giving them tolerance and an increased need for the strong stuff to do the job..

I am a very stupid person who was having quite a good week. Note the was. Then I went out to lunch with a couple of old colleagues and sat on a chair for at least an hour... So that's the end of my good week. Annoying as I'm also going out for lunch today and now that will be horrid. AIBU to wish to sit down to eat my lunch?

Feel for you Matilda - meals out are a big issue. I've found that as long as I move about a lot (squirming), go to the loo when I don't need just for the walk, don't lean forward to talk - I can get through it sometimes without consequences. Then again just leaning forward to actually eat can kill me too - I reckon finger food would fix that - can only eat out if its chips - even a sandwich or a burger you'd still lean forward in case of spills. Can manage cake without moving too but am getting too fat

I've actually had to rush outside in agony and pace about outside till partner appears after paying - fortunately this hasn't happened with friends yet but I'm sure its only a matter of time - course they won't be as keen to pay for me as hubby is haha!