Really struggling with lower back pain. Don’t know how I can cope with this.

[headache]

Another night of broken sleep, waking up before 7am in agony with my back. The pain is constant even when I’m siting/lying and radiates down my pelvis/legs/feet.

I’ve had some sone of back pain for 25 years since I had DC but it’s worse now, I’m 50. I also have fibromyalgia. I have been prescribed dihydrocodeine and naproxen but they aren’t touching it.

Also take tumeric, magnesium and other vitamins. I have quite an active job not sedentary as if I sit for too long it hurts more. When I went to the GP she referred me to orthopaedics and prescribed pregabalin but the side-effects were horrendous.

Can’t see orthopaedics without first seeing physio, over the years I’ve seen a few physios, chiropractors, osteopaths, private and NHS none really help and I’m scared to do exercises now as they hurt and I don’t want to hurt anything further.

Probably need a MRI to find out exactly what’s going on, it looks like some sort of herniated discs/DDD given my age and symptoms.

I just don’t know if I can cope with being in this amount of pain all the time and the lack of sleep, it’s affecting my work and everything really.

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I'm so sorry you're going through all this. Sounds like you need a referral to a pain clinic so they can get the pain under control enough to allow you to do the necessary exercises.

But from someone with chronic pain, who wakes every 2-3 hours in pain, sleeping until just before 7am sounds blissful to me 🙈

I have herniated discs in both my neck and lumber spine.

to be absolutely honest, the thing that has helped most with the pain has been to modify my lifestyle- placing my spine under as little stress as possible. For me that has meant giving up my main hobby , and stepping back from a large range of household chores ( anything that involves any type of lifting/ pushing. I have had to lower my standards and insist my family do more.

It took about 6 months for my pain to significantly reduce with this strategy and now I am mostly pain free. Prior to this I tried a variety of medications, physio and other things to absolutely no avail.

Surgery is a last resort and often creates secondary problems down the line.

Ps I agree being sedentary isn’t helpful either, so I try to go for a longish walk 3 times a week but thats as much as I can comfortably do.

I bought a back thing from Amazon that you fit an ice pack into so you can sleep with the ice pack without it burning you.

I also tried sleeping with a heat pad on low ( don't try ice and heat at the same time!).

Doing your stretch exercises mid way through the night also helps .

Told the physio my phone said my sleep average had gone from 4.5 hours to 2.5 hours per night - it is worse when you keep a record and realise how awake you are.

Have a look at the NASS website - does your back pain meet any of the criteria for inflammatory back pain?
I have Axial Spondyloarthritis and it definitely is worst in the early hours of the morning and much worse at rest.

Haven't actually found a solution to the pain but it is manageable with physio and strong anti-inflammatories. I have had issues with herniated disc in lumbar spine too.

@YControl i had a Quick Look at the NASS website and I do tick a lot of the boxes, I’ll need an x-ray/MRI/consultant though

@BravebutBroken you have my sympathies too, I don’t get a full nights sleep either, takes me ages to fall asleep then I’m usually up a lot in the night with the pain. It’s utter soul destroying knowing going to bed knowing you can’t get to sleep for ages, will be awake in the night and then can’t even get a lay-in. I do manage little cat naps during the day when I’m not working.

@Burntout01 ive don’t that too, not heavy lifting especially children at work. No strenuous housework, fortunately DS loves hoovering so he gets extra pocket money, I try to walk the dog each day for exercise.

I’ve been in tears tonight I don’t know if it’s the actual pain or feeling down probably both. I have a TENs too, ice-packs, heat packs, massage guns you make it 🤣

Stop all the guess work and get an MRI. Many clinics accept self referrals now so get one, and when you know what you're dealing with you can seek the appropriate treatment. Costs about £300 (well my last one did).

I had a herniated disc. The only thing that worked was having it out and a replacement put in. Everything else was always going to be a waste of time and it can get worse while you wait. I was on all the painkillers my GP could give me and could hardly function for the side effects. When I woke up after surgery it was instant relief.

I have DDD, osteophytes, bilateral pars defect and spondylolysthesis in my lower back. The result is sciatica and a lot of lower back pain. This is from an mri three years ago. I get offered nothing but physio and painkillers.

im signed off work currently with a tear in my hip so can’t do any physio.

until I am incontinent or in so much pain with my back that I can’t function at all they won’t re scan me or refer me to anyone.

if my hip was ok I’d be doing all the physio I could to try and build core strength and muscles to take the pressure off my discs and to tick that box. Once the box is ticked then at least I would know I’d given it my best shot and I could scream at everyone that I’d done it all.

i have recently bought a tens machine and get some relief and distraction, I use it before bed and find it helps a little with the back pain.

I’ve found that this level of back pain is miserable but doesn’t get you any support or fixes aside from ladders of opioids and nsaids and the odd bit of amitriptyline thrown in.

you could push for a referral to pain clinic that might do nerve root injections or at least try and find combinations that help?

I'm so sorry you're going through this. I agree you probably need a MRI to know for sure.
Sometimes what helps DH sciatica/herniated disc is hanging from a bar/dead hang. We have a thing that hangs on the door but sometimes he goes to the local playground (!) to hang from the monkey bars if he hasn't been able to go to the gym.
It helps decompress the spine, along with other physio exercises.

@TheRavagesOfThyme is that all? I’m shocked as a private pain consultant was £400, he basically told me I was very clued up on my pain and there wasn’t a lot he could do for me 😩
I’ve been to the NHS chronic pain clinic as well. It’s so rotten all GPs so is give you the opioids and NSAIDs as

@headache
Just wondering how you are doing ?Have you managed to find any relief?

Hi , I’m 41 and have had years of long term chronic back pain .
the thing that helped me was a facet joint injection into both sides of the problem area . I was able to come off all pain medication . Although it’s not offered straight away. You have to have tried the various options. For example ….physio , epidurals , osteopathy, IDD therapy . I regularly have to go swimming . Hope you’re able to get somewhere soon . I’ve been in your position and feel your pain .