lower back pain

Hi Paula

Welcome to the site regarding your lower

back pain try and have support in for your

lower back and try not to pick any thing to

heavy even if you think you can!! I have had it for 49yrs (59) now.My consultant said

always remember it is not what you cant

do its what you can do!!😊 Just take it easy

and little and often because there is

always tomorrow to do it

Jeanette

Hi Jeanette.

Thank you for the warm welcome☺ As silly as it sound we have

to retain ourself with what we can and cant do.

And your spot on there is always tomorrow.☺

Hi paula

It has been a while since my last post to you and first off let me wish you a Happy New Year and i hope your Christmas went well and virtually pain free and that you have not been to bad over the holidays!. How are you  getting on and how you coping with the pain? well my christmas went well had family over sons d/i/ls and granddaughters and M/I/L!!!!  but Malcolm was good even though he has not been well himself but all over for another year!!! I hope yours went well

well you take care hun and i look forward to your post

jeanette xx

Hi. I had a very bad flare up reguarding CS in september 2013. So went back to pain clinic where I had mri in dec 2013. When I went back for results I was told I know have multi level degeneration cs plus foraminal stenosis which he gave me facet injections then lignocaine in fusion. Both a waste if time no help at all. I will admit I was in so much pain that I over medicated on codine takin 18 a day. I have mentioned the pain in hips, lower back and coccyx .Gp said nothing to do with cs or fs and consultant said it is because my muscles in lower back are working for upper muscles as well as lower muscles. Just a quick explanation for the foraminal stenosis.

 

Merry crimbo 

P

 

PS.....

One of the problems with the compensatory aches is the fact they don'\t usually kick in until after a night, or two.  Then it can be difficult to ascertain what activity caused them in the first place....but learning to avoid those prompting activities is the best way to avoid the back ache from happening.  Generally, any heavy lifting, pushing or hunching over should be avoided,  and any aggravations that do occur should be rested off gradually.  Memory foam (or memory foam topper)  is a miracle worker for lower back.

Hi Gerry, I agree about the memory foam topper, I bought a

3" topper with coolmax cover a few weeks ago and it'swonderfully comfortable, the problem is it helps me sleep better and for

longer so I waken even stiffer as I've not moved, but at least I

sleep.

Merry Christmas

Sheila.

It certainly can be nice to have a lie in,  but, as you say,  it can work against us.  Seems the shorter we sleep, the less chance of aches/pains building up...it's hard to take sometimes !  I reckon about 6 hours sleep works best,  and then have a catch up hour late afternoon....works best for me,  although it sometimes means it's  hard to shake off drowsy evening...still better than aches all day.  If I don't do the pm nap,  my mind goes a bit blank for the evening...just some kind of head tiredness.  It's interesting to alter sleep times just to experience the effects,  and then remember what works best for the future.  Sometimes I've gone to work (decorator) after only 3 or 4 hours sleep,  and felt fine.  The mysteries keep revealing themselves !  Maybe someone needs to invent a C/S alarm clock...one that sets itself,  because we're never going to set our own alarm for 6 hours when we feel like lying in forever !

Happy Xmas, and a meds reduced New Year.

PS.....

I'm not sure I've yet discovered the optimum sleep routine for C/S.  I know that I can always improve on 'yesterday',  but obviously I can't properly guage what aches I might have had if I didn't alter the sleep routine...only guess based on past experiences.  I think there's some work to do on that issue,  so that everyone can draw up a plan that suits their particular grade of C/S.  Difficult to convince though, because sleep is the last preserve of comfort, and nobody is likely to be willing to start upsetting what they assume to be sacred.  All I can say is...the benefits will eventually outweigh the discomforts,  and if that means less meds and less 'unproven' exercises,  it all starts to look like a good trade-off !

Hi Gerry

I agree with you on the sleep as I have

found if I lie too long makes worse

(not often) that I can lie and you

automatically hunch your shoulders and

that in turn makes your head drop

slightly which makes the pain in neck and

head worse. Because you are tense

therefore it is a viscous circle

because you are in pain you tense you cant help it take notice That is why they

suggest relaxation classes. I have had facet joint injections and like Paula they did

nothing for me!!. The mattress topper is very comfortable even though I paid good money for bed with memory foam mattress!! Well I wish every one as much of a pain free

Xmas where possible xx

Hi Jeanette

Vicious circle indeed !  I used to get pretty frustrated when I'd try to explain the neck discomfort to people and get the usual 'You're tense' or 'You're stressed' response,  as though it wouldn't happen if you took those out of the equation.  At the same time they would also say that I'm a fairly 'laid-back' person about other issues.  So it never made much sense.  As I have come to see it all,  the tension and the 'hunching' come with the symptoms, they're inescapable, and they have nothing to do with psychological reasons, despite what people might say.  I think that's a first resort response for people who really don't want to make an effort to understand what we might be saying,  and it can be hard to take without responding in kind....we need a little extra composure just to ignore some remarks.  

Because a lot of C/S symptoms are 'head' symptoms,  there's a tendency for 'mood like' display,  and that's what people pick up on sub-consciously,  and then respond to. At the same time that allows them to not look any deeper for real reasons, and we get stuck in the misunderstanding they've created for their own benefit.  I'm still looking for the perfect response to all that, which might recreate a level playing field so discussion can continue without unnecessary side issues interupting.  Can but dream !

That would  be a nice Xmas prezzie for all of us.

PS....

This PS thing becoming a bit of a habit....some OCD issues about never feeling I've got to the heart of the matter,  I think.  I'll have to make the effort to include my PS's in my first response in future !

The 'Acceptance' thing with C/S....that's something that can spin any C/S patient off into a world of confusion.  If there was 'peer acceptance' of how we present ourselves,  I'm sure it would be a lot easier to negotiate the barriers we come up against.  And it must be 'real acceptance' at face value for it to work for us.  Western culture tends to encourage a wariness to not take people at face value,  it's an insurance against being tricked.  Unfortunately,  that whole culture of mistrust can overlap into issues like believing what anyone is saying about their medical condition,  and thus create 'acceptance' issues as an extra hurdle to have to jump when seeking advise.  Someone in chronic pain is probably not well placed for dealing with such negative cultural behaviours,  whereas it's seen as a minor thing in normal communications.  It's a mountain from a molehill thing, where minor becomes major,  but only on one side of the equation.  Again, that's something where the culture falls short,  at the expense of anyone who has difficulty coping with the anomaly.  It seems it's a bit of a minefield out there if we expect our troubles to be taken seriously and responded to with 'acceptance'.

Hi everyone. Thanks for all advice. 1 thing I do have is a memory foam mattress and topper( cos im greedy) but my gp had a right go saying it was the worst thing to lay on. There is no way im getting rid. 

Hope u all have a great holiday Px

Hi Gerry,

I really enjoy reading your posts as you manage to analyse and

put into words your feelings and thoughts so well and I'm sure it

is partly due to cutting down on your medication. I find since I

stopped taking the Pregabalin that I quite often surprise myself with some of the words that come out of my mouth, it's like

glimpses of my old happy positive self, the only problem is that my pain Consultant wants me to 're visit the Gabapentin as he thinks it will help with this burning feeling I get all over my body.

I am booked in on 5th January to have MRI of whole spine and

head so I am holding off until I get results.

I would be interested on your opinion and anyone else who would like to share experiences.

That's Sheila.

Your GP probably belongs to the 'hard mattress' brigade,  and thinks you must suffer your way out of a bad back.  These people belong in the 12th century if they think discomfort is a prerequisite to healing.  They should be put on the 'rack' and given a taste of their own medicine.  They believe in attitude rather than experience. Rant over !

Hi Sheila

Thanks for comments.

Good luck with MRI and hope you get good results.  About the 'burning feeling',  I'm not sure,  but I'd be inclined to suspect that it's maybe the nervous system re-adjusting back to normal after a period on Gabapentin,  where the sensory capacity has been negated for some time, and must be 're-awoken'.  If it were just the arm/hand, then it could be the C/S nerve reaction.  Depending on the pain involved,  I'd never say that these nerve negator meds should be dismissed,  they might be the only thing that works......but because they're the most readily available solution doesn't mean they are the best solution...although it might seem like that.  I'd be thinking  'I'm treating my whole nervous system here for an issue which only concerns the neck/arm/shoulder etc. How might that affect another unknown as yet issue like toothache, or appendicitis, or whatever, that might occur'.  Whoever prescribes the nerve meds have a duty to inform about possible interactions elsewhere. It's one of those situations where no-one wins any prizes for highlighting potential problems.  At the same time,  I'd probably also skip the rationalising if the need demanded....maybe try and temper it by keeping the questions alive in back of mind.  Any meds are a trade-off, a gamble with other potential issues,  and we're always on trial when using them....there's really no such thing as 'no side-effects'.  I'd say , if the 'burning sensation' is bearable, maybe give it a chance to wear off before considering a return to Gabapentin....it seems that a return to Gabapentin might be seen as trying to deal with an issue which might have been created by the Gabapentin initially.  That's just an opinion, by the way.....hopefully useful, and maybe something that was at the back of your mind anyway.

Thanks for your thoughts Gerry,

That gives me other ideas to consider, My sensory capacity has not only 're awoken it's doing sumersalts and cartwheels with a

huge brass band playing, everything is too loud, too bright, too

hot or too cold and some days I feel as if my whole body is raw

and on fire and the added pain is always worse on my right side of head, face, neck, shoulder and arm, and down my right leg into my foot.The thing that helps me get through bad days is telling myself that it will pass, the problem with that is that I am having more bad days than good but trying so hard to stay positive but

It is so draining, it takes all my energy so some days I just

crumple in a heap, fill myself with medication and batton down

the hatches and ride out the storm.

So that's enough of me feeling sorry for myself.

It's nearly Christmas so I am trying to rest and take it easy so I

am well enough to enjoy it with my family so cheers and Merry Christmas to everyone.

Ps I love your reply to Paula.