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back pain leg pain arm oain and hands

Posted , 4 users are following.

shannon55497
shannon55497

For the last 6 months I've been getting lower back pain that's like achy and within the last 3months I've started getting pains down my legs also a pain from my shoulder to my elbow and now its starting in the parm of my hands, I've been to the doctors so many times I've had ultra scans on my kidneys and a waiting a ct scan for kidneys no scans on my back at all,.. I'm at my whits end with this pain and don't seem to be getting anywhere with my gp does anyone else suffer similar symptoms.. I can't care on with the pain I've been taking zapain which worked at first but doesn't anymore.. Thank you

0 likes, 6 replies

6 Replies

  • Jay73
    Jay73 shannon55497

    Posted

    Hi Shannon,

    I'm suffering from back pain and have been for the past 3 months. Mine is related to a herniated disc. An MRI would confirm if you have this kind of issue. I wish you the best and you get diagnosis soon so you can start to manage this

    All the best

    Jay

  • kp326
    kp326 shannon55497

    Posted

    Hi Shannon, You and I are in the same boat.  Nov '16 started with lower back pain.  Dec '16 spread to middle-right backside, then stiff neck, upper arms, different areas of legs at different times.  Have had three MRIs, all kinds of bloodwork for auto-immune, have seen a rheumotologist, spine doctor and nobody has answers for me.  All tests negative thus far.  I have been reading quite a bit about fibromyalgia, but do not have any of the other symptoms that go with (fatigue, headaches, sometimes IBS, etc.).  I am also at my wits end because I am between jobs and do not feel well enough to start a new one.  My pain is worse in the middle of the night (you?).  I have gone off NSAIDs and muscle relaxers as they were wreaking havoc on my stomach.  Started acupuncture (10 sessions now) and it only gives me a day or so of relief.  Also, started physical therapy (no help).  Keep me posted on your condition and any findings - sounds like we have a lot in common.

    • amkoffee
      amkoffee kp326

      Posted

      How old are you? If you are in you 50's it is possible you have PMR polymalagia rheumatica. You can get it at a younger age but it is unlikely and very hard to convince a rheumtologist. Anyway, google it and see what you think. Just a thought.

    • kp326
      kp326 amkoffee

      Posted

      Hi there, my doc suggested that, but my blood work said negative.  I am 56.  Do you have it and what are all of the symptoms?
    • amkoffee
      amkoffee kp326

      Posted

      It is possible to have PMR and still have your inflammation markers not show it. So in otherwords you can get a negative on the blood work and still have PMR. Course you're going to have a tough fight with your doctor because most doctors do not get this.Ufortunately that's because a lot of doctors are antiquated in their thinking on PMR. See if you can talk to your doctor into giving you a week's course of prednisone in the 15 milligram dose. Reason being is that that is the best way to find out if you have PMR. The prednisone works to relieve the pain. If it does then you absolutely have PMR if it doesn't do anything to relieve the pain then you absolutely do not have PMR. Anyway if you start taking prednisone you should typically see a relief from pain anywhere from a couple of hours to within a few days. Most people see the relief within a few hours it is that quick. That's why a weeks worth of Prednisone is enough. But it does need to be at least 15 milligram. My doctor gave me 20 milligram. Some doctors will try to do 10 milligrams to be safe but that's just simply not enough. So don't let your doctor do that. And if you're working with a GP and he is not willing to do this for you then go see a rheumatologist to see if you had PMR anyway. And a rheumatologist is more likely to have a more updated information on PMR and they are more likely to be willing to test you on Prednisone to see if you have it since you don't have the inflammation markers. I hope this information is helpful. PMR is a very painful disease but the prednisone helps with the pain a great deal. There is it PMR section on this site that you could join and just read up on the comments to get an idea of what we face. Fatigue is another facet of the disease. Other than the disease itself another big problem is the prednisone because the prednisone has a lot of side effects. So the idea is you start out at around 15 to 20 milligrams of prednisone and then you begin tapering the milligrams down slow so that you can get to as low a dose as your body can handle and still manage the pain. Then you stay at that level until your PMR goes into remission. On average that takes between 1 and 3 years. But that is an average there are a lot of people who will have it for 8 even 20 years later. I was just diagnosed last September I started at 20 milligrams I am currently at 11 and a half milligrams. I'm on my fourth attempt at going to 10 milligrams. It would seem every time I get down to 10 and a half milligrams my body starts hurting really bad and I have to bump back up my prednisone. It's very frustrating particularly when you have a rheumatologist breathing down your neck wanting you to taper faster. But I'll be damned if I'm going to makr her happy just so I can get off Prednisone at her schedule. And I understand her concerns I am pre-diabetic and I have osteopenia. And prednisone can make your bones brittle and can make your blood sugar raise. And both of those things can affect me a great deal. So as you can see that's just too situation for preds not good for the body. Well I guess I've talked enough you can Google the rest.

  • amkoffee
    amkoffee shannon55497

    Posted

    I know your doctor wants to rule out serious diseases and when we are suffering pain it is very frustrating to wait. I think someone else recommended an MRI and I too think your GP should have ordered one of your lower back too. But he may not have because of the wide spread nature of your pain.

    I told this of another one of the responders and I'll tell you that it is possible that it could be PMR polymalagia rheumatica. But typically you have to be 50 or older. But feel free to Google it and see if it fits your profile. If it does bring it up to your doctor.

    Incidentally the pain down your legs could be caused by nerve inpingement in your lower back. This would or should show on an MRI.

    Good luck to you Shannon. I have suffered lower back pain for 13 years. So I can appreciate the pain and frustration of the search for knowlege.

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