Undiagnosed Chronic back pain

It sounds like a form of epilepsy especially when  you told us that you had a seizure following tramadol.

Tramadol lowers the seizure threshold, is it possible to get a second  neurological opinion?

Hi Carla,

I fully understand what you are going through. I have lived with chronic back pain for around 3 years now. I had to wait 1.5years on an appointment with the Pain Clinic. They are going to give me facet joint injections. Also I am on Prozac and diazepam because my mental health is deteriorating due to the pain. I currently take each day, Lyrica 300mg, Tramadol 200mg, Kapake, Prozac, diazepam. The pain clinic have now taken me off the tramadol because they think they aren't working. I have now been prescribed with Tapendol which I believe is stronger than Tramadol. Have you ever heard of anyone on these? I also attend a physciatric unit due to the pain because I had said that I can't live my life like this constant pain. So now they think I would maybe self harm etc. This has been a really hard experience to go through and I wouldn't wish that on anyone. I have no life at the minute because I can't do anything and it is frustrating.

There's something called central pain syndrome I think that's what it's called. I don't have it but it is pain that is supposed to be worse than any other chronic pain and it is like yours, difficult to diagnose. I would suggest that you go to a site that deals with pain it's called "my chronic pain" and sign up. You will find a lot of people there that suffer from different types of pain. You might even get some ideas on what your problem could be. And if nothing else you would have the support of other people who suffer from pain like you do. I know I get a lot of support from the site. If you do sign up, feel free to put me on your team. My name on there is Kathleen Kaiser good luck to you.

HI Carla,

I really feel for you, I was at the end of my first year at Uni doing a degree in Pharmacology at Sheffield when I first started with back pain and v bad sciatica. That was 23 years ago, and at the time all they could do was put me on diclofenac which did nothing and after a few months I stopped taking them as nothing helped. I put my flare up down to being hunched over a desk revising for my end of year exams ( May time) and my back eventually settled in the October that year. 23 years on I have 3 prolapsed discs in my lumbar spine and irriataed nerves and most recently a prolapsed disc at C6 in my neck, and nerve entrapment at C6 nerve root down my left arm. This latter problem started 3/4 years ago, and despite my pain no one could diagnose it. Now they say that early changes must have been going on in my cervical spine, which are now only showing on MRI scan !! So whilst I don;t know what is wrong with you, I would say that in my experience sometimes they cannot daignose thinsg early on, and in my case it took another 3 years to show up on the MRI scan. Good luck x

I went almost 20yrs before I was diagnosed with AS. Your condition sounds very different than mine but I understand the frustration. I always tell people to see a rhuemotologist if everything else has failed! You could have some type of auto immune disease or even fibromyalgia. It turned out I had an auto immune disease. I am pain free today!

If this reply is too late I apologiseI have just seen this.

Tramadolis an opiate and causes chest pain and seizures. It is a terribledrug.

I would seek a second neurological opiion and also see a neurologist specialising in headaches. Tramadol causeslight headedness as do allother opiates. Tram also causes chest pain, cardiac arrhythmias , seizures, anxiety, depression, it lowers the pain threshold so you need more and more. It should be banned IMHO