back pain does anything stop/cure it?

[babalon]

I've posted about my back before but I now have mri results that say basically I've a slipped disc at l5/S1 thats pressing on both s1 nerves. I could have told them that!! This pain has been constant at varing intensity since Feb no known injury. Went and cried at my GP again today who has finally refered me to a neurosurgeon. My question is has anyone had chronic back pain then found a cure if so what was it? And does surgery work how much does it hurt and what are the risks?

Anyone?

My mum had a simailr problem with her back she was even having problems walking and standing upright.
Her GP was prescribing her heavy duty painkillers while she was waiting to see a specialist-god only knows how long on the NHS.
We saw an advert for a local chirapractor(sorry about the spelling) and made an aapt for a couple of days later.
She had some x rays done so he could see what was going on and then started to treat her.
The first session she came out and was standing more upright and was in much less pain.She continued to see him for a few weeks every few days.She made a full recovery in that time and has not had any more pain and that was over 5 years ago.touch wood.
Maybe this could help you?

Short term: various things - heat, ensuring you have a good mattress that suits you (that doesn't necessarily mean hard), topical gels e.g. voltarol or ibuleve. I swear by diclofenac suppositories, they get me through the day (I have an incurable back/pelvis problem), but I know not everyone could face these but my view is, if the pain is bad enough you do. Accupuncture is also good for pain management.

Long term: sorry, but you probably do need to consider surgery if that's what has been put forward to you.

It's the pits so I feel for you.

Thanks for replies,
Voltorol suppositories are the only thing that touches the pain. I maxed out my credit card seeing the chiropractor and an oesteopath still trying to pay it off .

I think I'm trying to hold off the whole pain management thing, I just want to be better not manage the pain. I'm 29 I can't live my life like this I can't enjoy anything now I can't even have sex without the pain being so bad that I cry!

Owwwwwwwwwwwww it really hurts

I've been seeing aphysiotherapist for a couple of months, but it sounds like my back pain is nowhere near as bad as yours. I did have days when I couldn't sit or stand or move without being in pain though and it really sucks: I do feel for you.

hopefully surgery will work. afterwards, you need to build your muscles up to help protect against further injury (though I imagine the surgeon will tell you this). I've been doing stomach / pelvic floor exercises and I do seem to have fewer back problems. will you see a physio after the surgery? - you should get that on nhs (nag if you don't). lots of chiropractors and osteopaths are a bunch of quacks imo...

My DH periodically has a bad back. Fortunately when it first occurred he worked for a big company who had an on-site physiotherapist. She showed him some exercises (mainly lying face down and pushing up with arms to get the correct curve in the back and kind of squeeze the disk in I think). This proved very helpful in his case. It sounds like yours is more advanced but can you not get the GP to refer you for some physio - it might help.

Oh, and you said theres no known injury - according to DHs physio a lot of bad backs are caused by car seats. Just sitting badly for too long can set it off. A sort of sausage shaped cushion in the small of the back seems to help DH too - have you had any advice on that sort of thing, posture etc?

Babalon - I really feel for you I am recovering from a similar problem (I think it might even be the same disc). Mine went at the end of May and within 3 weeks i was basically bed-bound and taking loads of painkillers (Tramadol, paracetamol and ibuprofen).

Luckily my dh has BUPA cover through his work and I asked for a referral to a neurosurgeon. The MRI showed a "severe" herniation and no option but surgery, which i had at the start of July. It's been a long road but I am finally off the Tramadol and now just take a nerve-suppressing painkiller.

Sure, it still hurts but it is nothing compared to the agony i was in before. tbh, even the days after the surgery the pain was less severe.

As far as the risks are concerned, it is the usual with any GA plus a smallish risk of paralysis, but with a disc so low down that is minimised. I have talked to loads of people who have had this surgery done and all are basically ok now

I've got a physio referal but there is a 16 week waiting list and I'm only half way through it. I'm terrified of spinal surgery "what if it goes wrong etc" I don't even know if it will come to that, I just want a magic wand.

Tiggerish - what is the name of the nerve surpressing drugs? I've been perscribed Naproxen 500mg but it's doing nothing I've had my tens machine on max all night because the weirdness of that is better than th shooting pain down my legs. How bad was your recovery from surgery? Would you recommend it?

I was really nervous pre-op too, but i was given no chioce really so had to go through with it. The neuro-surgeon made it very clear that it was too severe a displacement to correct itself.

The nerve pills are called gabapentin (also known as neurontin). They are used as a long-term painkiller for nerve damage. I was prescribed them about 5 weeks after surgery and they made a huge difference.

I would recommend the surgery - without hesitation. Recovery was tough with 2 kids to care for, particularly as dd was so used to being picked up. She adapted really well and was just about old enough (2.3) to understand that Mummy was hurting etc. and could of course manage quite well with cuddles instead. I did need a lot of help for the first 2 weeks and then it steadily got easier. So I suppose after about 3 weeks it was definately better than pre-op.

What I really wasn't prepared for was the time it has taken. I was expecting the op to be the magic wand, with instant results but it wasn't (and still isn't) but at least it is a lot better than it was. I really do believe now that I will be pain free eventually.

If the volatrol supp's are really helping are you taking your max dose? Because they are 100mg and you can have 150 mg per day it means you can take one every 18 hours. Obviously this is logisitically a nightmare so my consultant said it is ok to take them:

Day 1: morning and bedtime
Day 2: morning

Then back to day 1 etc. Use the Voltarol gel (you can get this on prescription in much larger quantities than OTC) at key times. Have you tried, for e.g., using the gel before bed? This might help with the sex issue.

Also, try to remember to hold in your lower abs and pelvic floors when walking, moving etc as this will provide your own support for your lower spine.