untitled....
 

I posted this in the back pain forum instead!


http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/thread53232.html

Oh ok..... here it is so you don't have to look for it! :)

Ok, so I just need to whine about my lower back really bothering me.

Off and on for the last couple of months my lower back (think area where you place fist at a spot even with the iliac crest in the lumbar region) has been bothering me. I thought it was my mattress and that I needed a new one. Sometimes it would bother me when I slept and other times no. So I would switch and go to the guest bedroom where the mattress is brand new and I wouldn't seem to have the problem.

Got to the point now where it hurts whether or not I'm on the good mattress. I've been to the chiropractor and he's adjusted my back. Said the muscles were really tight. Helped a little but it still hurts. Now, it's all the time--sitting, standing, walking, sleeping. Nothing's helping.

I'm going for a deep tissue massage tomorrow to see if that helps it. If so, great. If not, d'ya think I should give my doc a call? Sounds silly, but this has been really bothering me now for more than a week and this is just not normal for me at all. Nothing else is going on--I don't think I have a UTI because I have no other signs of it. Doesn't help too that I got a huge intensely painful muscle spasm behind my right shoulder blade this morning that's really not helping things. It hurts to breathe in deeper than a shallow breath. And I'm stiff all over now too!

Do you think I'm overreacting to this?

Well I brought it back. :p

I don't think we are supposed to have "deep tissue massages", are we?

I would only let someone with a TON of experience with MS get near my back. :eek:

Cherie

Why yes you did, Cherie! :)

Wow! I lived on deep tissue massage for 3 years and have had them off and on since 2001 regularly. They're the only thing that address the really bad spasms I get in my trap and neck area as a result of whiplash from a car accident in 1994.

One time I got spasms so badly that I had to go to the ER because I literally could not move without almost passing out. The doc injected me with stuff, said he really should have adjusted me but the muscles were in such bad spasm that they would have pulled my spine right back out of alignment, and put me on Flexeril for a week. I missed an entire week of school and was still in pain. I was going 2-3x a week for an hour+ long deep tissue massage and my therapist would tell me that my knots had knots!

I get massages fairly regularly, and do physiotherapy as well. The places I go to specialize with MS patients (since we have so many here). They never actually go near my spinal column when they massage though.

Most of my pain is in the upper portion though, where there is cord. Perhaps it's not as big of a deal if it's in an area where there is no cord (below the L-level in the spine). :confused:

Have you tried physiotherapy?

Cherie

discussing pain is NOT whining, Gazelle.

you already tried a heating pad. or ice packs?

sometimes alternating them works for me...

if not, then I haul myself to the chiro.

:grouphug:

if *that* doesn't fix things, then... to a GP.

keep pushing until you get some answers...

pain is a signal something's wrong, and stiff-upper-lipping it isn't healthy for your soul, dear.

:hug:

see a specialist for your back, it could be a disc bulged or irritated or slipped, nerve pinched, even kidney stones can cause nasty back pain

I have an extremely bad back degenerative spine and bad disc from a broken back in 1982, I dont mess with my back

No, I haven't. This constant pain is fairly new and I haven't even talked to the doc yet about it.

Not one doc's ever said anything about not having deep tissue massage done. So I never thought anything of it. Whiplash can have some long-lasting effects on people. I'm apparently one of them given the persistence of the back spasms. But I lived in pain for 7 years after the accident which caused a recurrent shoulder dislocation requiring surgery.

Both are now giving me a headache..... dang......

I'll get out the heating pad and see if that helps. This really sucks. Today's just plain ole bad! I'm not used to having pain like this anymore. I lived with this level of pain daily for 7 years after my accident. It borders on 6-7 on a scale of 1-10.

Ok. I take it I'm not overreacting to this. Thanks 5kiz.

I have a mild generalized disc bulge at C2-3 & C3-4, a diffuse generalized disc bulge with a broad protrusion and some mild central canal stenosis, and disc bulge at C5-6 (with small protrusion) and C6-7. From C7-T1 there's no problem. At T7-8 and T8-9 I have a minor disc bulge too. There's degenerative disc disease involved in there too. But normally, no back pain! It's usually all muscle spasm pain if I get back pain.

hi G,

no you're not whining. and yes it's time to call your pcp.
i've been dealing with back pain and finally had an mri 2 yrs ago. i needed some injections and that did the trick for 2 yrs. i needed a series of 3. but it worked. reduced the disc swelling etc.

now the problem is "back" :D and i had more injections before my surgery.
my dr thinks some of my left leg pain is still from the disc so i'm looking at more. but, they really do help. better than surgery.

i also have deep tissue massage, wkly. my massage therapist can tell if it's muscles or not. but only the mri told the real story. i even had a small tear in one of the discs.

long story long, please check this out with your dr and decide what to do.
the fact that it's cont'ing and getting worse means it's time to get things checked out.

Addressing the deep tissue massage issue: I have one every week which was recommended by both my neuro and ortho doc due to spasms in my legs and back, as well as some muscle atrophy in my calves. The massage is considered passive exercise and helps keep some tone in my calf muscles.

It also helps with the neuropathy as it's a type of pain management technique that my therapist uses. If I didn't have TriCare, I could have my insurance pay for it but Tricare doesn't cover any type of massage therapy unless it's done at a military hospital or VA clinic.

I do believe there are good therapists and bad ones and ones inbetween. You have to find one that works for you. The one I have now is terrific. The first one I had was terrific, the one in between was so so...they have all been certified and work with MS patients. She does not work at a "spa" and does not do "spa" type massages.

Long legged one, I hope your back pain subsides and your massage tomorrow is helpful. Get thee to the doc...or at the least, see if you can find a UTI self test kit at the drug store tomorrow.

I'm sorry, G.....Gental hugs..:hug:

If you can locate some of the trigger points, push in on them to help release. Cecelia has been showing me how to hit them and if you can even release some of them, you'll be better off. How about rolling the area while laying on a tennis ball? That might help?

That being said, when mine gets really bad around the sciatic nerve (and it was really bad after 11 hours in a car and then walking all the next day) valium can be a big help for temporary relief.

Mine is in the area of my left upper glute radiating up into my lower back. I find that when I stretch my hamstrings, it's a major help. Lay on your back with one knee bent and straighten the other leg and pull it towards you. Really helps the lower back for some reason.

GRETA!!!! Hi! MISS YOU!!!!

When's the last time you had that back MRId? Talk to the doc about it and see what you come up with. I'd want to know if there's disc trouble or things have changed. Then I'd bring those MRIs to a good pain clinic, where they have several options for you in addition to your massage.

I do the steroid shots as needed and I'll tell you, if not for those I would have thrown myself off a cliff.

:o

They also give me muscle relaxers and tramadol, and they offer massage, PT and all kinds of stuff.


Asking for help with pain doesn't mean one is weak. Pain is the body's only way of screaming *FIRE!!!* It's telling you something's wrong, and hoping you'll fix it.

:hug:

When the behind the shoulder blade spasm hit suddenly yesterday morning it made me gasp and the first thing I did was head for the corner of the doorframe. I swear after my accident in '94 I spent more time attached to doorframes.... sometimes that helps a bit and more often the muscle is so badly spasaming that it doesn't. I'll try tennis balls today. Maybe I need to drive to see Cecelia! She was awesome. I never felt so good as I did after seeing her. You are SOOOOooooo gonna miss her. (maybe you can fly SA to appts?)

I know you were hurting. Two of us were playing brave face! Sorry.

I just had the cervical and T-spine done not too long ago, but I've never had the lumbar spine done--ever. Might be worth it.

If this keeps up, I'd consider going to a pain clinic.

Know the syring isn't a walk in the park painwise for you. Glad something's helping you with that.


Last night it was really bad. I dug around in my closet looking for anything that would help (didn't think I had anything at all other than Ibuprofen or Baclofen) and found some skelaxin. About fell to the floor worshiping the Skelaxin package! Thank goodness I had some left over from last year when I got whiplash again in a car accident that totaled my favorite car. Took 20 mg of Baclofen, 800 mg. of Skelaxin, 400 mg of Ibuprofen, 1 box of velveeta mac & cheese, and 1 glass of milk, 1 warm bath with epsom salts, and went to bed.

Woke up every time I moved--in pain. Sometime near the morning it stopped hurting so badly and I could actually get up this morning without thinking that I'd slept on a bed of nails and my headache was gone. Lower back and behind the shoulder blade still hurt, but the level's gone down a bit to just really uncomfortable instead of "get the house off my foot" pain level. Last night I would rather have been giving birth without the aid of a pain killer--at least I would have had something to show for it!

Massage is at 10:45 today.

I was so ready to go to the ER last night it was that bad. If this doesn't let up by Monday, I'll see my doc. Have a few more Skelaxin, so can use them--and will. And I'll try the stretching and tennis balls too. Thanks for the suggestions and support!

Massage therapist was ok. She dug in, often with her elbow, and only made me tell her to back off a little once when she hit a really tender spot over my hip joint.

She said my muscles wouldn't release easily at all. Once she got them to release, she said they'd go back into knots again and she'd have to go right back to them. Guess she found me a little challenging.

She totally agreed that it was possible that there were other things going on with my body and that if things continued I should see a doc. But she suggested a physiatrist given all the trauma my body's been through with a couple car accidents, the shoulder surgery, and the MS. She might have a point--a rehab doc would look at the whole body.

I feel a bit better, but everything's starting to hurt again. Think I'm NOT going to take the dogs for a walk as I had planned (sorry pups) and get more meds in me and maybe another bath with Epsom salts. therapist agreed those are awesome!

She also pointed me to a trigger point device that she said I might like (and no, she wasn't selling them). Says they're awesome, so I thought I'd share:

http://www.massagewarehouse.com/itemdetail~cat~103206302~MENU~103206302~item~230+0 050.asp

WOW Gazzy~ I feel for ya. I have such a miserable back and spine, that daily pain is a reg for me. But, when it's a 9 or a 10, then I have to take the pain pills. I have seen a spine spec and due to my Osteo, I can no longer see the chiro.

I really think that your pain needs to be addressed by a Dr and treated. When your back hurts like that, it's just plain miserable. Keep us posted and get thyself to a Dr.

take care Gazzy~


GRET!!!!! Welcome back and yes, I know what your'e talking about. My massage therapist rolls the little trigger bumps and I can actually feel them breaking down. It feels like a grape in my back. I have them under my shoulder blades, too. She claims they are toxins.

how's Italy???

Good for you, my little ungulate, massage can be a real miracle. I have also tried a couple of the pressure point contraptions but found that using it requires use of the very muscles I want to relax. It's so frustrating on top of painful.

Last week, I took a ride just to be free for a bit and the back spazzes really took the fun out of it for me. Hope it calms down before you fly, that could make or break your fun.:Good-Luck:

Oh I hope you feel beter ASAP!! I know how miserable back pain is, I've had my share. Take care G!!:hug:

glad the massage helped...

now, you've got to rest up for your trip, and get all better.

we'll be praying for you.

:grouphug:

Occupational therapy or PT might help as your MT said. My PT suggested I take a muscle relaxer before I came, and an Aleve or whatever. Good idea. They did some massage and electro-stim, and I stayed a lot looser with the muscle relaxers than without.

Epsom salts do help too - it was the warm water I had trouble with, lol.

I've got a name of a physiatrist around here that I might call on Tuesday. I'm living on the muscle relaxants right now. Everything keeps tightening up.

Can't lean to my left side comfortably without pain. It's not too bad when I lean to the right--still hurts a bit, but it's not an "ouch" type of pain, more like a dull pain. The left side's sharp pain.

That's a good idea taking a muscle relaxant before going there. I might do that the next time I go for a massage. Then I could do "mellow." LOL

Did take the one dog out for a walk today when my neighbor asked me to go out for a walk with her. Then got back and took the other dog out to play ball. That was more difficult because it involved leaning over. Ick.... Sat on a bleacher end so I didn't have to lean far, but the throwing part hurt the back. <sigh>

Oh I like the idea of zapping her with an electric stimulator...is that like a cattle prod???


*FG wondering if she can get that through security*

Some friend. :mad: No Dunkin Donuts coffee for YOU! Oh...you'll get coffee. I'll put it in a Dunkin Donuts bag. But it's gonna be STARBUCKS all the way!! :rolleyes:

____________________

I said if the pain continued I'd go to the doc today and I did. Poor internist was actually laughing at me when I told him that I thought I should see a physiatrist. I'd also come to the conclusion that there's something else going on (as did he) and he was worried it was MS related (um... I don't really think so, or at least not totally). So he made me promise to call my neuro and let him know what was going on. Problem there is I haven't see dear Dr. Neuro Six yet, so I can call but that won't do much good as I don't see him until December. Told him I should probably stay on a muscle relaxant.

Told him all my self-medication this weekend: Ibuprofen, Skelaxin, and Baclofen and massage therapy. He started laughing and basically said that I'd pretty much self-diagnosed--his little machine told him that I should see a physiatrist, rheumatologist, or neurologist and that muscle relaxants, neurontin, an SSRI would be good meds of choice.

Well, since I'm gonna be away, I am NOT starting an SSRI. I've been on neurontin before (up to 2400 mg.) and had no problems with it.

He asked if I'd ever been dx'd with fibromyalgia. Nope. So he's referred me to a rheumatologist for a workup. Told him of all the blooming tests (blood and otherwise) I've had done and no problem with ana, lupus, lyme....

When I was going to a massage therapist regularly, she told me I had a lot of trigger points for fibro (enough to be dx'd). I never said anything to a doc about that. Why bother. Didn't want yet another "you're crazy" look from a doc. This was the first time I'd told a doc that.

Called rheumatologist, have appointment in November--the earliest they can get me in. So I figured that I'd cover all the bases. Called the physiatrist too. They can get me in the beginning of October. Great! Made the appt. and am going to see them too.

Doc schedule:
neuropsych: end of September
repeat visit internist: end of September
physiatrist: early October
rheumatologist: mid November
Dr. Neuro Six: early December


Geez.... don't *I* feel special??? :eek:

Now how do I friggin call Dr. Neuro Six and let them know what's going on? I mean, the guy hasn't even SEEN me. Maybe I should call Dr. I've Been Recruited By Another Facility and let him know. Any opinions on that? I don't know when he's leaving for Texas. Should do it tomorrow, however.

Whee....

I am SO not looking forward to living on Skelaxin and Flexeril. I asked him if I could do both--Flexeril at night cuz it really works and puts me out and the Skelaxin during the day cuz it doesn't. He said, ok, be careful, and DO NOT DRINK.

The latter poses a problem. I'm going away to a place where there is really, really good beer. And I AM GOING TO DRINK. Which means that I'm not going to take muscle relaxants those days. :Sigh: Can't anything be easy?


Do I really want to learn about fibro? Not really......

Sheesh, Gazzy, it sucks to be you right now.:( I hope it doesn't ruin your trip. I say self-medicate with the heavy stuff. Beer won't do it.;)

Stay away from those dang Docs.. If you don't have something, they'll find something. That was always my Mom's advise, anyway..:D

Hurry up and feel better..:hug: