16 weeks of lower back pain!

[Ann27]

Hello, I really hope someone can help me. Sixteen weeks ago, an elderly resident at where I work fell backwarRAB & in order to stop his fall onto his upturned chair, I leant to my right side & took his full bodyweight as he fell. The man weighs about 13 stone, I am 8stone 5lbs.He is fine & I am not!( I know we are told to let them fall but it is human instinct isn't it?)
After 3 weeks I went to the doctors who told me to carry on as normal & take ibuprofen. Progressing then from a very painful back, especially when standing & walking, to acute nerve pain down both legs. I was eventually given time off work & recommended for physio by my doctor & an xray which proved that my spine looks healthy, (this was 7 weeks after my injury)The physio did nothing for me to relieve the pain (including acupuncture.)
10 weeks after my injury, I had terrible pain in both legs, pins & needles ,awful muscle spasms & I felt like my insides were raw & I felt like jelly .Weight bearing (ie walking & standing)of any sort was excruciating! I was then referred to a back specialist after 12 weeks!
In the interim, my doctor prescribed slow release diclofenac(anti inflamms) & Diazepam for my muscle spasms to be taken just before I go to bed. This new medication has proved a goRABend as I can now sleep at night. The leg pains have eased although I still feel like there is an electric current going through my legs & lower torso.
Two days ago, I saw the specialist, who had the wrong notes for me so knew nothing of my back pain history!!! I had to relay this long winded tale to him like I have just done to you! I was sent away after 10 minutes with a diagnosis of a possible slipped disc & recommended to stay on the medication, to have rest, exercise (I asked him what he recommended & he said walking!!!! I had told him already that walking causes me great pain!!!!)& he said it will take time.
He couldn't say how much time of course so I am left with the questions 'what is definately wrong with my back? Why has it not improved at all? How much longer will I be unable to walk anywhere? How much longer will I be off work? If I came off the pills would I still have the terrific muscle spasms? Am I doing myself more damage if I do try to walk anywhere?'
I feel totally let down with no light at the end of the tunnel. Has anyone else experienced my symptoms? I would be so grateful for any help, advice or encouragement as it is affecting every area of my life & has gone on for so long. Thank you for reading this. Ann

 

[ladybug8372]

i think its past time to ask for an MRI. plain x-rays are NOT going to show depth of disc/nerve problems...in fact, they arent going to show them at all. leg pain/electric shock pain are signs that a disc is pressing on a nerve.

 

[mamakitkat]

HI Ann,
Welcome! I'm so sorry your in this spot, the pain & no answers is unfortuanlty all to common. Find another spine specialist! don't go back to any of the dr.'s you just saw, they are not going to help you. A slipped disc is serious, not something you walk off as they said to do. You need to find a spine specialist with a fellowship in the spine and only treats spine problems. This will insure you get the best trained spine dr. you can find. I don't know how things work where you live, I hope you can find this kind of dr. on your own and still be covered by your ins.

Until you get that MRI, that is a must, like ladybug said. You can't see the nerves on an xray and that sounRAB like what is being compromised is the nerves. When your disc slips as they say, your vertibra moves and actaully pinches the nerves and until that vert. is put back into place it won't give those nerves any relief. The longer your nerves are compressed the better chance of it becoming permanent damage to that nerve. I suffer from perm nerve damage because it took years to get a good diagnosis for me. Reading posts like yours really gets me upset & angry that there are still dr.'s out there that can't treat such an obvious problem. Don't think that you will have perm damage in a few weeks or months, it does take yrs for that to occur so dont' painc just yet.

You need to be aggresive in your search for a good spine dr. Do research on the ones you find, ask if they have a fellowship, it's your right to know how educated & experienced they are before they treat you. If you find a dr. that is offended that you ask then you don't need that doc treating you at all.

Again, I'm sorry your suffereing so much and I hope you get help soon. Good luck in your search for a good dr. and please keep us updated.

God Bless

Carol

 

[Ann27]

Hello Ladybug8372 & Mamakitkat!
Thank you both so much for your quick responses.
I must say, my doctor had thought that the specialist would have arranged for me to have an MRI scan. Feeling things are so hopeless, I spoke to her after posting my thread on here today.
I did actually mention about having an MRI scan to the specialist, but he said he would only send someone for a scan who he felt was a possible candidate for surgery or if he suspected the cause of the pain might be because of a possibility of cancer. So that was that!
My doctor was very concerned for me & said she had been doing a bit of research & found that Preston Hospital have recently opened a chronic back pain clinic & she feels they might be able to help me. She is going to ring me when she has received the specialists diagnosis.
I feel a bit more positive now thank goodness & it is so nice to voice my concerns on this site to people who have 'been there' too.
Thank you both for your encouragement & good wishes. I will keep you posted about my progress.
God bless you both too,
Ann.