back pain and pregnant

[sweetmamma09]

hi everyone. new here and at the end of my rope. i have had chronic back pain since sept '08 and nothing has helped. of course since i'm limited on options (pregnant), i'm suffering terribly. my ob finally sent me to a pain specialist yesterday and he said i need to have "Lurabar Medial Branch Block Injections". he said i'd have to be put under which is freaking me out because of the pregnancy. he assured me it is safe, but i am just not sure. on the other hand, i can't live like this anymore. i'm miserable and not enjoying this pregnancy at all. i'm not sleeping at night and i barely eat because i'm constantly nausious due to the pain. is there anyone out there that can give advice to my situation? i'm desperate and depressed and confused. i just want it to stop. why won't it stop??

does anyone have experience with this, pregnant or not...i'd like to know. thanks!

 

[10sox]

Hello!

I am so sorry you are going through all of this while you are pregnant. I can totally relate, because the start of all my back issues started whille pregnant with my daughter. I am not sure what your back issues are....herniated disc??? Since I am not sure what your exact problem is, I will go ahead and share my story with you and hope that it can help you.

I started having bad pain down my leg around 12 weeks pregnant. I was told it was pregnancy sciatica. This was pregnancy #2 for me and I knew in my heart it was more than that. My pain actually started before I was even pregnant. Anyway, after many sleepless nights and crying to my OB, he sent me to an Orthopedic Surgeon who ordered an MRI. They don't do them regularly on pregnant patients, but I was in so much pain and I was out of my first trimester (they will not allow an MRI in your first trimester). Anyway, I had a HUGE herniated disc at L5-S1. They sent me to the Emergency Room and I had a discectomy the very next day. I was put under general anethesia, had x-rays during my procedure, and had many IV drugs. I was scared out of my mind, but also in more pain than I could handle....and I had a NINE MONTH old son at home too.

The surgery at the time was a success. I was told that the biggest risk of the surgery was the anethesia, but since I was 19 weeks, they told me I was in the perfect point of my pregnancy for this. I guess the biggest risk with anesthesia is putting you into preterm labor. If I was any further along in my pregnancy, this would have been a real risk. My OB met with the Neurosurgeon and they went over all the drugs that would be administered to me and made sure they were ok for the baby. I also had a minimal amount of xrays during the surgery, but was told it was very minimal and I would have had to have 100x more to have any negative impact on the baby.

I went on to deliver a perfectly healthy baby girl. I was even able to have an epidural. She is 2 1/2 now and full of it..ha! I really had no other choice because even the pain meRAB I was on (vicodin) was not doing anything for the pain.

If you have any other questions, please let me know. Unfortunately, I don't know anything about that procedure they want to do for you.

Good luck!

 

[sweetmamma09]

Sorry, should have clarified more. i have been told by the pt and by the pain dr yesterday that my pain is due to facet problems in my spine and early arthritis. i too have been on pain meRAB and they are no longer touching the pain and my dr is forcing me off of them anyway due to the baby being addicted when it's born. i am 23 weeks along (3rd child) and they want to do the first set next week and then every other week after to complete all 3 sets of injections. i will be nearly 30 weeks when it's all said and done. they are assuring me this is safe. i am apprehensive, but at the same time, i can't go on like this. i am so confused. i just don't know what to do.