If your spasms are in you shoulder/upper back area, the lumbar epidural is not a very good suspect for a causal point.

You need to see your primary care doc and see if he/she can help you gain control of the spasms! They can be truly debilitating and only get worse as time goes by!

If your primary doc cannot help, they can refer you to pt or chiropractic (i dont trust chiro med but millions of others do)

please do not let time just slip away while you suffer!

This is to becky from pa. My daughter is 23 she to started with upper back pain after her epidural. This was 20 months ago. I also thought that the epidural played a part in this pain. She does have 2 compressed disc in her neck. But after 30 rounds of chiro and phys theapy. Her doctors tell her that they don't know why she has the pain and the muscle controlling her left arm is losing strenght...They tell her she has to learn to live with the pain which at times is more than she can handle.....The doctors have told her that the epidural had nothing to do with the pain...Funny how the pain started right after the delivery and has not stopped....

you need to get away from any doctor that tells you to learn to live in pain! You can actually bring charges against them for failure to treat adequately. (if you can find an attorney that will help you) again, the placement of the epidural for childbirth and where her pain is, is too far away from each other and so that being the cause is highly unlikely but nothing is impossible.

Go to a new primary care doc, get a referal to a neurologist and being treatment through someone that understands the causes for which you are suffering. If she has stenosis at 2 levels in her neck, that could very well be causing the throacic pain and so she needs to be seen by a doc that has studied that part of the body for years.

Don't give up, there are doctors that can and will help. They hide themselves well sometimes but they are out there and you just have to find them.

Remember, be willing to do whatever they tell you so you are not labeled a pill person. If they recommend pt, try it even though you already did it, if they say use ice/heat and naproxen or ibuprofin, do it and allow them to see that you are willing to try to make it work, also keep a detailed diary of how you feel. I will look for the one I use so that you can bring in to your doc a pain diary so they see when you are worst and when you feel ok.

Good luck and as soon as I can get the link to the pain diary ill post it.

Http://www.Painfoundation.Org/page.Asp?Fil e=page_publications.Htm

when you open this page, you will find lots of links, the pain notebook pdf is what you need to bring in to the dock. It is long and very specfic but it will show them you are serious about pain. Also there is a forum that is for us chronic pain sufferers there too.

Good luck and please let me know how you are doing and keep us all informed about your endeavors into the wonders of chronic pain.

Hi there! I am so sorry to hear about your pain with muscle spasms, I totally understand what you are going through, I was diagnosed with rsd which is one heck of a monster to live with and it was diagnosed to late to do much with it I have been on a lot of meds that do nothing for it the drs in the area do not know much about it the pain is pretty much full body now, it also comes with muscle spasms, the pain is pretty much 24/7. I also have degenerative dic disease, peripheral neuropathy, chronic fatigue syndrome and a few other medical problems but I still work and keep functioning and it is not easy. I have seen dr after dr I will se another one on the third of next month that is supposed to know more about this disease, at least I hope so.
One thing that I have learned is that you do not have to take the 1st dr's advice, you do have a right to other opinions, be sure you are comfortable with the dr you chose.
Always
sandy