Hi, I have chronic pain in my neck, upper and lower back and I've also got osteoporosis which I'm taking a once a week tablet for that.
Recently I've experienced pain and spasms in my upper back. It feels like I'm carrying a concrete block on my back. My consultant is sending me for an MRI of my spine for fractures or disc issues. Also my posture has changed and I'm very stooped.
I'm worried it could be the osteoporosis and I could be left like this. Any info or advice gratefully received
Hope you get your scan soon, good luck.🤞
The MRI is tomorrow and I'll be talking to my pain consultant Friday so hope he has the results then.
Have you had your results? How did it go with the pain specialist were they able to help you? I’m on a similar path at the moment x
I've a fracture just below my neck and disc prolapse in my lower back as well as wear and tear. I've been referred on to a spinal consultant with a view to surgery. In the meantime my pain consultant is bringing me in for pain relief injections before Christmas.
What sort of surgery are they looking to do? I hope you are ok and it sounds like they are doing what they can to help which is good. What are the pain relief injections are they nerve blocks? Hoe you don’t have to wait too long to see the spinal consultant xx
I'll know what type of surgery when I see the consultant I've been referred to. I'm presuming it could be a discectomy, which I had years ago between C5/C/6. I only spoke to my pain consultant on the phone and I think he's waiting till he sees me before he decides what injections he'll give. He said they would help with the pain. When I write it down it all seems up in the air but I'm glad I now have a diagnosis and can move forward with treatment.
That’s good it does help to have a plan moving forward. When are you booked to see the pain consultant? I hope you can get to see them soon and keep things moving forward. I have my mri booked for Saturday this week so that’s good I’m goes to slowly get things moving just have to get the pain under control so I can get up to London for the specialist mri which will look at all the nerves and things in way more detail to better treat the pain vs just medication so I’m trying to keep hopeful. I’m glad you feel happier with a diagnosis, what medication are you taking for the pain? I’m still waiting for my doctor to prescribe mine off the back of my pain consultant letter but it has been marked as urgent so I’m praying before the weekend but that’s probably a little overly optimistic xx
I'm booked in for next Thursday the 14th November. I'm on oral Ketamine as I can't take any opiates. I'm glad you're getting an MRI. Could you contact the GPs office in order to get your pain medication quickly.
Wow you are lucky they must be a real help having that for pain relief as I’ve only had that with surgery before. Did you see a pain management specialist to be prescribed that? I have called the doctors and they have said it’s been passed on and marked urgent but it doesn’t look like they have done anything today as I keep checking my records. I’ve had enough of suffering and taking the codeine is useless with my ileostomy as I’m not absorbing it and it’s just making my tummy issues worse so I need the doctors to sort out the patches before I lose it completely I’ve just been crying my eyes out due to the pain I’ve had enough I can’t take much more if it is wasn’t for my mum I would of given up by now 😞
I'm sorry you have this much pain I have a colostomy also. I do see a pain management specialist, I've been with him a long time. I'd hound your GPs surgery, at least once in the morning and also the afternoon-as much as needed until you see your Dr. Unfortunately, chronic pain isn't seen as emergency but I'd defy any Dr to go through our situation and not look for immediate relief. I do hope you get to see them soon and you're not waiting over the weekend for pain relief.
I had my ileostomy surgery 6 weeks ago today and my body hasn’t adjusted to it I’m in agony with my tummy it’s just terrible and all the cramping is making my back worse so I’m stuck in a nightmare I keep hoping things will improve but I’m worse than I was before the surgery which has really scared me. The pain specialist has recommended pregablin for the nerve pain to see if that helps my tummy and the patches to try as everything else just goes straight through me and causes more issues but I need something for my back.
I will keep chasing them there I no point phoning now as I’ll never get through I waited 45mins this morning and now is their busiest time so I’ll just have to accept and chase tomorrow but I know the pharmacy will have to order the patches in so it will end up being next week which sucks as I have to try and get through an hour mri on Saturday which won’t be easy so I’m very scared everything is just a mess I wish I could see an end to all of this pain but thank you for being so kind
Are they Lidocaine patches you've been prescribed? I hope you get a Drs appointment soon. When I had my colostomy I was told to eat little and often. I only ate easily digested food eg scrambled eggs etc. It took about six months for everything to calm down, I had a couple of blowouts in that period but it hasn't happened since and I can eat most things now. I'm two years with a stoma, I got out of hospital Christmas Eve after 9 days in ICU and another three weeks on the ward. It's a long road so go easy on yourself. There's a few stoma groups on Facebook which I think would be beneficial for you to join. They are mostly US based but can be helpful. The big difference is that you or I, I'm in Ireland, don't have to pay for our stoma supplies. It's a huge issue in the US, I was told a bag costs $17.50! Or they can claim for them on their health insurance but that only covers a certain amount. It seems very stressful. Good luck with your MRI. I had one of my spine three weeks ago and it was over more quickly than I thought. I was given headphones to listen to the radio. Passed the time.
No I’ve had the Lidocaine patches before when I broke all of my ribs in multiple places and they were useless on me plus I need some actual strong pain relief so the pain man has recommended buprenorphine patches. I finally got hold of the doctors and they did the prescription late this afternoon but I spoke to the pharmacy and they have to order them in so it won’t be till sometime next week thanks to the doctors delaying things.
I was on liquids to start with having an ileostomy but I’m still only on very low fibre soft food and liquid supplements due to my low weight and not being able to eat very much. My guts are all over the place I have terrible nerve pain from them it burns and it’s agony plus with them going so mad it just makes the back worse so I can’t win I’m hit from all angles 😞 I am constantly cramped up I hate it things were bad before but nothing like this. Im in the uk and with a permanent ileostomy I get all my bags and supplies for free so that’s a bonus I don’t have to worry about that side of things.
Hopefully the mri won’t take too long they said an hour as its the whole done and being flat on my back with the heavy thing they put on you really hurts me but its the car journey ok dreading as that’s the worst part for me I do anything to avoid getting into a car but needs must so I’ll just have to dose up and hope for the best it’s not till 2:15 and it’s private so they are pretty slick being on time getting you in and out so I really hope it all goes well and doesn’t cause more trauma for my back but I’m glad I’m getting it done x
Yes it's good you're getting the MR I hope it all goes well for you. You can then have a plan going forward. Best of luck today. Let's know how it goes.
Hi. Your descriptive word of "spasm" suggests muscles contracting. One cause other than osteoporosis could be magnesium deficiency. Whatever the cause, use warmth and heat and sit in good posture if you can, to ease the pain. Sofas aren't always our back's best friend. Hope you get sorted soon. Di Doh
I hope you'll report back on your MRI results.
I found out through a rather curcuitous route that I have had two fractures in my upper back at T6 and 7. I didn't get a lot of other info, except yes, my back is getting curved, but for me, it was like finally I know why my upper back feels like it does. I can't say I've had spasms, but I might not know what spasms in that area would feel like. I do know nerves must be impacted, because after about 5 minutes of any activity that puts stress on my upper back, it will start sparking--just like electric shock radiating out from that spot. And of course muscles very sore, stiff.
So, seems like there's a solid chance you have fractures...but what do I know?
Do you know what your t-scores were?
Thanks for the reply Josephinius1. Yes I have curvature of the spine and it's got very noticeable in the last few weeks along with spasms. and pain. And from what I read may need a fusion to correct the spine. No I don't know my T score
Edit to add : I will be talking to my Pain Consultant Friday so I'll report back Also, I checked out about the hump and surgery can rectify it (fusion and rods in your back) but the Irish Osteoporosis Association says it can't be Feeling deflated now as I really don't want to have a hump that will only get worse for the rest of my life
I have osteoporosis and 8 vertebral fractures. The muscle spasms are debilitating. I've had L1, L2 vertebroplastied if this is what you mean by being fused. They inject a cement-like substance into the vertebrae to rebuild them. I have a MRI scheduled for next month to determine which vertebrae are most acute for the next plasties. You are awake through these procedures. Mine took about 2 hours. Wasn't bad at all. The thought of rods and screws is not something I'd relish either. Hope your appointment gies well today. PS don't let anyone tell you to just "push through" the spasms. They only get worse when you over do it.
The MRI showed a fracture just below my neck and disc prolapse in my lower back. I've been referred on to a spinal consultant with a view to surgery. In the meantime my pain consultant is bringing me in before Christmas for injections to relieve the pain.
generally even if it is a fracture it mostly doesn’t require any intervention as they usually leave it alone, and perhaps with help from a physio / chiropractor / osteopath with exercises it could feel better … worth a try
I broached that with my pain consultant who ordered the MRI and he said to wait till he gets the results of the MRI.
good to take high doses of vitamin D - apparently you can make 10,000 IU just by spending 15mins bare skin in the sun!
I've seen that claimed, but have also seen it disputed. In my experience, 10,000iu would put my blood level up much too high, and when I reduced supplements one summer due to spending hours in the midday sun, my blood level dropped, so I clearly wasn't making 10,000iu daily!
reclast and severe osteoporosis 
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