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Chronic Back Pain

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PTSD & chronic pain
September 12th, 2008
A little background history first:

I am 53 years of age and up until 2002 mainly worked in the building industry or other manual labour jobs. I have always had back pain on and off throughout this time in 1996 i was stabbed in the lower back, not too deeply and then in 2002 i had a very bad car accident which i was lucky to survive. I have no long standing disability after the car accident except for back pain, This has worsened to chronic back pain, on a normal day it feels as though i have a weight permanently attached to my spine, on bad days the pain is so severe that i cannot do much at all.

In 2004 after trying to work on and off for 2 years and spending more time on the sick rather than in work my GP signed me off completely and since 2004 i have been reliant on incapacity benefit and a small amount of income support.

My current medication is:

co dydramol: 500mg one or two 4x daily as and when required

tramadol: one or two 4x daily as and when required

Diclofenac: 75mg one twice daily

I have been for a scan and the consultant suggested cortisone injections, i had 10 down my spine. These had no effect whatsoever and after seeing the consultant to inform him of this i was told that there is no more that they can do and that i will have to take pain killers for the foreseeable future. They also say that i have extreme wear and tear of the spine.

I suppose i am asking is this my lot now or is there more i can ask for, right now i am feeling so depressed

Thank you for taking the time to read this
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PhillyBlunt
replied September 12th, 2008
First of all, I want to let you know that you are not alone.
Secondly, it sounds like your back has taken quite a beating over the years.
*(Keep in mind I am a youngin [18] so things I say might not be perfectly right)*
However, is the Tramadol you are taking working for your pain at all?
I have 2 herniated discs in my back and I was prescribed tramadol and it did NOTHING at all for my pain. I was switched to Vicodin, and that did nothing either besides make me a little bit happy.
ANYWAY: My reccomendation, if your pain meds are not working, is to contact your doctor and tell him they are not working. If there is nothing they can do for your pain, the least they can do is mask it. Keep in mind there are serious side effects from certain narcotic pain medications.
You may find relief from Vicodin, seeing as how it is an opiate pain reliever, and Tramadol is not.
I can understand your depression because I feel the same. Im sure you feel helpless and the pain is probably unbareable as is mine, but my advice would be to tell your doctor and if he does nothing about it. Try seeing a specialist such as a neurologist, or a sports medicine doctor as was suggested to me. Even a pain specialist would be good. Just let him know that nothing is working out, and you are in need for relief.
I hope I helped some.
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littleonefb
replied September 12th, 2008
Extremely eHealthy
Hi Rowanhippy,

I'm not sure what you mean when you mention "consultant".

Was your scan an MRI?
What where the results of the scan you had done.
What was the diagnosis?

What kind of injections did you have? I have never heard of 10 injections being given up and down the spine. that sounds like a tremendous amount of steroid injections to be given.

How where the injections given? Where they done under floroscopy? Where they done by a pain management doctor?

where is your pain specifically located? What kind of pain is it?

With more information given from answering the above questions, I might be able to offer some suggestions for you.

Fran
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neurostim4pain
replied September 19th, 2008
Neurostimulation for treatment of Chronic Pain
I have a SCS and it has been a life saver. I have utilized the support website that ANS (St. Jude Medical) has been so wonderful in providing as a resource for my initial interest in SCS. ANS seems to truly care for their patients and have a whole lot of resources available in aiding in the neurostimulator process. I was able to connect with full time volunteers that have a neurostimulator and they were able to provide me with support and first hand experience with their device.
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littleonefb
replied September 20th, 2008
Extremely eHealthy
Spinal cord stimulators ie SCS is always considered to be a last resort treatment for chronic pain and many, many people are not considered for an SCS as it will not help them with their pain.

There are also many potential side affects, adverse affects and restrictions with using an SCS that must be considered with each individual patient.

Before even the slightest thought of having a trial and or permanent SCS surgically implanted, a wise patient would consider any and all other options first.

As I posted before, the OP needs another opinion by a good qualified spinal surgeon to determine what the spinal problem is. It does not appear, from what the OP posted that the OP has been getting good care and properly diagnosed.

Fran

Please see the link for side affects, adverse affects and limitations in having an SCS implanted

http://www.poweroveryourpain.com/sb/safety /index.html
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