Help...sacroiliac joint pain, can't move...
 

Well it just keeps getting better....

My hip pain gradually got worse and involved my whole lower back, and I had these palpitations, saw the nurse, ECG fine, she said it was due to the pain and got me in to see a doc. Doc didn't know about CRPS, manhandled me doing the examination, said it wasn't my hip but my SI joint. Gave me an anti-inflammatory cream and to take regular paracetemol. It would take about 3 weeks to settle, no bending short distances, move where possible.

Well. Since then it's just got worse. I've been doing as told, but I'm struggling even to get upright from bed. To start with walking about was ok once I was up, but only for 10-15 mins and then it would hurt too much, plus my cripsy leg and foot would play up. I couldn't sit anywhere, so it was back to bed and lay as flat as I could, sometimes with my shoulders propped up so I could read.

This morning I couldn't get up. Had to get my husband to help pull me upright. Made it to the loo, but sitting was really bad, and the whole thing was a compete nightmare. Just made it back to our room, sitting back on the bed was awful, and laying back down again horrific. I'm in despair. I've taken more paracetemol but I honestly don't know how I'm going to get up again.

I know it's stupid, my husband says we should call the doc, but I'm dreading another disbelieving, manhandling cold indifferent doc, who has to be explained to about the CRPS and then won't believe it or my pain level. I've had to cancel another day of work and we really needed that money. I feel such a burden and a nuisance.

I don't know what to do. I'm lying here typing on my iPad for now, but my neck will start to ache and I'll have to lie flat again. I'm going insane.

Any advice really really appreciated.

Bram.

Called doc, now hopped up on double traamdol, feel like have been hit by bus and bit giggly lol, pain still v high tho, funny thing...have managed to get up and walk about for a bit tho, vast improvement on earlier. Useless for anything tho. Poor family.

Bram.

I would try taking screaming hot baths with Epsom Salts. I'd make an appointment for a two hour massage with two follow up appointments three to four days later for each. --You have to a talented massage therapist that has worked with soft tissue injuries before.

A PT taught me how to stretch that area out by putting one foot up on something at least knee height, then stretching forward--repeat with other leg. Lidocaine patches or cream can help as well. Epsom salt cream or oil can reduce swelling. A course of steroids might help or an in office cortizone shot from your doc.

These are the things that have worked for me in that area.

Hi Bram,

I'm so sorry you are having such pain!

I was wondering if you wouldn't mind describing more about the type of pain you are having in your hip/SI area. I ask because I have much experience with all things hip/pelvis/SI and have endured 6 very complex surgeries to correct so I might be able to offer something if I only knew more about the type of pains you are experiencing.

Here is a xray of my hips.. I really feel for you right now especially because I know how difficult hip/pelvis/SI pain can be and is also where my CRPS began :( I do hope you find some relief soon!

If you aren't experiencing CRPS burning/sensitivity in your bum you could try rolling a tennis ball into your piriformis muscle and all around your bum to help loosen up any muscles or trigger points in that area that might be adding to the pain or SI dysfunction. What about a heating pad on your lower back?

Nothing like an insensitive doctor to make you feel even worse than you arrived for help. Good grief, I’m so sorry Bram! I’m not sure that I can offer more than has been suggested already, but I just wanted to let you know that I am thinking about you and hoping this will ease real soon. I too have hip pain, and is sucks for sure when you also have lower back pain. It can feel impossible to find a comfortable position or to move at all. The prospect of going to the bathroom (loo) can feel cruel at best.

Hang in there Bram… surely it will start to pass soon. Your family loves you, and as much of a burden that we can feel we are to them from time to time, they are just happy to have us with them, no matter what shape we’re in. Try and take it easy and again, I really hope this will let up soon!

Zook, OMG girl! :eek: WOW! Okay… yes, that looks all kinds of PAINFUL without CRPS, holy sheep! Bram, perhaps she will be able to offer advice that will help. Good Lord, that’s intense! Amazing what you have endured!

Hi Bram. I can't think of anything to suggest other than the tramadol. I think I might be joining you on the tram in a little bit. I get pretty giggly too.

I know how easy it is to feel useless and feel sorry for your family but let's face, it is easier to be them than it is to be us. I know they feel for us. I know it is difficult for them to see us in pain and not be able to make it stop. And I know that it sucks for them that we can't do much around the house, run errands, etc. But still I would rather be doing housework than be feeling so sh*te.

Awww, Bram my heart goes out to you!
Hopefully you've had some rest & relief by the time you read this!
I like the advice given so far for you, the massage & epsom salt
sound best to me but I don't have your injury.
It seems like at the very least you should get some sort of injection
to get thru the worst of this.
I wish I could come & slap that rude Dr. for you!! I swear I just
don't understand the arrogant & dismissive attitude all while being CLUELESS!
You'd think it would humble them a little, but NO.
I know all too well what "feeling like such a burden" is like.
I would not wish anyone else to feel that way, I know it can be an
emotional "rabbit hole" (for me anyway).
Please take the help just for now and save that energy for calming
thoughts. I wish you the energy to seek relief no matter what the other
jerk Dr.s did to you. :hug:

re
 

Hi Bram, Im sorry your going thru hell right now & in so much pain Ive been laid up in bed for couple weeks now so I feel your pain I just hope yours passes quicker than mine. My heart, thoughts & prayers are w/u tonight :hug:

Thanks so much, am still in bed flat so typing awkward...

Well turns out tramadol is yet another med I just can't tolerate now. I was so sick yesterday...and what happens when you're sick? Yep, it wrenches your back. Over and over. I was in a right state, it was not pretty, my poor husband was in tears :(

He called out the duty doc who came after midnight. I was sick again while they were here (lady doc with hefty assistant chap) so they saw the worst of it. Very nice lady, we discussed everything and she thought injectable would b best for now so no risk of more sickness. She gave me morphine with an anti-emetic. I zonked out fairly quickly. Bless her.

I woke a few times overnight as my left leg v painful indeed. This morn, lower back not as bad but left leg just awful, deep pain right through it from heel through ankle,mashing and calf, knee joint, up right through front and back of thigh, into hip and buttocks. Wtf is going on there? I was imagining all sorts, DVTs etc. I've been getting up and walking/shuffling round a bit every hour or so to keep moving, but it's still really bad.

This afternoon I rang my surgery, and a GP rang back. Complete *****. I was a pain in the backside drug seeking waste of space...apparently. She said she'd never heard of an out of hours GP giving anyone a morphine injection, and when I asked for another today she laughed - yes actually laughed - and said she wouldn't be doing that, didn't I know it was dangerously addictive... I said I didn't want it long term just for today while waiting for things to settle a bit. Snippy and judgemental woman. Told her my pain specialist had offered me morphine over a year ago after other meds not worked and I'd been refusing because I work and need to be able to function. I just wanted something that actually worked for today when I can hardly get myself to the loo.... In the end she consented to give me oramorph (liquid morphine) with an anti-emetic drug. My husband went to pick it up, and she's given me enough to kill a herd of rhino! Ridiculous considering how jumpy she was about giving me one injection.

So I've had one lot, which didn't do much, sadly, and am waiting to take another later... I look and feel dreadful. My hair is a greasy state after sweating and being so sick yesterday, my eyes are sunken and flat, and my skin is dull. I look a fright. I'm hoping to try a shower in the morning...can't wait.

Zook, my pain has shifted today, it's all on the left from the top inner corner of my buttock down through all major bits of my leg. Particularly bad in upper left side of my thigh, inside knee joint, my behind knee calf to shin area and my ankle joint. My left knee is quite fat as well, but I havent been up on it much. When it was my lower back, it was right across the dimples area, with pain radiating down through both legs. Your X-ray looks horrible, must have been a nightmare having all that done.

Thanks so much for your support as ever. Great folk :hug:

Bram.

Oh dear. What an unwelcome experience! I'm so sorry you have to go through all the b---s--t in addition to the pain emergency.

Here are some thoughts I have for whatever they're worth.

If you feel your hips have shifted a little, see if you can tell which leg feels longer or which hip is sitting lower. Then take a book about 2cm thick and sit with that under the bum of your lowest hip for about as long as a it takes to drink a cup of coffee or tea. If you're hips have slipped out of alignment this is a gentle way to get them to settle back where they belong.

If your hips are out of alignment, not only could you present with many of the non-CRPS symptoms you reported, it also puts you at risk for herniating a disc. Medical doctors in the US don't check hip alignment and I've no idea if they do in the UK. It concerned me that your pain was worse when sitting. That's typical of a disc herniation. Herniations are similar to hemorrhoids in that they can bulge and go back where they belong over and over again. So even if you herniated a disc, you may already be recovering from it. Watch that sciatica closely and if you have another flare and have trouble keeping your bladder open when you finally get to the loo . . . get medical attention ASAP. With location across the "dimples" and all the pain you already had, it might be difficult to unscramble what in heck your body is trying to say.

Beyond that you have my prayers for a swift and gentle recovery and a refreshing bath or shower. A day brightener for sure!

Hey Bram, Im so sorry your still having a hell of a time but glad you have your hubby there to help he sounds like a trooper bless his heart for cryin thats really sweet I have to say :) I could use a guy like that but they look @ me & run the other way lol.. I didnt think doctors or nurses did house calls anymore that's great they came to you I think more of them should do that cuz there are times we just cant move. As for the women who laughed @ you should be smacked how rude & disrespectful of her!! I've had that happen to me & I lost it I cant stand when I get treated like that for no reason but I'm happy your going to get some relief & if the morphine helps take it. From the sounds of it the pain going down your leg might be your sciatic nerve..Reasons I say that is your having the same problem I did the first time mine went on me & I couldnt walk for almost 3 months :eek: I still have probs with it but it varies on how bad or how long but it maybe what is going on with you. I hope you feel better sooner than later, you'll be in my prayers hun :hug: btw No worries on how you look I'm sure your hubby loves you no matter what & we all know how it goes so ur good :p

Bram

I'm so sorry that you are in so much pain. Being sick must have been unbearable.

I cannot believe the way the doctor treated you. That is just horrible. On the plus side, now that you have bucket-loads of oramorph, you probably won't need to go back to the GP for meds anytime soon.

Hang in there. I am thinking of you.

:hug:

Kim

Bram, I am so sorry you are hurting so bad. I wish I could add something to help make you feel better. You have helped me in so many ways. Hope tomorrow will be a much better day for you, Jan

Oh Bram,

That is just horrible - I often wonder how nurses with no compassion sleep at night. I hope you report this to someone, no one deserves to be treated that way not even a drug addict. I'm sorry you were treated that way!! So unfair.

With regards to you hip through ankle pain - is it different pain from your CRPS pain? Along with many of the other symptoms like the burning, sensitivity an lightning bolts.. I also get crazy bad deep bone crushing pain from the top of my femur all the way to the ankle and worse at the joints. My doctor once told me that my nerves are so heightened that I am likely feeling the "blood traveling through the bone marrow" .. osteopenia, osteoporosis and arthritis all progress when the blood supply is compromised (disuse, vasomotor disturbance and the natural aging process all contribute to this) and thus will cause the deep bone aching pain. If that is the type of pain you are having.

Another thought that comes to mind is the L2 nerve root of the spine which is often associated with SI pain. This nerve can cause pain in the upper buttock or dimple area, outer thigh, back side of knee and calf to ankle. Another one that follows a similar path would be the sciatic nerve but that wouldn't explain the lower back pain and upper buttock. Can you find trigger points in any of those areas that you could maybe get some trigger point release through massage or perhaps even your husband can help you release them? Lidoderm patches placed on the spine from the L1-S2 level and on each dimple of your buttock may offer you a great amount of relief since those nerves are closer to the surface and the lidocaine can penetrate quite quickly there.

Tight psoas, piriformas, tensor facial latae and the iliacus can all torque the SI joint. To release the SI joint one needs to focus on the opposite muscles. For instance your pain is in the back of your hip area and leg so focusing on the muscles and fascia on the front of the hip and thigh to release it. lol.. those areas can play tug-of-war with each other and in your case especially since you have knee issues already.

Just thinking out loud here.. I hope maybe something helps.

I do hope you are able to get proper medications to help you until whatever it is that is causing this additional pain either goes away on its own or your doctor can figure out what is causing it.

Good on your husband for taking such great care of you!

Oh.. I also forgot to mention if you haven't seen an Ortho with a specialty in treating the hip/pelvis, I would highly recommend doing so. A spine specialist and Lumbar MRI would be good also to rule out any issues within the spine that could be playing up your pain.

Worried about you Bram! Miss seeing you on here & I'm concerned. Hope you are getting some care & just taking a much needed break :hug:

AZdi you're so lovely :)

I'm doing ok thx, hopefully bit of an improvement at last. Bad night, leg awful, only dozed off to be woken by pain again next minute. Read nhs Oxford Radcliffe hospital booklet about taking liquid morphine....v interesting paragraph stating that it is not possible for a patient in severe pain to become addicted to narcotics, because the active drug is being utilised by their body to fight the pain, and they therefore do not get the addictive 'high' that someone using it recreationally would get... Thinking of sending it in to that stupid GP woman.

After reading it, took its advice and tried a higher level of oramorph, 7.5ml, and that actually dulled the pain, but unfortunately it completely zombied me for the day and I've only just properly woken up now. The pain relief lasted for nearly 12 hours tho, it's just come back in last hour. Hoped it had got a lot better, but now it's back it's bad. Am getting ready to zombie again...:(

Hate that I have to choose between being alert and in pain, or dulled pain and zombie me. What I like to call the 'no pain no brain' dilemma. The leaflet says that your body deals with the side effects better with time, so I'm hoping it does.

Thank you so much, and I'm sorry I haven't been able to post before now today. Just taken more, so prob out of it for another 12 hours. Hope to goodness I can work again soon. Lower back def easier, it's the leg that's awful now.

Hey ho. Take care lovely folk and thx so much.

Bram :grouphug:

Hey Bram!

So glad you are getting some relief, and boy do I understand the side effect dilemma. I also get the inability to keep up with posting on here when on high doses of meds or when pain is through the roof. Don’t you worry about that. Surely everyone here gets that from time to time we all need rest and at times the meds and pain can make it nearly impossible. It’s all good. :hug:

OH! …And yes! Let’s craft a strongly worded letter to the highly insensitive moron! Makes me so damn MAD. :mad: Yeah, I’m drug seeking… what the hell do you have that will fix this! Sign me up! Ahhhhhhhh! Recreational… are they serious?! There are much easier ways to obtain recreational drugs for God’s sake. There is a special place in hell for those who give us, those of us in dire pain, such a difficult time when we are seeking any kind of relief. And why is it that those of us who rarely use any of the big gun drugs are so scrutinized when we seek help with out of your mind pain relief?! <sigh> okay… I guess I’ll stop. This just P’s me off beyond measure!!!!!!!

Anywho, Take it easy Bram… Get ahead of the pain and perhaps things will calm down a bit. Rest. It is needed to heal. We will talk with you soon. Big Hugs!! :hug:

Thanks Vrae, yes we must. In fact I'm thinking of crafting a letter about 3 major issues. Firstly their statement that they tell all their patients, including those with a cardiac condition, to wait at least 15 mins into any chest pain before calling 999. Secondly, that not one of their staff knows much about CRPS and doesn't seem interested. And thirdly, that they seem to have a judgemental and primitive attitude to patients in severe pain, together with limited knowledge of narcotics. Steam would be coming out of my ears if I had the energy.

So all gone a bit haywire again. Took oramorph last night sort of ready for sleep. Nothing happening on pain front, except that it's building up, but did fall asleep. Woke few hours later, loads of pain, so it hadnt worked. Convo re not keeping levels up probably means have to catch back up. Read leaflet again, yes needed to keep up constant level, not binge and bust like I did. Ok. Took another dose. Waited. Nothing. Took an extra 2.5ml. Slept again. Woke couple of hours later this morning, pain still there. Seriously hacked off. Thought I'd got some control, now seems I have none.

Ay advice? Running out of stamina, energy, patience and sanity here!

Hugs to all folk, and thank you. Keep sending me those good vibes, I need them...

Bram :grouphug:

Hi Bram

I think it might be time for a referral to a consultant. I know you must be exhausted and that probably seems like it would take an impossible amount of energy. But if you have something going on that needs treatment I don't think your GP is going to spot it.

In the meantime, the only thing I can think is to keep on steady doses of the oramorph.

You poor thing, I wish I had some brilliant idea to make this better for you.

I know we are all thinking of you. I will keep up a steady flow of good thoughts.

:hug:

Kim

:cool:Go Bram & Vrae lol I have to agree dealing with this demon we all share it's not easy & it does NOT help when we are put down looked down upon or belittled because we are suffering & want some kind of relief.. I would bet those same people who place judgment on us would not last 24 hours in our bodies living w/what we do every second of every day! So SCREW EM!! I have had that done to me as I'm sure we all have (even filed complaint against a doctor & he is not allowed near me to this day) & as much as I tried to stay off pain meds especially the stronger ones it has gotten to the point that I could not keep putting myself thru hell everyday & had no choice but to get some relief but I am not ashamed I am proud to get thru every day w/out going insane :D We should all be proud of ourselves for enduring the hell we do on a daily basis & still get up the next day & do it all over again :cool:
Wishing u all peace love & happiness

Good reply Heidi! I would clap if I could but these days I look like a spaz & it hurts. Imagine a letter c against a small letter l. :D making fun of myself!

Authority
 

Bram, I have an authority from my PM, it's on file now with my GP and she and other practitioners can prescribe me the required dose when required. I got this after one of her knuckle head colleagues told me I was a drug addict because I was seeing him in her absence and required a script for patches. As it later turned out, my back was broken again and I was in severe pain, his comments upset me greatly, and I never want to be in that situation again. I hope you are managing to find a balance and as others have said you need to get onto a specialist. What meds you have will soon run out and you don't want to be in a situation where you are battling pain and withdrawal symptoms. Please don't delay, I'm serious, if you have used it regularly for 3 days or more, the body becomes dependent and stopping cold hurts it.:hug:

Kim I'm on that page with u girl. If no better night tonight then I'm demanding to see a specialist and get spine checked over. Something's not right, I mean why has the pain built up majorly in my left leg all the way through it? Still in my SI joint but not as bad as it was...but leg feels like someone is pulling the major nerve out through the top, bit by bit.

So tired. Soooooo tired. Latest lot of oramorph might as well have been water. Dreading tonight... I know I've asked it before, but why us? Hmm? Why not the bad people out there?! Please anyone who knows me, don't answer this in a spiritual way lol...it's just a rhetorical question. There is no reason, it's just the way things are. It would be amusing if it weren't so darned CRUEL.

You are all fab and amazing and you are keepin me going and even raising the odd tired smile. My husband thinks that's pretty immense given the circumstances. I think it is too. Hugs all round :hug: literally can't keep eyes open...

Bram :grouphug:

Bram

I hope that a specialist can figure out what is going on quickly. You have already been through far too much. Keep us posted when you are feeling up to it.

In the meantime, I am thinking of you.

:hug:

Kim

Bram, so sorry you are still having such a rough time. :hug: I agree that you really need to see a specialist, this has gone on way too long!! Take care and keep us posted.

Nanc
:hug:

Just an update...

Stil on the oramorph every four hours. If I forget the pain is terrible. For the first time, I didn't wake at 5.45am and slept through until 9am. Great! Problem was that I woke in a LOT of pain and did indeed do a very accurate impression of a a desperate druggie nutter as I trembled my way towards getting it into my system fast. Thank goodness it works fairly quickly...

I'm still getting up every hour or so and ambling round. Doing some gentle pelvic rotations and stretches to get movement back there. My leg muscles on my left keg are very tight and painful still, doing some careful stretches there, but I sometimes get very confused trying to work out whether these symptoms are CRPS or not. Ora combination. Very odd.

I see a doc on weds for another exam and to check whether dx the same (SI joint) or maybe different (disc?). I'll find out if they will send me for a scan or something to check. They can't just leave me on the meds forever that's for sure. Not unless they're sure it is 'judt' the CRPS worsened as result of the back pain.

Still v tired and groggy at times, and am still grim about missing so much work and letting my pupils down at an important time for them. The harsh reality of being self-employed - if you are sick, there's no help, you just don't earn until you can work again.

How are you folk out there doings. The boards seem quiet, particularlt many of you that I know are having a tough time of it. I hope you are ok and things aren't getting any worse. You are my rocks you know ;)

Thinking of you all. Gentle hugs to everyone that wants or needs one.

Bram.

Good to see your update Bram! Been worried about you and glad you have another Doc appt. This pain seems like it could be something different than CRPS and you are right to get it checked out.
I'm doing OK. Had a bad experience with an ignorant and arrogant Nurse Practitioner the other day. But my husband has convinced me to let my anger go, so you folks don't get to hear me rant now!!

Hi Bram,

I have very similar pain. I have arthritis and bursitis now in my hips now and have a crushed spine from L2-S1. When the S1 is horrible my hips, buttocks and inner thighs just seize up.
I'm unable to have that much fusion to repair it, and am hugely blessed that my legs will move at all. What I have found to help like Lit Love is epsom salts, and also I see an osteopath for cranio-sacral alignment, a massage when I can afford it, lidoderm and flector patches(anti-inflammatory patch) because I can't tolerate more steroids. Umm, and besides medicines exercise that is gentle enough not to hurt. Heat feels good, magnesium supplement helps with cramping and also is a gentle relaxant for nerves..either cal-mag or magnesium carbonate.
I am trying yoga and learning to breathe into the pain... because when we're tense blood flow for healing goes elsewhere...
Aargh. So so sorry you are suffering this and you get relief fast!

Prayers for you today Bram, Feel better! :hug:

Hana

Bram,

I actually set my alarm for 6:00 a.m. Before going to bed I put my meds and a bottle of water on my nightstand. If I waited until i woke up to start the pain meds; pain would be out of sight. I try to get to the pain before it is out of control. I can understand how you must have felt when you woke up waiting for the meds to kick in. OUCH !!!

Hope you soon get your pain under control.



Gerry

Hi Bram. I'm so sorry you are not feeling any better yet. You are really having an awful time! Hopefully the doctor will be able to help you on Wednesday. Do you have enough oramorph to get you through?

I'm sure not being able to work is distressing but what can you do? Unfortunately, sometimes this beast knocks off track and all we can do is just hang on until things clear up a bit.

Good luck on Wednesday!

Kim

Hi kindly folk, I'm reaching out again...

I saw the doc, it wasn't good news. She thinks it's a prolapsed disc. She has applied for a fast track MRI for me but reckons I'm looking at a minimum of a month mostly on my back, on the morphine. I've now got the slow-release capsules instead of the oramorph, hopefully that will work out. I can't believe it. She said I might need surgery, depending how bad it is. Yikes :(

A really gutting part of it is that I had got onto a CRPS trial, and that was due to start next week. Of course I now can't go, so it all has to be cancelled. I waited so long to get onto something, and now I finally have, this has to happen.

I'm trying to stay positive, but I just can't get my head around it. I've done a week of this so far, and I'm bored witless and feeling so bad for my family. My poor husband is struggling bless him, he's doing a sterling job, but it's a lot to deal with on your own. I feel so bad for him. I can't imagine another month, and possibly more. If the dates are too far down the line, we'll have to go private and get it done at least a bit quicker. I can't wait months.

Oh crumbs. Why me hey? In a previous life I must have been a very VERY bad girl!

Hope you are having a better day out there lovely folk. Hang on in there, and thank you in advance for every single kind word. I need them so much right now.

Bram :grouphug:

Oh Bram! This just plain sucks!! I am so glad that you went back to the doctor, but I sure hope you don't have to wait a month. I hope the slow-release morphine helps you get through. If surgery is needed, then it is something you will have to do. Goodness knows you can't keep up like this. I hope, boy do I hope, that you can get some relief soon.

So sorry about the trial, that has to be very upsetting. I just don't get it either, why does this happen to good people.

I have often said that I must've really ****** someone off in a previous life.

Hang in there girl!
Nanc
:hug:

I wonder if some treatments with a low level laser might help a bit..
also called cold laser or soft laser - not a cutting type of laser...

My chiropractor had one of these and it sure was great for my spot/joint pains.

If you call around to ask if chiropractor or PT places have it, make sure they really have the Laser and not an LED light therapy product.
They can get confused with each other as they both have a light/lights - but the laser needs only short time frame (20-40 seconds) for tx while the LED needs 20-30 minutes per area.

It is more of a healing light therapy and not just a pain cover up as meds do.
http://www.laser.nu/

It just might be something that helps, even if only a bit.

I had to post. If you have a prolapsed disc, your doctor has given you totally the wrong advice and you will only be making the position much worse by doing what he or she has told you. Don't take my word for it - look up the NHS choices site and you will get basic information. Your doctor is countless years out of date if she thinks that a prolapse is treated by lying on your back for weeks - that's what they used to do 40 years ago before they knew it was the wrong thing to do.

You should only rest for the first couple of days with a prolapsed disc. After that you must move around regularly every day or it only makes the problem much worse. I'm surprised she has given you huge amounts of morphine instead of prescribing the normal treatment of low but regular doses of diazepam to help with the painful muscle spasms (which causes the bulk of the back pain). The muscles naturally go into spasm to protect your spine. You need to reduce the spasms with a relaxant and at the same time get up and walk several times every day if you have a prolapse.

MRI scans are notoriously useless at helping diagnose back pain problems. Increasingly they are regarded as hopeless for back pain diagnostics. Yes, it might reveal a prolapsed disc but that doesn't mean your pain is being caused by that. It's the regular mis-match between people's pain/symptoms and the MRI findings that manes them so unreliable.

If you are relying on a GP opinion, I recommend you get a recommendation from someone you trust for a good physio or osteopath to come out and have a look since they are a hundred times better at diagnosing these things than GPs. A good sports injuries clinic is a great place to start - I'd go to one of those every time over a GP for musculoskeletal problems.

Neurochic, I just wanted to clarify....

Ever since this started I have been getting up up every hour or so during the day and walking round a bit, keeping my back mobile and gently moving my lower back and waist. I am well aware that lying around is stone age treatment for bad backs and extremely bad. I am spending a lot of time lying down as I can't get comfortable any other way for any length of time. Standing and walking I can only do for ten minutes or so at a time, and I do it regularly. I can't sit upright without a lot of pain, so I avoid it.

My doctor did not tell me to lie down all the time, I would certainly have queried it if she had! She said until they are a little more sure how bad things are and exactly what is wrong, it is best not to risk aggravating things further, and to take it gently. She said that once things are a little easier, and I feel I can cope with it, she wants to send me for some physio. I can't wait, believe me. Her examination and testing of my sciatic nerve today felt a lot more professional than the other GPs manhandling of me last week that I think just made things worse.

I am on just morphine because the worst of the spasms stopped after the injection I had, and it is mainly the pain from the sciatic nerve causing the problems now. My stomach is very sensitive to meds so I am taking as little as possible. I'm not on huge amounts of morphine at all, although after resisting it for so long, any regular dose of it seems too much to me.

Thanks for your concern, but I think I am doing the right thing at the moment, and the GP I saw today was very thorough and I think is doing her best by me.

Bram.

so sorry
 

My heart really aches for you..I feel like you need a great big hug from us all..:grouphug:i will continue to pray for you and all our friends here...GOD BLESS YOU ALL....

Dear Bram,
If you see this, hope you're hanging in there.
We're worried about you! :hug:

Hi Bram - thinking of you. I have had lots of disc troubles and I would only wish that on a serial killer . Its been a very rough road. I hope you get some relief soon. The good news is that a prolapsed disc can improve with gentle physical therapy.write when you feel up to it. Wishing you wellness ~Lottie

Thank you guys. I've had a hellish time this last few weeks, off my face for a lot of it, but so many horrible symptoms and side effects that I won't go into....:(

I feel that yet another doc at my GPs let me down badly and caused a lot of problems for me by not prescribing anything to combat the digestive side effects of a hefty dosage of morphine. It caused so much pain and distress. I can't describe it.

I'm feeling a little bit better last night and today and have been starting to eat small amounts again. I'm very weak and exhausted, and I'm going to have to work out a program to strengthen and tone my muscles again after so long upstairs and mainly in bed...

I want to send out a big public hug of thanks to Kim, who's been messaging me so kindly through this, keeping my spirits up and being an endless source of encouragement and support. Don't know what I'd have done without her...:hug:

Hope you guys are doing ok, I've been off the boards so long I've completely lost track. A couple more days and I'll hopefully be back.

Bram :grouphug: