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Back pain

Posted , 5 users are following.

hypercat
hypercat

Hi I am hoping someone could me please.

I am female in my early 60's and suffer with chronic back pain since I fell heavily on the base of my spine as a teenager.  I have had problems all my life.

No doctor has ever taken it seriously,  done an x-ray or any further investigations.   I have seen a chiropractor in 1999 who did an x-ray which showed the lower disc had worn away and another is starting to.  He said that cause the pain.  I have seen osteopaths in the past which don't help much and I can't afford it now anyway.

Over the past 2 years it has been getting much worse.  I have never been able to stand still for more than a minute or so but now can't do it at all.  Walking even a few yards brings it on even.   I have to keep sitting down when out.

I have also been getting bad attacks where I am double over and in agony but cannot get to the doctors then.  I don't have any arthritis or anything which could cause it.  All the doctors try and do is refer me to NHS physio to learn some exercises.  I have been before and I can't do them and I am worried they will hurt my back even further.  They ignore my previous injury and my history.  Should I try them to see if they help please?

Any ideas what I can do please.  How can I get doctors to listen to me when all they say now is it's wear and tear and common in older age. 

It used to be mainly my lower back but now it's my whole back.

Thanks for you help.

 

0 likes, 13 replies

13 Replies

  • caroline37192
    caroline37192 hypercat

    Posted

    Wsorry to hear you are in a lot of pain. I sympathize. You should see your gp and insist you aresent for a M.R.I scan. Or a C.T scan. Then take it from there. Hope this is helpful.

    • hypercat
      hypercat caroline37192

      Posted

      It is thank you.  I have asked the doctors before and all they say is it's common in older people and normal.  They refuse to refer me for even an x-ray.   I have tried several different ones and they all say the same. 

      I think I will have to go to physio first and play by their rules.  If I can't do the exercises or they don't help I will keep going back to them until they do something.  I can then say I have tried etc. which will give me ammunition next time. 

      Many thanks. . 

    • hypercat
      hypercat caroline37192

      Posted

      Hi thanks for your reply.  They have repeatedly turned me down even for an x-ray so have no chance of getting anything else.  Can I insist on one please?  And can they still say no?
  • amkoffee
    amkoffee hypercat

    Posted

    Honey you need to get more aggressive and advocate for yourself. If you can't get your current dr to order an MRI then see another dr. I don't know your insurance coverage. And if you're in US you probably aren't covered with Medicare and I don't know if you have private insurance or if your in another country maybe you have free medical care. Not knowing this it's kind of hard to give suggestions. But what you need to see is a neurosurgeon or an ortho surgeon. However a lot of insurance companies will not let you see them without a referral from a GP. But that's how it works in the US. I don't know how it works in other countries. I am an advocate for physical therapy but I don't think a physical therapist should be seeing you without knowing what's wrong with your back and you can't know what's wrong with your back until some imagery has been done. And 1 X-RAY done awhile ago is not enough information.

    • hypercat
      hypercat amkoffee

      Posted

      Hi thanks I am in the UK so should get NHS treatment.  But they are cutting back all servies drastically and my doctors won't refer unless absolutely necessary and they say it's not for me.

      The trouble is they haven't seen me when I am bad as I can't get there.  and as a middle aged women they seem to treat me as 'attention seeking' and 'neurotic' even when I rarely go to see them. 

      Thanks again. 

       

    • amkoffee
      amkoffee hypercat

      Posted

      Don't you have something called private care that you pay for yourself or something along those lines? I'm not really familiar with it I've just heard other people talk about it. And maybe you can't even afford it I have no information on it at all I just thought maybe with that you'd have more ability to get better help.

      Have you considered going to your A&E (emergency) when you're in pain maybe you could get an MRI at that time when they see you actually in pain.

      There are certainly ups and downs to having free medical care and having privatized Medical Care isn't there.

      Good luck to you. I hope you can beat the system and get what you need.

    • amkoffee
      amkoffee hypercat

      Posted

      I just had a thought, there is a website that I go to all the time and there are people from the UK on it that might be able to give you some suggestions on how to handle your situation. It's for chronic pain patients like yourself. I will send you the site information by email because I think it will get moderated here. It's a great site for support as much as anything else.

    • jane75220
      jane75220 hypercat

      Posted

      Hi

      I would try a private physio as a one off for an assessment. A physio can refeer you to a Neurologist or Orthopaedic surgeon and sometimes request an MRI scqan. X Ray does not provide enough information.

    • hypercat
      hypercat amkoffee

      Posted

      Hi I am in the UK but thanks anyway.  The NHS is cutting back on everything here so it is probably easier if you have insurance in USA sometimes! 

       

    • hypercat
      hypercat amkoffee

      Posted

      Yes it will,  Many thanks for that.  I might be on it already but will have a look. 

      Sorry to be so long replying to you and the others but my email provider has decided in it's infinite wisdom to block all my emails from here.  I don't know how to sort it. I am on hotmail,  windows 8 on a lappy.  Anyone have any bright ideas please?  Thanks.

       

    • hypercat
      hypercat

      Posted

      Thank you very much for the link and I have now joined it.  I would send you a pm back but the system seems to have lost it now - doh.  Thanks again.
  • randy_85492
    randy_85492 hypercat

    Posted

    If you have constant pain, you may have, degenerative discs,  a "penched nerve"...or a "growth on the spine or disc" could be rubbing a nerve...A neurologist or osteopath should be able to determine the cause of the pain and, then, be able to treat you to cure the pain...There are epidural shots, pain pills, etc. that may help...I have lower back pain cause by both a curvature of my spine and degenerative vertebra discs.....My Pain "comes & goes"...The more I stand and walk the more pain I have...I could have an operation, but there's a 50/50 chance that it would not be successful and the operation might cause other complications...It's very difficult for me to stand and walk for more than just a few minutes plus lately, I've been losing my balance and falling...That's cause severe brusing and pain too...I'm sorry that your suffering and hope your able to find help soon...

    • jane75220
      jane75220 randy_85492

      Posted

      Hi Randy Have you been checked for Vit B12 defuiciency/pernicious anaemia, VitaminD defciency? Sorry forshortposting but laptop playing up>

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