Constant back pain - need help
Posted , 9 users are following.
Hello there, I am new to this place as I feel it is my last resort to ask for some advice.
A little back story, My name is Suzie and I am 27. From the age of 19 I have suffered with back problems it took a while to been taken seriously with my Drs but they sent me to a consultant after around 8 months of hassling them to. I got sent for MRI scans and was told I had disc degeneration along with a bulging disc in my lower spine. Cut a long story short I tried everything before resorting to diac replacement surgery in 2008. My surgery was a success and I was pain free first time in a long time.
Until october 2013 everything was good and fine until I started having more and more back pain until it got to the point in November last year where it was constant pain and thats the way I have been and still am to this day. I am back under the consultant who dealt with me the first time round. He has done a CT scan which he said he could see something wasnt right and sent me for an MRI scan. I had the MRI scan and they are saying that has come back as normal. I have tried physio to try and get moving and it hurts so much i can barely do anything. I have had an cadual epidural and a manipulation under general anaesthetic that made me worse for a good few weeks and didnt help at all, and just yesterday (06/08/14) I had a lumbar epidural which made me scream out in pain as they was doing it (I think he hit a nerve, as I have never felt pain like it) so far it has made the pain worse and I can barely move without whelping out in pain.
I at my witts end and I can not deal with this pain any longer. I am on Co-codamol as that is the strongest drug my body will allow me to take and it really doesn't do anything for me. I am 27 years old and my life is just whizzing past and im not living it. I can barely walk for 5 mins without being doubled over in agony. Should I be seeking second opinions? Has anyone been told their scans were clear when it turns out something was up the whole time?
Thank you for reading and sorry for the essay I really dont have anyone else to talk to
Suzie
3 likes, 11 replies
gracesam suzie27
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suzie27 gracesam
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I am waiting to see my consultant again next month he is hoping this epidural helps. I guess its just a waiting game now and ticking things off. Feel like no one really knows what to do with me so they pass you from dr to dr!
Have to try and keep my chin up and hope somewhere someone has an answer.
I wish your husband and you all the best for his recovery
mark357 suzie27
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I know that it is under handed, but it may be the only way to get something done.
georgaline38435 suzie27
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I was sent for an xray and the results are but I have to wait until the 20th before the doctor will see me to discuss it which just leaves me worrying until then.
I did phone the nurse and got a load of rubbish about how he may want to put me on calcium tablets as it may be the start of the menopause. i fell whats that got to do with the menopause.
I had also injured my wrist and the doctor never looked at it, never mind having it xrayed.
I went to an Osteopath on Tuesday and thought it helped, although i am still a bit sore its not anywhere as bad as it was.
According to him my pelvis was old on both sides. Also i had my wrist looked at as the doctor hadn't even looked at it. Again he popped something and said a bone was out of place.
At least i am upright again and i may have to go back once more to see him.
Has anyone else used an Osteopath ? Really afraid i will never get better
CapitalPhysio suzie27
Posted
I am sorry to hear about your back pain. I have heard stories similar to this one all too often in clinic. It can be very frustrating when scans come back normal and no one can put give an accurate diagnosis.
Without discussing your case further it is difficult to give detailed and specific advice but what I will say is that pain can be a very complex thing and it is worth knowing that just because you are experiencing pain, it does not necescarily mean that you have an injury/tissue damage.
Those of us who follow the latest research in pain now understand that pain is multifactorial and rarely linked to just a single "damaged tissue". The body’s warning system (pain) can become more sensitive and produce an increased feeling of pain even though there may no longer be any continuing damage to the body. A good place to start would be to understand how pain works. This article may help with that.
http://www.britishpainsociety.org/book_understanding_pain.pdf ;
As a physiotherapist myself, I am going to be a little bias but I would suggest it is worth seeing a physiotherapist. I would advise that you look for one who is experienced in managing patients with persistent pain.
I hope that may be of some help in your journey to recovery.
steve44332 suzie27
Posted
The operation, like yours was a success, and only needed a few sessions of physiotherapy before I was fit and ready for a return to work. Alas, a few weeks later I started to suffer from immense, intolerable pain in the back. MRI scans and CT’s revealed no problem with the operation or trapped nerves.
I was at a loss and so was my GP. Then out of the blue my Mum was talking to a long lost friend whose husband had been suffering the same pain as I. After several months he was diagnosed with an awful, utterly awful disease called ‘Arachnoiditis’. I went to my GP, and he agreed (after looking through my past medical history) that I was 99.9% certain to be suffering from Arachnoiditis.
It is caused by an inflammation of the Arachnoid tissue that surrounds the spine and brain. When, after operations, injections, lumber punctures etc, the Arachnoid layer becomes scarred. When Arachnoiditis sets in, the scarred tissue inflames causing terrible pain. Unfortunately, there is no cure and ALL painkillers are useless in fighting this pain.
If I were you, I would approach your GP and inquire if you are a sufferer. I hope to God that you are not, as I myself can testify that Arachnoiditis is one of the most hideously painful diseases that one can get.
This is just something that you could look into Suzie, and good luck in the future. Steve.
dawnylou68 suzie27
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suzie27 dawnylou68
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georgaline38435 suzie27
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I bet you are in tears as I am the same. I poped something in my back on Monday and couldn't straighten up. After a fight to get to see a doctor I was told to come at 3.30.
These are the doctors who had my x-ray results from 6th but i couldn't get them until 20th (the date they gave me)
The doctor was unhappy to see me and said I had osteoporosis in my spine and tninning bones, he didn't say how to treat it , what i could do to help, nothing.All i was told i may have a slipped disc and there was nothing he could do. How do I get a scan?
He gave me Neurontin and naproxen and i left in tears.
I am going to see an Osteopath (private) on Saturday,
Is my life going to be just pain and don't bend , stretch or lift
THE NHS just do nothing
TomUK suzie27
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I just wanted to comment to say don't give up. I had severe back pain when I was much younger and it lasted for years and was a nightmare. I thought I would have it my whole life and that I wouldnt be able to work or have a normal life, but it slowly got better and now I have had no back pain for about 10 years. I would never had thought that was possible before but it can happen...so don't give up and have hope.
And if there is one thing I would recommend it would be Egoscue which is a treatment I tried which changed my life. See if you have a local therapist nearby.
Take care and good luck!
T
max21068 suzie27
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