advice please! pain is killing me!

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PRISE

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Hi, my back pain has now become chronic because I've been dealing with it for over 3 months now. I think it may have been caused by carrying my 50 lb. dog to the vet several times when she was sick 3 months ago...she ended up dying 2 months ago. Anyway, my pain started in my upper back..between my shoulder blades..the pain was deep..then i started having muscle spasms as well and it was alittle hard to breathe when i took deep breathes or tried to yawn..sneezes were so painful. The pain has now moved down to the middle of my back and deep on the sides of my ribcage. By the way, I only have the bad back pain early in the morning and then it goes away by mid morning...does anyone know why that is?? I have no other health problems and am a pretty healthy person. What should I do? Any advice would help! I'm so tired of dealing with this pain every single morning...i feel like i can never sleep in!! help!
 
Hi Prise,
I'm so sorry about your dog. :(

Have you seen a doctor yet? If not, maybe it's time, since it's been 3 months now. You can start with your family doctor. He can do basic x-rays and order an MRI if he feels it's appropriate. He'll refer you on to an orthopedic or neurologic physician if necessary. I would think that if it was just muscular, it would have calmed down by now. There may be something else going on. Hopefully it's not serious and they'll be able to get you over the hurdle with conservative treatment like some PT.

Hope you get some relief and some good sleep soon!
Emily
 
I agree wholeheartedly with Emily! It is time for xrays and MRI's to get to the root of the problem so that you can begin healing.
 
Definitely see a doctor and have it looked into. I think usually they say if you've had pain for 2-3 weeks that's not going away, you should see a doctor and you're way past that point. Perhaps you might have pulled a muscle in that area or maybe have a disc herniation, I don't know. If you have insurance, then definitely get an MRI b/c x-rays cant see soft tissue problems.
 
Im sorry for the loss of your dog. I lost one of mine back in August to a horrific disease called pemphigus. He was the most wonderful dog and he didnt deserve to die in such a horrific way. I hope yours didnt suffer.

As to you, since your issues have not gone away it's time you saw a doctor to find out what is really going on back there, then to find a possible solution.

It is possible it's nothing more than soft tissue (muscles) not playing nice and you may be experiencing muscle spasms and general strained back. But it may be a disc & spine issue and if it's in the thoracic region (which it sounRAB like it may be) and you are experiencing problems breathing.. that can be quite serious.

Please get yourself looked at. Your GP is an okay place to start. The doc will either order an xray to check your bones on a simple level and give you some meRAB to see if they help you. Then if you aren't any better after that.. then an MRI will need to be done to see a better imaging of what is going on with your spine.

Bedtime can be the pits. How do you sleep? You might try changing positions to be more comfortable and also maybe keeping your spine more properly aligned when you sleep. Such as a small pillow under your knees if you sleep on your back. Or a pillow between your legs if you sleep on your side, etc.

if you arent already doing so and you are okay to take it.. take some tylenol or ibuprofen to help ease the pain and also reduce any inflammation. You might try taking this an hour or so before bedtime and see if they offers any additional benefit for you through the night.

Let us know how you are doing.
 
Prise,
I am also sorry for the loss of your dog. They are so much a part of the family.
Since your back pain is usually in the AM maybe you should consider investing in a new mattress. If your mattress is saggy or overly soft it may be causing your early morning pain.
I agree that if it continues much longer I would seek medical advice. Good luck to you and keep us posted.

Deb
 
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