new and scared

hi lilly

i really feel for you the pain can be the most excrushiating(spelling?) thing ever, i think you must do how much your body tells you, when i first prolapsed my cervical discs i wanted to literaly cut my arm off with the pain, after seeing my gp i was dosed up on various meds and layed on the sofa(most comfortable place) with my arm up in the most perculiar position but thats what eased the pain! and i more or less stayed there for 2 wks before the pain eased enough for me to start moving around and now 2 yrs later i still get the flare ups that put me out of bounds for a few days at a time. i hope you get the pain relief you obviously need. also you could try cold wheat bags or frozen peas wrapped up in a towel and place that at the site where its painful it may ease the inflammation, maybe worth a try. gail

Hi Lilly,

You poor thing....I really understand what you're going through with the pain. Be guided by what your body tells you. Try to fing comfortable positions to lie/sit/stand but be prepared to move around frequently also. For me I could not sit down..had a herniated L5/S1 disc so could only stand or lie down. Also tell your GP if the pain is keeping you awake at night. Also be prepared to try several combinations of pain relief as different meds /combinations work for different people. If having pain you could consider using Tens machine but speak with the GP first...they do not work for everyone. The GP may also take a \"wait and see approach\" before ordering any scans as sometimes...even disc problems can heal for people in 6 weeks.

I guess what I'm trying to say is, dont be too disheartened if your GP send you away with another prescription and says come back in 2 weeks...this is common practice as they take the wait and see approach first..if your pain continues beyond 6-8 weeks they consider physio..if no improvement they then look at referral to the Orthopaedics....It all takes time which, when in pain is the last thing you want to hear, I know..but we're a friendly bunch on hear so keep in touch and keep us posted.

Take care,

Jules xx :D :D

hi there

good advise jules. gail

Hi Lilly,

I feel for you, but you must do as your body tells you, I had Severe Pain and Sciatica right down my left leg into my foot and toes, I've never felt pain like it. I tried to keep moving about to help ease the pain but eventually my back got so bad that I couldn't stand, sit or lay down and I was rushed into Hospital on New Years Eve last year (even Morphine didn't ease the pain), I had a Discectomy in January, this didn't work so I'm waiting to go for another Op, I also had 2 Sacral Epidural Inj into base of spine and a Nerve Root Block all without success. The waiting is the worst thing, I've been waiting since May 07 it could take until March 08 to have the Op.

It's hard to keep yourself going as everything seems to be going against you. Enough of my moaning, look after yourself and listen to your body.

Angela

Thanks Angela, Jules and Gail for taking the time to try and help me. At the moment I feel okay as long as I don't move from lying down flat in bed. When I walk I can feel my muscles stiffen to try and protect my back. But I'm going to keep moving as much as I can before it gets too painful. From the sound of it some people don't get any choice in whether they can move at all. I'll try out that wheat bag idea (when I can get up next that is). Have been trying heated packs and warm baths and although that feels much nicer than a cold pack I don't think adding fuel to the fire can be a good thing. But if anyone knows different I'd like to know.

Hearing that I may get better without interventionn has also given me hope. Going to the GP this afternoon so I hope I get some more info today.

Once again I'm really grateful for the input- it helps to know I'm not the only one in this sinking boat. Lilly X

Hi Lilly,

Just be careful when you do get into the Bath, I got stuck and had to get my kids to phone my Mam & Dad to come and help me out.

I find if you stand in the shower with the spray directly onto your lower back this helps (just a little bit).

Take care.

Angela