[DaveP60]

I have been getting lower back ache for years. 1 1/2 years ago my doctor prescribed Baclofen but after only taking this drug a couple of days I started getting severe back spasms which locked my whole body up. This happened at work and an ambulance was called as everyone thought I was having some kind of epileptic fit. At the hospital they told me that Baclofen can actually cause worse spasms in some people so I immediately stopped taking it. However, I still get the severe spasms. I started to notice that before a spasm occured my right thumb would start to tremor uncontrollably, then the spasms in the back would start. I finally got a hospital appointment with a neurosurgeon but this went from bad to worse. I was admitted to hospital and was there for 2 weeks. They gave me this drug and that drug (mostly epilepsy related) and valium but while I was there lying down all day I got up to six of these attacks daily. Sometimes they were so bad that I almost stopped breathing. I am unable to work because I never know when these attacks are going to happen, and also I am really tired a lot of the time. I still do not have a diagnosis. Currently I am seeing a psychologist to see of the condition is brain related. I have had scans of my spine which show compressed discs, impinging on nerves, and doctors talk of a 'narrowing'. I had my thyroid removed back in 1989 and have been on Oroxine ever since, the dosage goes up and down but doctors say that my levels are satisfactory at present. I have also started to get a lot of gastric reflux and my stomach blows up like a pregnant woman(!) which I think might be due to the drugs. Is there anybody out there who has gone through something similar?