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

That GP sounds an arse especially if this is the second episode of acute leg pains cocodamol doesn't have a cumulative effect and diazepam does only to a small extent in terms of relaxing spasm. Keep persisting. My friend's husband had a really similar episode last year and got an MRI done. He was offered immediate surgery on the nhs though has insurance so had it privately. He,too was awake all night and crying with pains there really isn't much like it and the nonexistance of an end in sight is very depressing.

I took my normal gabapentin and cocodamol this morning. Then about 11 I made some porridge and took my slow release tramadol at the same time. I then became unbelievably sleepy and woke up about two hours later. I realised I'd mistakenly bitten into the sr tramadol and got the whole dose in one . Quite annoying because I missed a good chunk of the day and didn't dare to drive for another couple of hours. Silly me. Didn't actually even give me much pain relief, either.

And yes, I think the large drink when all else fails is a very common theme. Nobody admits to it but a lot of people do it.

Hi everyone, hope everyone is coping with the pain. I had my appraisal at work yesterday, was dreading it especially as I had 5 mnths off with the disc problem. But actually it went well, I know I work hard and well, not that I amblowing my own trumpet, but its a hard job. I have put in writing about the reception job, so hopefully that will go for me, I am off now til the 25th feb as half term starts fri and I have loads annual leave as I had all the sick time, I feel cheeky really taking my annual leave though.

Pink, delighted your appraisal went well. .

I understand about feeling guilty but you weren't on holiday,were you? You were sick! Enjoy your time off. Have you got some nice plans? Try to incorporate some rest. Are you getting any support with your pil?

Not sure about plans for next week, everytime we pkan anything it gets dropped as in laws want dh there all the time. It is starting to cause problems with us now. In laws got assessed for a care package which could take few weeks, in the mean time they could have emergency package put in place but they declined, they want to wait til mil had ct scan. It's affecting our home life now, as dh drops everything as in laws make him feel guilty and make everything into an emergency when it isnt. Maybe I sound hard but when you work in that environment you get used to it.
And as for rest, that is impossible at the mo, I seem to be busier than I was before I had the back pain.
I got to work yesterday and just burst into tears, I think I reached my breaking point, work is getting pressurised and with the extra stuff at home I reached my limit.
My back at the mo seems ti be getting stiffer and less flexible, I am hoping itIisnt the start of things to come.
I think I am having bad few days ad seem a bit down in the dumps, bet I sound a right miserable devil.

Pinkkoala No advice but I feel for you. In your post you sound so very tired. Your getting it from all angles. Be to nice to yourself

No, I really empathise with difficut and needy inlaws. My MIL is in a care home and FIL is alone. He was very poorly last year and got used to the family being there all the time and dropping everything at any time to rush round. This continued past crisis point and we had to insist on him having carers in and a 24 hour neck alarm. It's worked brilliantly and he got much better, now having just the morning carer which he loves.

It's very hard to draw the line. I hope the care gets sorted soon. It sounds hard but if dh becomes less available they might have to accept the emergency care package. Try to getsome time to yourself when you can.xx

Your=you're

Damn you predictive text.

Thank you for the NICE link Pavlov - it's pretty much in line with the nhs official sciatic treatment info. Not sure why our GP hasn't even considered the antidepressant option. If we have another horrendous night I will insist on another emergency appointment, and insist they try this option.

DH has had a few slightly better moments, has been able to sit for a little while, although the pain comes back with a vengeance after a little while.

MIL has given him some Amytriptiline 10 mg she had been prescribed a little while ago. He is worried about taking it without medical advice but depending on how desperate he gets tonight he might take it. Although that doesn't sound like a quick fix either.

marceline, can I suggest that for now your DH avoids sitting at all unless no choice? For lumber disc prolapses this is often the worst possible position and he will just be irritating things again. One of the problems can be that pain doesn't always kick in immediately so he feels a bit better, sits for a meal or at his desk, then an hour later feels terrible again. For the time being try semi supine with knees bent up and supported on pillows gentle walking around the house and resting again. Boring . Is work ok with him being off?

Re amytriptiline, um. It might help him sleep if he takes 20mgs the sedative effect works very quickly and the morning sluggishness is tough though improves. As a nerve med it does take longer to work. I would probably take it if he is in pain tonight. It would be preferable if his GP actually prescribed it. The starting dose is 10-20mgs then can be gradually increased to 50mg as needed. I've never needed more than 20mgs to sleep ( after some nights of literally no sleep at all). The hangover feeling does mean a lot of people don't give it a fair trial.

Thanks for the kind words, I would love a nice pamper in the bath, thats not too much to ask. But my and dh aren't getting in too well at the mo, he works long days on 4 on 4 off sometimes 15 hrs a day, then we get the in laws, he then is asleep every night in the sofa fron 8pm onwards, so thats winding me up. I seem to be on the edge of tears all the time, my work is hard and we have more residents and same amount of staff, no extra.
I would love a job with children or babies or a job where I csn help disadvantaged children, any ideas where I would find out about them type of jobs.
I don't seem to get any chill time, I sort dd for school, work, do alk the houswork, shopping, even do in laws shopping and he just drops everything fir them, its causing big problems at the mo.

That sounds like sensible advice Matilda, seems to be exactly what is happening, he had been a bit more comfortable earlier but had a massive flare up a minute ago, caused him to take his cocodamol half an hour early! Seriously tempted by the amitriptiline as we both feel we can't cope with another night of no sleep. As far as you know is it ok to take with codeine and diazepam?

Re work - he is in a new job, since November with a relatively small company. Still in probation so the timing is rubbish! Sick pay is 'discretionary'. He doesn't think he will get paid. We can probably cope for a bit without pay but it just depends how long this lasts. Last time he was off for 5 weeks. I want to worry about that too but right now just trying to get through the next night!

Marcelene, sorry, missed you last night. I try to put the ipad away before bed as I spend way too much time messing about on it.

Amytriptiline is fine with all the other meds. They are all doing different jobs and believe me, there are others that can still be added. Keep an eye ( at least make sure he keeps an eye) on his bowels. Immobility and the meds will make things sluggish and dealing with bad constipation will not help.

Hope you had a good night

Pink, sorry things are tough. Maybe you can do a bit of job searching in your time off? Re your back I would think something like reception work would be ideal. Schools and so on are still pretty hard on your back. Plenty of teachers have posted here to confirm that. the reception staff at my health club all look very cheery. it's a busy but nice environment. It does sound hard for your DH, too so maybe try to make a bit of time together and just some downtime each, too.

Pink so glad you are getting your work situation sorted out at last.

Re aged parents I do understand your frustration. I went through hell trying to get my Mum to accept help from Social Services. There was also the constant "crying wolf" as she called ambulances out for Dad's stroke (he never had one) or her heart attack (never had one till now - 8 years on). Stress adds to the pain so might just be that with your back?

Waves at everyone else

It's been our worst night so far. DH's back and leg pain was so acute he literally couldn't find any position that was not agony, despite being drowsy from the meds he was unable to sleep at all. I called 111 for advice re amitriptiline. By 5am we had a call from the emergency GP telling him it's ok to take it. Doesn't seem to have made a difference in the pain.
But he has slept for about an hour this morning. He is very tired and groggy this morning, but still in the same pain.
Just wondering what our options are now. Will try to make emergency appointment with GP and ask for morphine again, or take him to a&e. Last time when I called an ambulance about this they wouldn't come out. Dh is worried a&e wouldn't treat him, but I am running out of ideas, he's in agony and we've both had very little sleep in the last 3 nights.

I'd be inclined to go to A&E, this sounds pretty serious. He needs an emergency MRI and surgical assessment IMO. Morphine will help knock him out a bit but won't treat the underlying cause. Starting regular nerve meds might help a bit but if there is very serious nerve compression I can't see meds helping much tbh.

Hope you get help.

Marceline After fluting about with my old GP who seemingly didn't give a damn, I went to A&E 2 weeks ago. I was so bad I couldn't walk from the front door to the desk. I collapsed onto my hands and knees and within seconds I was surrounded by nurses and helped onto a trolley.

I too thought they wouldn't want to see me but the opposite was the case. They were all horrified at the pain i was in and set about helping me straight away.

I would recommend going it. I should have gone weeks ago.

And sorry but it's true of women so doubly true for men, crying loudly does make people take notice. Screams of agony are good too. Not saying make it up but definitely no stiff upper lip.

Yes, cross posted. shneegle is right.

marceline take him to A&E, if you don't think ambulance will come, then take him and don't leave until he has been seen. Being in acute agony IS an emergency. He needs this under control. It is NOT ok for him to be left like this. And, don't minimise the symptoms, or how bad it is (I am not sure what your DH is like, but my Dh is very much like 'its not so bad when...') he must tell them if he has had any change in bowels or bladder use, even once, any saddle numbness or pins and needles, even if this has come and gone, any numbness in his leg or foot, even if not constant.

Unfortunately, the amytryptiline takes a good week or two to kick in in terms of nerve pain, and in the mean time leaves you feeling groggy. It does work though. For me it was the best nerve painkiller, but unfortunately, I couldn't cope with the side effects, couldn't drive the car, work, manage the children, despite giving it 5 weeks, but I am quite 'sensitive' to these meds apparently So, it's definitely worth him trying this longer term, whatever they say in the hospital.

Also, being in acute pain is really scary. For me, I got a lot of mental comfort when I finally got to the hospital.

Yes,mim often sad when I hear people give up amytriptiline after a short time. It is a good drug and also works long term without building tolerance. The grogginess is tricky but does pass.

Hope you have gone to hospital now Marceline. Send best wishes from Those Who Understand.

Thank you all so much for the support, I have really appreciated the advice and feeling that we're not alone in this horrid experience.

DH has slept a few hours on the sofa now and his pain has subsided somewhat. He is reluctant to go to a&e as he feels this may interfere with the process - he has been referred to the orthopaedic surgeon who treated him last time and was told that as he is already a patient he will be seen quickly even through the nhs - he was treated privately last year. Myself, I don't see why it should interfere. In any case, he's not thinking clearly right now. I have decided that if at any point today or tonight the pain spikes again I am taking him straight to a&e.

marceline so glad to hear that he is feeling a tiny bit better, at least for now, and has managed to sleep a little. A&E won't interfere with the treatment process, they only deal with emergency at hand, and don't do further exploration/referrals etc, unless they feel that whatever is going on simply cannot wait such as CES. They will however, help him feel more comfortable pain wise before sending him home again. I know this myself as I was already scheduled for surgery in January, but in November/December time I had to go to A&E due to possible CES symptoms, to have that ruled out. They did an MRI which did rule it out, and everything else seen on the MRI was ignored, as it was not A&E related stuff, they just let me continue with the route I was going down to address those things. If I didn't have anything in place, they would have directed me back to GP for exploratory stuff - they said GP deals with urgent, they deal with emergency.

Hope he continues to make progress, albeit slow.

Also, if he has been referred to the ortho, has that already happened? If so, might be worth calling the secretary and asking for this to be fast tracked due to the acute pain not subsiding, unless the GP has already asked for this to be fast tracked? Not waiting long on the NHS is not the same as not waiting long for a private appt. It could be months unless they know how urgent this appointment is needed.